Reddit reviews Aquatop Aquatic Supplies Classic Aqua Flow Sponge Aquarium Filter Up To 10 Gal CAF-10

Yea I don't like bowls for fish; the shape of bowls can distort a fish's vision, and definitely the spherical/rounded shape makes it more difficult to add a proper filter or heater. A 3.5g bowl like what you have currently might be better as a shrimp tank (shrimp are funny lil guys) and you can put one of these small singular sponge filters https://www.amazon.com/Aquatop-Aquatic-Supplies-Aquarium-CAF-10/dp/B00HYEO8H6 for it as a shrimp tank, but this subreddit really recommends 5+ gallons with proper filter and heater for a betta habitat that a betta can thrive in. I used to keep my bettas in the Petsmart 3.5g TopFin Enchant (starter tank), but I have recently switched to the 5.5g TopFin Essentials tank kit and my bettas are MUCH happier and exploring around the larger tanks with a lot more gusto & liveliness than they had in the previous 3.5g tanks. Also 3.5g I had to do partial water changes twice per week, but now with 5.5g I just do 1 PWC per week. Honestly never going back to tanks below 5g, and recommend you try a 5+ gallon tank too if you truly want to give your future betta a great quality of life.

Also please consider FISHLESS cycling the new larger tank beforehand. http://injaf.org/articles-guides/beginners-guides/the-nitrogen-cycle-and-the-fishless-cycle-getting-your-aquarium-ready-for-fish/

and for more about betta care, our community has many great articles: https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/wiki/index

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HYEO8H6/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523830934&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=aquatop+cf+10

It's this one! You might be able to get it a bit cheaper at your LFS though.

I use a sponge filter in my 5 gal. Seems to be the smallest one on the market and it works great.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYEO8H6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wHAqDbP9736K4

I was always a HOB person myself until the one on my 30g and the one on my 5g decided to start leaking on the floor within a week of each other 😂 Since then I’ve stuck with internal filtration. Powerhead driven sponge filter on the 30g plus a second small internal filter for added circulation and a source of seeded filter media for hospital or new tanks; in my 5g I had a large sponge filter for a while, then I tried an under gravel filter and hated it, so I switched to a tiny combo [sponge / “box” filter] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HYEO8H6?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title) that I love; air powered corner box filter in the 10g plus a sponge that I stuck an air stone inside of to make more surface area for the beneficial bacteria; finally I have a Fluval Spec III at work which comes with built in filtration that is essentially a giant sponge filter but with a small pump that pulls the water through it.

Sorry that was way more info than you wanted, but I figured if you were thinking of switching I’d give you some options 😂

I have that little cave decor you see in the picture, and a floating betta log. Both feel smooth to the touch (inside and outside). I took out my betta leaf as I have seen some reports of it cutting up their betta’s tail. I also took a stiff fabric plant out as well as a plastic log I had in there. The log felt mainly smooth, but on the inside there were some tougher areas so I took it out to be the on the safe side.

I have a sponge filter with an airflow control valve connected to a bleed valve and check valve.

my filter

For 5 gallons I love this heater, it stays at 78 degrees which is way better than "10 degrees above your room temperature" or 75 degrees. I got mine at walmart. For the filter I use a small air pump and this sponge filter. It's tiny but has both a sponge and rocky filter media, which you can replace with your own small biomax ceramic filter media. I found it could handle my betta's waste just fine.

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edit: oops I just realized the heater I mentioned is yours haha. Mine works really well! I really haven't found a better one that's appropriate for such a small tank.

It’s a Caf-10 I bought locally. I love the gravel compartment for upping the bio filter capacity.

Generally anything under 2.5 gal is supposed to be inadvisable for fish. But, that's so close, I'd go for it. Currently I have 3 tanks that size. Twice I've had 1 female Betta in ones that size and they were quite happy. Also, another with 6 dwarf corydoras habrosus ~3/4 an inch and virtually no bio load. Currently one with shrimp. But, with tanks this small you really have to monitor water changes, not just nitrates, but pH when you change and temp.

My house is not a stable temp, so I rotate out my 5 and 10 watt heaters based on time of year/room temp/unseasonable temps. I'm in the mid-Atlantic of the U.S. My 10 watts are Aqueon presets. MY 5 watts are Cobalt Aquatics presets.

I found a very small HOB which I've used and I also use Aquatop Caf 10 sponge filters either with the HOB or without.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HYEO8H6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HV2ZKEU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[if you do shrimp, you'd need to do smalllll water changes more frequently) Good luck.

This one is a little too huge for my tank (I have this: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/fish/fish-aquariums-kits/aquariums-up-to-ten-gallons/imagitarium-pro-delux-freshwater-aquarium ). I think I am going to try out this aquatop filter instead: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HYEO8H6/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Thank you so much for the advice!

There are these but I would recommend two for a tank, and they do take up real estate in your tank...

Also, this one is pretty good, but I don't know how dirty your fish are going to be. I took out the stones at the bottom and put in some ceramic media from aquaclear and that seems to work very well for what I need.

Aquatop Aquatic Supplies Classic Aqua Flow Sponge Aquarium Filter Up To 10 Gal CAF-10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYEO8H6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_.dxRAbKA4FA04.

I have this one, works good and very small. Just need pump, tubing, and check valve.

No filter means no flow. Stagnant water gets nasty. A sponge filter also provides a massive amount of surface area for beneficial bacteria, which keeps the tank healthy and deals with the waste created by the shrimp.

You'll notice that the YouTube "no filter" setups have an absolutely enormous amount of plants. An Iwugami setup (the kind with hardscape and a carpet and not much else) will never work without filtration as there aren't enough plants to deal with the waste.

You can get very tiny sponge filters super cheap on Amazon. I'm hoping that jar holds at least two gallons- if so, this one will work great. Yes, I know it claims it's for 10 gallons but it's super tiny- I have one just like that which I used in a 2-gallon tank.

If it's less than two gallons...I wouldn't even try keeping shrimp in it, TBH.

This is all you'll need along with an air pump and an air stone to get the bubbles smaller.