Reddit reviews Jardin Aquarium Fish Tank Biochemical Sponge Filter Air Pump

A filter like this works great and is powered by an air pump like for a bubbler

sponge filter

[pump for sponge filter] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018CDR68/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_QlwcAbJ0QA3RV)

heater(youll want to adjust wattage depending on how much youll be heating)

this is what i'm using in all my tanks. if that's too big, this is a good alternative.

NEVER buy this. the connection for the air tube is too big and is nearly impossible to get a tube on.

You think I'll need an airstone if I use this?

Just some cheap miracle-gro potting soil off the shelf in the hardware store. No flourite. I had some leftover eco-complete from when I did my big tank, so I tried to cap it with that, but I ended up just using petco aquarium gravel for the cap, mostly.

I've read that for a walstad tank, you don't really want to get the kind with peat. I think it's because it adds more organics that decompose quicker? (I might have just made that up, though).

Though they say you don't need a filter, I got one of these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0089KVC32/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dAFHwb0AXWYJE to just add a little flow and help clean up the water while I let it settle down.

Plants include some random stuff I don't know that I got from my big tank, some chain swords, and some repens.

It's only been set up for about 3 weeks or so and I'm super excited to see how it looks in a couple of months.

The cheapest way to do things is much more reliant on Amazon than Petsmart or Petco.

Substrate: Pool Filter Sand from a pool supply store. You can get 20-40lbs of this for under $10 compared to roughly $1 for 1lb that pet store gravel/sand costs. It's also prewashed, which is nice. You can go with a special planted substrate, but for the most part you can get the same benefits by just dosing ferts or using root tabs. The one exception is if you are willing to spend more to get a clay based substrate like ADA Aquasoil or Fluval Stratum, which are much more expensive (the cheap alternative to that is to use the Walstad method of using dirt on the bottom and capping it with sand). A sand layer should be about 3" max. More than that and you could start developing anaerobic pockets.

Filtration: Air Pump Sponge Filters. I'd recommend getting two of these and placing one on each side but you can get by with one. I recommend the Walmart Aqua Culture 60 Gallon Air Pump to run them. It only costs $11 and surprisingly this Wal-Mart brand pump is the quietest air pump I've ever used -- much quieter than anything else I've tried. However you can go with any air pump you can find at Petco or Petsmart but they will cost more. You can rinse sponge filters out with old aquarium water when you do a water change, which saves you money in the long run vs. buying cartridges for a hang-on-back box style filter. However if you want to go with a box filter, I'd recommend AquaClear. They may be available at Petco or Petsmart, but likely at a higher price than amazon.

Heater: Aquatop Heaters from Amazon. For a 10G you only need the 50W, but for only $1.50 more you might as well get the 200W version so that if you ever upgrade you don't have to buy another. Since this line of heater has adjustable temperature and will turn off when the water is heated, it doesn't matter if you overbuy on heating. You can get other brands at Petco or Petsmart, but you'll probably be paying more for less.

Lighting: If you are going low tech, you should probably just buy a tank that comes with a hood and light (but avoid the full kit that comes filter/heater/etc. because you can get all of that cheaper separately). Hoods with matching lighting are really hard to get after the fact. If you go high tech, this sort of lighting is inadequate so you'd want to go a different route.

http://www.amazon.com/Jardin-Aquarium-Biochemical-Sponge-Filter/dp/B0089KVC32/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1457968706&sr=8-4&keywords=sponge+filter

I've just got a betta, a nerite, and 6 neon tetras, and a ton of plants.

as I understand it the nerite right now is probably unhappy with that low of a PH, and I'm worried about the PH dipping low enough to stop the beneficial bacteria from processing ammonia.

I'm running a HOB filter and also a small sponge filter like This so I think I have enough aeration?

This video? That's not really a sponge filter. It's the same principle, different implementation.

If you're going to go out and buy an air pump, go ahead and get a check valve + a sponge filter with it. It's much less trouble than building it yourself.

Here's the one I'm upgrading to.

I'd get as big as you can (easier to expand/ more carrying capacity) and sticking with cherries when you start. The cherries will breed and keep you happy and the CRS (Crysitals) are pretty sensitive. I'd wait until you establich your tank further before you get any CRS as they are 2x3 times the price of cherries.

My tanks just have black sand for the substrate and have beginner plants like amazon sword and stuff like that. A moss ball would help keep the little guys happy. The black sand also helps them get deeper colors of red.

For a 3-5 gallon I'd reccommend a filter like this and for a 10 gallon I'd recommend this filter. The difference is in the size and filtering capacity(notice the indents in the sponge filter, the smaller one has 7 and larger one has 9). The second one may be too big for a 3 gallon as it is quite larger than the other. If you really wanted, two small ones would work in a 10 gallon tank, but from experience, one large one would fit nicely in the short side of a 10 gallon.

sponge filters like this are great because you can clean half of it, reducing your risk for a mini-cycle after cleaning (because you clean one sponge every ~3 weeks for best results). It also eliminates all danger to your shrimplets as there are no moving parts for them to be pulverized with.

If you have any questions about more specifics I'll be more than happy to answer them!

Also, you'll need an air pump for that filter(s).