Need advise on Filter for Tank

[DarkRealm]

I have a 46 gallon tank and with it came a filter, I have my tank all setup with community type fish in it and all is doing fine, except for the problem of the filter catching some of the fish and by the time I realize it they are goners.. I am thinking about replacing this filter with something else not so dangerous to my fish..

Any advice on type of filter that would work well in my tank

I currently use a aquaclear 500..

Thanks in advance for your advise and assistance.

 

[Anton Wernher]

Personally I would stick with the filter you have. You can take a Aqualcear 500 sponge and cut in in half.. cut an "X" in on one end and slide it over the intake. This should help with the problem you have and will also help with the maintaince( all you would have to do is remove the sponge on teh intake and clean it - in other words you would have to clean the sponges in the media bay far less often). BTW what type of fish are getting caught in the filter?

 

[gcvt]

I agree that an AC500 is a good filter for that size tank, and the cut sponge idea is a good one. I'm also curious about what type of fish you are keeping. In my opinion, most strong healthy fish really shouldn't be getting caught by your filter intake.

 

[somefinnfishy]

On your intake tube does it still have the tube extention with the tappered strainer on it?
Or are you running it with a open tube?
Look at one on www.bigalsonline.com if your confused.

BTW I would keep the AC no need for a diff or more filtration.

 

[Richer]

A sickly fish might get sucked into a filter, a healthy fish will not... unless its under special circumstances (ie. fry, very delicate fish, etc.). Instead of blaming your filter for the deaths, I would look elsewhere for the cause of your deaths.
I overfilter all of my tanks, and trust me, they all have higher turnover rates than yours. Even my angels don't seem to mind the extra current... which leads me to believe something else is the cause of your fish's deaths.
How long has your tank been running for? How many, and what kind of fish do you have in there? Do you happen to have test kits for ammonia and nitrite? If so, can you run past us some numbers?

HTH
-Richer

 

[DarkRealm]

Thank you all for the replies, I am going to get an extra sponge and do as suggested.

most fish that are getting caught are small tetra's (Painted Type), but this sponge should cover those vents and avoid that problem.

One other question is it best to place the filter where the intake tube is close to a corner, right now i have it so its located close to the center of the tank.. Just asking to improve this system.

Once again thanks.

 

[Tightdog1]

put it in the middle and a good place for the heater is next 2 the intake so that way you get even flow of heated water in the tank