# Shrimp Safe Inflow



## Onoma1 (29 Nov 2019)

I have been searching for a shrimp safe inflow for a while. I don't want to go for a foam, however, the metal filters that I have used rapidly become clogged.

I noticed that Filipe Oliveira had a video from a Spanish shop  (2.17) with quite coarse metal inflows and wondered if anyone knows where I could buy one from?


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## Hanuman (29 Nov 2019)

That looks like home made. Perhaps look at aliexpress.

This said in a healthy tank your inflow shouldn’t get clogged up as you should normally have little dead leaves or whatnot.

This is what I use. I never clean it. Shrimps and snails clean it for me, thus it’s never clogged:


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## Onoma1 (29 Nov 2019)

Hanuman said:


> That looks like home made. Perhaps look at aliexpress.
> 
> This said in a healthy tank your inflow shouldn’t get clogged up as you should normally have little dead leaves or whatnot.



I tried a fine one from Aliexpress. It works well most of the time just gets a bit clogged after a water change (not normally a big issue) and I had a panicky moment when I returned after a few days away to see it partially clogged with some MC.


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## Hanuman (29 Nov 2019)

A few days ago I ordered this https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/m6iTTlS0 for a tank I have in the making. Not sure what they’re worth. If no good I will use the same as the one I shown on that picture of my tank.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Thumper (29 Nov 2019)

Might be a bit pricy, but those are also available on many shops: http://www.adana.co.jp/en/contents/products/na_filter/detail05.html


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## Hanuman (29 Nov 2019)

Thumper said:


> Might be a bit pricy, but those are also available on many shops: http://www.adana.co.jp/en/contents/products/na_filter/detail05.html


Not sure what size those holes are but looks to me they are big enough for shrimplets to go through.


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## Thumper (29 Nov 2019)

~1mm. Indeed, small shrimplets will go through. They are pretty much compareable to the Borneo Wild Outflows


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## Edvet (29 Nov 2019)

Onoma1 said:


> I don't want to go for a foam


Black foam perhaps?


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## mort (29 Nov 2019)

I've got two guards similar to hanumans and I simply swapedp them when I did a water change to begin with. It means they can have a deep clean if they need it but in reality I haven't needed to swap them for 6 months.


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## Fisher2007 (29 Nov 2019)

What I found was that if the guard fits snug around the inlet vents on the pipe then the waste gets stuck to it and starts to block it quite quickly but if the guard is larger than the pipe, the water can continue to flow around any waste stuck on the grill and so doesn't restrict the flow. 

Hope that makes sense but I've attached a pic of what I mean which was taken from my tank a moment ago.  You should be able to see the glass pipe in the middle

I've also added the link to them below.  I found the white rubber washer at the top tight so I just put a cut in it so it's no longer a complete circle and it makes it easier to slip on and off but there it still enough friction to hold it in place

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gwolf-Aqua...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl


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## Fisher2007 (29 Nov 2019)

Just to add, I also managed to mod one of these with my dremel so it now fits on my EA aquascaper surface skimmer inlet too, as the surface skimmer pipe isn't the standard 16/22 size (guess it's more like 25mm outer diameter)


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## Neil M (9 Jan 2020)

Are shrimp guards necessary for all shrimp species ? I'm going to add Armano shrimp to my set up when its done , the filter is an Eheim Pro 3, would filter guards be necessary for Armano shrimp ?


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## Fisher2007 (9 Jan 2020)

Neil M said:


> Are shrimp guards necessary for all shrimp species ? I'm going to add Armano shrimp to my set up when its done , the filter is an Eheim Pro 3, would filter guards be necessary for Armano shrimp ?



I think unless the amano's were tiny you'd be fine.  Amano's seem more robust and have longer legs.  Before installing shrimp guards I had problem with cherries getting stuck but never saw any issues with amano's.  The smallest amano's I have/had were probably about 20mm long


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## Aqua sobriquet (9 Jan 2020)

Edvet said:


> Black foam perhaps?



That’s what I’ve used. It could still look better but what can you do? I liked the stainless steel pipes I bought but the my Cherries decided to have sex and now I’ve got babies all over the place!  

The shrimps do seem to be keeping the foam clean though ...


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## Neil M (9 Jan 2020)

Thanks


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## Barbara Turner (9 Jan 2020)

These work well, I had a few mesh ones that dropped to bits before buying these.. Took a while to arrive though as i don't think anyone in the  UK stocks them .


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## Ed Wiser (9 Jan 2020)

I had that one it fit so tight it broke the intake tube while putting on.  Oh well it was just an ADA one.


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## Wookii (16 Jan 2020)

I got these off Amazon - they work really well. Needed opening up a little with a Dremel and sanding bit when I switched to a JBL inlet tube, but they are excellent. I also find the shrimp and Oto's feeding off them regularly, as an added bonus!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WPS5RLG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## steve Short (4 Feb 2020)

I got mine  off flea bay  from China came within a fortnight


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## ian_m (4 Feb 2020)

Any one know where I can get a shrimp safe inlet that fits over 22mm pipe, as used in JBL e1501 filter ? 

Most of the ones on Ebay etc are all for 16mm inlet pipes.


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## Fisher2007 (4 Feb 2020)

ian_m said:


> Any one know where I can get a shrimp safe inlet that fits over 22mm pipe, as used in JBL e1501 filter ?
> 
> Most of the ones on Ebay etc are all for 16mm inlet pipes.



Off the shelf no but I used my dremel on one of these to open up the hole at top and it now fits over my EA aquascaper surface skimmer, which I'd guess is 22-25mm 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gwolf-Aqua...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl


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## Onoma1 (4 Feb 2020)

https://www.aquasabi.com/Aquasabi-Filter-Guard-Fine-mesh-L-17-mm

This works well, however, the mesh is s  little bit too fine. I bought some mesh from Aliexpress and when I pluck up the courage will try to make one myself.


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