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Shallow tank filtration/circulation

aec34

aec34

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Joined
10 Oct 2020
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Location
Gloucestershire
I picked up a bargain 45f and 60f - and am after advice about how to get water movement on tanks this shallow: they are only 16cm and 18cm deep respectively, and in general there isn’t much room in the tanks for equipment.
I’m primarily a planted shrimp tank person, and normally have internal sponge filters of some kind but I’m thinking this is impractical. It strikes me an external filter and maybe the full aquascape lily pipe set up may be the way to go, but all of this is a mystery to me. Suggestions please!
 
people do run canisters with Lilly pipes on shallow tanks and the link to small lolly pipes has been shared on the forum a few times.
I think they were on Ali express or something and roughly the size of a coke can.
 
PARAGUAY said:
How about a small power head, with sponge on the intake
Click to expand...

+1 to this if water movement is all you need. You can get little 12v ones which are surprising powerful for their tiny size. I have one of these which has three power settings to give some flow options:

Amazon product ASIN B07RJXG44W
You can even get some USB ones which might give enough flow for a shrimp tank.
 
Thanks everyone - lots to think about.
I think a simple airstone is going to be too noisy/splashy (additional thing to ponder).
I mostly run Aquael Pat minis, which I guess are powerheads with a bigger sponge (?), but take up a fair amount of tank real estate.
@Wookii how long have you had your little pump going for? I’ve had cheap usb ones in the past and they’ve got noisy really quickly - I hate buying stuff that isn’t built to last (but hard to tell what is decent and what isn’t).
 
aec34 said:
@Wookii how long have you had your little pump going for? I’ve had cheap usb ones in the past and they’ve got noisy really quickly - I hate buying stuff that isn’t built to last (but hard to tell what is decent and what isn’t).
Click to expand...

To be fair I've only used it on an intermittent basis - i.e. running for an hour then off for 7 and repeat over the course of about 6 months, so I haven't tested it running continuously for months at a time.

It seems fairly robust and well made - and I think the 12v ones are a bit better than the cheaper USB ones, but to be honest at a £20 price point we have to temper our expectations a little. The problem is, in that kind of form factor there don't seem to be any high end alternatives - there are no solid German made ones for £50 etc that might suggest greater longevity.
 
Thanks @ScareCrow, that’s really kind. I’ll ping you a message when I get a mo. I got put off HoB filters when I had a cheap one, but I think this might have been part of the problem.
 
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