# Aquaclear 50 on 10 gallon tank.



## brianbetta1 (Oct 29, 2016)

So I have attached a pic of my 10 gallon tank with my Aquaclear 50 on it. 

How this came to be is a long story but basically, I didn't know what I was doing when I bought the filter for the tank. By the time I realized it it was really kind of too late to take it back so I decided I was going to make it work.

I don't know how well you can see what I've done but I'll try to post more pics later. Basically I have almost no current in this tank but am still getting good filtration. It's not pretty but I think this idea could be streamlined to the point to where it's not as much of an eyesore.

When I was looking for ideas on how to make a filter baffle for a betta tank, it was really frustrating. There isn't a lot of info out there and most people just say to use a plastic water bottle. Which I didn't have much luck with on this particular filter. 

What I ended up doing was buying one of those soap holders they make for the shower with suction cups (don't worry. It was brand new and never used for soap). But if you look, you can see where I've made some modifications to it.

Brand new, all the holes were in the front and all that did was directed all the flow towards the front of the tank. So I took a hot glue gun and sealed up all the front holes. Then I drilled a bunch of new holes on the back and on the sides. There is a little bit of space in the back between the glass and the basket so the water can flow out. It's important that you drill enough holes low on the basket so no water builds up in there or the basket will be pretty heavy during water changes and will tend to want to slide.

Anyway, next I bought some of those nylon pot scrubbers from the dollar store. I originally put a whole bunch of them in there but it was just way too much work to clean the gunk out of all of them when they got gunked up. 3 Of them will work for what I've done. 

The final step is what really makes the whole thing work so well. Even with the flow redirected to the sides with the holes drilled there was still a lot of current and an AQ50 is a powerful filter. So I took a sheet of polyester foam and cut it to the size of the output. THEN I used a plastic bottle and made the creases in it so that I could attach the poly to it. From there, the poly runs down below the water level and the filter flows through the poly. There is almost no splashing now so the turbulence is way down.

All of these materials are safe as far as I know but again, it's not pretty. I don't mind that but it's obviously not for everyone. Only thing I'm not too sure about is the film that builds up on the surface of the water from lack of movement. I think that might get to be problematic after a while. On the bright side, the betta seems to be pretty happy. He can finally swim without fighting the filter and the water is very clear. 

Your thoughts?

(Also if I've done anything wrong like posting this in the wrong place please let me know)


----------



## brianbetta1 (Oct 29, 2016)

Oh BTW. That shower basket costs about $4 brand new (US). I think there is also a smaller version of the same basket. I wish I could have found a smaller one but I didn't know what I was doing and it was all trial and error.

Funny thing is the AQ 50 is so oversized for this tank that it actually heats the water to the perfect betta temp so I don't need a heater.


----------



## Falcon (Jan 9, 2008)

It looks like plastic in the run off from the filter into the basket. You're saying that's actually some kind of film on top?


----------



## brianbetta1 (Oct 29, 2016)

Falcon said:


> It looks like plastic in the run off from the filter into the basket. You're saying that's actually some kind of film on top?


 Oh no. That actually is a part of a plastic bottle that was cut and folded pretty much the way they usually show you to make a baffle with a plastic bottle. It's hard to explain how it fits there but basically that plastic piece is just there to make the polyester stay in place. It serves no real purpose other than that. I just didn't want to have to modify the actual filter housing.

The stuff that actually does the work is polyester quilt batting. The water just kind of flows down through it.

EDIT. Oh, wait. I think I see what you mean. When I said there is a film on the top I meant there is this kind of oily film that builds up on the top of the water in the tank. That usually doesn't happen when a filter is running because of the movement of the water. When the water doesn't move much it's kind of like A pond where you have that film that builds up on the surface.


----------



## Falcon (Jan 9, 2008)

So it is plastic? I was gonna say.


I get it, oil on top of water due to slow movement. 


I found a small store an hour and a half way that sells almond leaves. I'm thinking road trip Saturday morning


----------



## brianbetta1 (Oct 29, 2016)

Falcon said:


> So it is plastic? I was gonna say.


 Yes. 




> I get it, oil on top of water due to slow movement.


 OK. Sorry.


----------



## brianbetta1 (Oct 29, 2016)

Another thing I forgot to mention (just in case anyone else is inspired to do this kind of stuff for the first time).

When you drill holes in plastic like that you need to make sure you either drill clean holes in the first place (Which I wasn't able to do) or you go back with some really fine sandpaper and files and stuff and clean those holes up as best you can. As you probably know if you've ever kept a betta, if there is something for a betta to snag himself on ANYWHERE in a tank, he WILL find it.

It took me hours to clean up all those holes and rinse the entire basket clean. Every time I thought I had it I saw more burrs and jagged edges and so forth.

Another thing about having this contraption in my tank is that although it works out well for it's intended purpose, my betta is obsessed with the side of it where there's that little nook in betweem the intake of the filter and the side of the basket. If I look in the tank and I don't see him, odds are he's over there trying to push himself in there. He's over there right now, in fact.....just staring at it. You know that inquisitive stare that bettas do where it looks like they're contemplating the meaning of life? lol

Yeah. That one.


----------



## mndblwn (Apr 14, 2017)

That is a very crafty diy solution to solve for to much flow. I'm not sure if you are aware but aquaclear 20-70 all use the same motor so you can buy an impeller replacement for an aquaclear 20 and swap the impellers. This will also help reduce flow. They are around $7 on Amazon. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

