# 1.5 gallon tank and filtration/aeration, etc.



## Manda99 (Apr 30, 2008)

I got this little Tetra Wonders 1.5 gallon aquarium for my son's room:

http://www.tetra-fish.com/sites/tetrafish/catalog/productdetail.aspx?id=1276&cid=889

So far, it has some regular aquarium gravel, neon tetras, dwarf sagitarria, red ludwigia, water lettuce, and a "ornament" (as chosen by my son - it's his tank, after all). 

I've got a heater in it and it came with a filter. I'd been contemplating going without the filter since it fits inside the tank and takes away a lot of available space. Well, this weekend, one of the Tetras tried to do the Nemo thing and apparently swam up the filter turbing and into the filter where it then got caught on the filter media and died. Very tragic. 

I went ahead and pulled the filter out, but stuck an airstone on the end of the tubing and left that in there. It's clearly overbubbling for the little tank. Do I even need an airstone? I'm doing very regular small water changes because I'm not entirely convinced the tank is fully cycled (even though I started it from gravel and filter media from the other thank) and I just feel like a small tank probably needs me to keep on the water changes a little more and because I've heard that these Tetras can be sensitive.

I've got a desk lamp with a 10w compact flourescent bulb shining down on it and I give it a little Excel daily (although, I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly how to dose Excel in such a small tank). It's also got a LED light that it came with that I suspect does nothing (?).

So, long winded post to basically ask can this tank be okay with no filter or airstone and just regular water changes? Any other suggestions for the tank are appreciated.

(And, yes, I know some people aren't going to approve of these fish in this tank. My son wanted them and I was weak and the aquarium store guy talked me into it. The goal is a snail and shrimp tank. Snails are already there. Shrimp coming once I get it stable. And once those are in there and my son has something else to look at, I'll probably move the Tetras to my fairly-close-to-overstocked Biocube 14.)


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## aznkonner (Oct 18, 2007)

I think u gotta have a filter because it's such a small tank. i won't say anything about your choice in fish but because you have that much in there i suggest u get some sort of filtration other then just an air stone. if you're worried about tank space maybe you can try to find a nano HOB filter? those things are puny and i get mine for around 9 bucks. orrrrr....you can just make one urself. i think there was a nice little thread on a DIY canister filter. if it's too hard for u go with a pond filter. those are quite easy to make but the only only downside is u gotta have the filter at a higher level then the tank so gravity can pull the water down. personally i'd go online and try to find the smallest sponge filter i can find. i have a local store that has some really small ones...i think it's like 3-4 inches tall only and maybe like a 2 inch diameter. 

the LED light that you have is probably what the manufacturers consider a "moonlight" i personally like the moonlight idea becaues it's just really low lighting that lets u see ur fish just a little bit better at night.


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## Justbeginningfish (Mar 28, 2008)

If I were you I would think of maybe two male guppies instead of the neon tetras, or maybe a single betta, But I would even give a betta more room than that. 

I have the red sea nano filter on my 6 gallon right now and it moves quite a bit of water.


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## Manda99 (Apr 30, 2008)

So I guess if I need to keep the filter, the question is then how do I stop the filter from sucking up fish?


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## John7429 (Jan 11, 2008)

block the intake with something... ie sponge...


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## Justbeginningfish (Mar 28, 2008)

pantyhose?


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## alphacat (Apr 21, 2006)

Hose might work. I use filter floss - it only takes a little bit - and twist tie it over the intake. Make sure you check it regularly and change as needed.

That tank is definitely too small for neon tetras though. Even though they're small fish they're schoolers and like to be kept in groups of at least 6 - 8. I wouldn't even begin to think of keeping them in anything smaller than a ten gallon (and even that's too small, really). 

If you put a betta in, the filter won't be necessary. Almost any other kind of fish - barring goldfish - should have filtration. 

The goal of a snail and shrimp tank is probably one of the best things you could do with this setup; donate the neons to a better home asap!


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## Manda99 (Apr 30, 2008)

Okay, I will return the filter to the tank when I get home. I need to do a water change any way. I've got some filter floss, so I guess I'll try to MacGyver something with that (I'm soo not a do it yourself kinda person). 

Another question (I've got a lot - seriously, I feel so overwhelmed on this whole thing) about this tank. It's got a sorta bowed acrylic lid on it with about a 3/4 inch diameter hole right in the center. I guess to stick your thumb in when you lift it off or to drop food thru or something. I know Nerite snails can be escape artists. Would one crawl over the rim of the tank, onto the roof, across the lid upside down, and through that hole? 

I'm getting some shrimp shortly, so I may be able to replace the fish with shrimp. My other tank is a 14g biocube with a platy, 3 zebra danios, 4 harlequin rasboras, and a bristlenose catfish. Do I have room for the tetras? Which is better? Overstocked biocube or too small nano tank?

Thanks to everyone. Really.


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## if_fishes_were_wishes (Jul 29, 2007)

I have snails in an open-top Eclipse 3 gallon and none have ever climbed out.

I think the neons will be happier in your 14g biocube. Just do little routine water changes and feed sparingly and I bet your biocube will be just fine


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## Manda99 (Apr 30, 2008)

Okay, I put the filter back in last night with floss over the intake and did a fairly major water change. Of course, as I was putting the stupid thing back together, the checkvalve broke. :angryfire So I had to rig up a higher than water level platform using a Kleenex box, tape the air pump to the Kleenex box and tape the Kleenex box to the tank so it wouldn't move or fall over. *sigh*. I guess I'll be back to the store tonight.

Pretty sure it's cycled now though. Yeah.


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## nugzboltz (May 20, 2008)

I have an approx. 1 gal vase that has 3 RCS, cabomba, and anubias nana with no filter, heater (room temp of 65 F), or lighting (sunlight only). It's about 3 weeks old and has been doing fine so far.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I have one of the very same tanks. I bought it on a whim one day, thinking it wouldn't be a big pain. It's just a small tank. Nothing serious, right?

Wrong.

I now call that tank the death trap. It's too small for pretty much anything. Shrimp might work. The LED lights are not there as moonlighting. That IS the lighting for the tank. The filter it comes with is more of a joke than anything. It's noisy, only has the tiniest of cartridges, and doesn't create enough water movement to actually move any of the debris into it. However, it does add oxygen into the tank so at least that's good.

After spending more time and more money on that "tiny, inexpensive, not a big problem" tank, I decided to save my money, my time and my heartache by getting a 5g Eclipse style tank. Wow, what a difference!

I also don't recommend using it for a betta. Unfortunately, the sides of the tank are so reflective, the poor betta goes nuts all day long seeing its reflection. It's downright cruel.

I finally just gave up on using the tank for anything. I did use it for a couple of days for some guppy fry while I was working on a 2.5g pico planted tank for them. The advantage over a bucket with an airstone is that you can see through it better than you can a bucket.

Obviously, I am not a fan of my little tank! :icon_lol:

Consider getting a small 5 gallon tank for your son. He'll appreciate it more in the long run because he can actually enjoy the fish rather than watching them die, and you'll like it better because it would be much less work to maintain. A small 5g tank, a lid, desktop light (that you already have) and a little Red Sea Nano filter would work very well. Put some substrate in, add easy plants (java moss), a tiny piece of driftwood, maybe a rock or two, and you'll have a wonderful little setup. Add snails and Red Cherry Shrimp, and your son will go nuts enjoying the shrimp attacking the pellets when he feeds them and watching them breed.

Just be careful, though. I went from the 1.5g, to four 5g, to a 20g long, to a 29g and then a 75g. Amazing how the tanks grow as fast as the shrimp!


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