Which filter for snail tank?

[Dallasp]

Hi, I am just looking for suggestions on what the best filter would be for a snail breeding tank. I previously used a HOB filter but the babies would go in the intake slots, and the adults would literally get their bodies sucked out of their shells and die from the suction. I put mesh over the intake slots but babies still seemed to get stuck in it from the suction, and it also didn’t seem to clean well at that point.

Next I tried the sponge filter, which I’m currently using, but the problem now is it does not filter the tank at all no matter how much or little air I feed. 

I am at a loss on what to do. My snail tank gets dirty very fast and I now have detritus everywhere.  *Sigh* 

Any suggestions are appreciated 🙂

[EVoyager31]

Get the HOB and get a prefilter sponge to go on the intake. This works like a charm for me. You can get a fluval brand one at major box stores but the ones Aquarium CoOp sells are better because they're more coarse and don’t clog as easy, he has multiple sizes available. 

[BigJ]

I definitely second the hob pre filter suggestion that is what I have on my 10 gallon shrimp tank and it works a treat

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/13/2022 at 5:48 PM, Dallasp said:

Any suggestions are appreciated 🙂

ziss bubble bio would be what I'd think.  Very difficult for them to go crazy on, then gravel vac whatever else you need to.

[DebSills]

I have a small Nicrew internal filter (Magi200) in my 10g - it has a small sponge and a little compartment where I shove a bunch of filter floss into it and then I use a small sponge on the other end to kind of get the best of both worlds - the flow isn't too strong (I have it on a shrimp tank and they don't have an issue with the flow), but it does give a gentle flow to the plants and circulates the water pretty well, I still have some detritus, but not too bad

[Guppysnail]

I use hobs and sponges. I use prefilter sponges but I get the awful very fine ones from Amazon so babies cannot get in. Once the babies grow a bit I switch to my preferred coop prefilter sponges. Just using sponges did not work for me. I definitely felt the need for the added mechanical filtration of a hob.  

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 6/13/2022 at 8:48 PM, Dallasp said:

Hi, I am just looking for suggestions on what the best filter would be for a snail breeding tank. I previously used a HOB filter but the babies would go in the intake slots, and the adults would literally get their bodies sucked out of their shells and die from the suction. I put mesh over the intake slots but babies still seemed to get stuck in it from the suction, and it also didn’t seem to clean well at that point.

Next I tried the sponge filter, which I’m currently using, but the problem now is it does not filter the tank at all no matter how much or little air I feed. 

I am at a loss on what to do. My snail tank gets dirty very fast and I now have detritus everywhere.  *Sigh* 

Any suggestions are appreciated 🙂

This is going to be me shortly!  I just hatched a bunch!  (help)  😳

On 6/14/2022 at 10:13 AM, Guppysnail said:

I use prefilter sponges but I get the awful very fine ones from Amazon

I looked at those but I couldn't figure out what size fit what filter.

[Guppysnail]

On 6/14/2022 at 10:37 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

This is going to be me shortly!  I just hatched a bunch!  (help)  😳

I looked at those but I couldn't figure out what size fit what filter.

What filter do you have? I might be able to help with size suggestions. I have not 1 but two small totes full of prefilters of various sizes🤣

Edited June 14, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@Dallasp what size tank do you have for the snails, and how many snails?

On 6/14/2022 at 10:50 AM, Guppysnail said:

What filter do you have? I might be able to help with size suggestions. I have not 1 but two small totes full of prefilters of various sizes🤣

For the snail growout tank I just have a sponge filter seeding in my main tank, but after reading this I might get a HOB too.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Maybe I'll go super old school and get a good ol' undergravel filter.  I used those for years, and they're great. There's still one at the bottom of my 29 gallon but I disabled it because I wanted sand.

Edited June 14, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Dallasp]

On 6/14/2022 at 7:50 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

@Dallasp what size tank do you have for the snails, and how many snails?

For the snail growout tank I just have a sponge filter seeding in my main tank, but after reading this I might get a HOB too.

My snail tank is only 5 gallons and there is probably like 20 adults and 80 babies at the moment. Last night I went with the HOB and added a course prefilter mesh on the end of the intake. Then I cut a piece out of a water bottle and attached it to the water output somehow to redirect the water flow since it was very powerful flow and would slam the snails down Everytime they went under it. So now the flow is redirected towards the back of the tank. So far seems to be working good. Saw a few snails go on the intake mesh (adults &babies) and they all seemed to be able to get off safely if needed. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

@Dallasp Congratulations on your snail babies!

Nicely done with the baffle. It seems to be doing a good job. Make sure you seal all gaps in the lid. They are escape artists, so I’ve heard. 
 

What type of snails are they? Looks like a ramshorn on the glass.

[Dallasp]

Thank you! And correct, they are Ramshorns. 🙂