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Hello everybody. I am new to this site, a friend of Poison Waffle. I got a tank from my brother and have had it for awhile. Its now looking like its time for some new filters for my tank. I really don't know much about fish tanks. I have a regular old fish tank. Here are some pictures of the filters I have and maybe you can tell me what I need. I also started out with like 2 snails and now have like 50. How can i get rid of them?

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg87/abstract_poser/IMG_0450.jpg

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg87/abstract_poser/IMG_0455.jpg

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg87/abstract_poser/IMG_0452.jpg

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg87/abstract_poser/IMG_0451.jpg

Hi, and Welcome to Fish Profiles!

What you have is an "in canopy" filter that uses bio-wheel
technology. The paddles of the wheel house huge colonies
of bacteria that are beneficial and help with the Nitrogen
Cycle.

The blue filter sponge looks like it needs cleaning.
It's easy. When you drain off part of the tank water during
your weekly water change, drain it into a clean bucket.
Take the sponge out and repeatedly squeeze it out and
swirl it around in the bucket. When clean, simply put it
back into the filter where it came out of, and with the
blue side up.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Hi welcome! as to your snail problem the usual cause is over feeding. so just feed in more moderate amounts and the snail population should go down. if you want them gone all together i hear it can be quite a pain to get rid of them all. ive been lucky and have never had to find out how big a pain it is. im not sure what size tank that is but it doesent look to big. depending on the size you might be able to introduce a few small loachs. they eat snails. i dont know to much about loachs so i dont know which small ones to recommend sorry. another thing i have heard works would be to put a slice of food (cucumber zucchini etc) in the tank overnight. when you wake up there should be quite a few snails on it. you then just lift it out and throw them away. another possible way would be to just clean your entire tank. but that seems drastic to me. anyways just take out the plants and decorations and wash them very very thoroughly. you have to make sure there are no snails and or snail eggs. also you might want to clean out the gravel as well. i dont know if snails lay eggs in the gravel or not but it doesent hurt to be careful. again this would probably be a big pain. but it might be neccasary so....yeah. lol anyways best of luck! i hope you enjoy your tank!

The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we dont know what to do.

thanks for the advice guys. for the filter i just got a big sheet of the filter and am going to cut it to size and replace the filter i have now with it. i was told to stick it under the preexisting filter for about a week then i could remove the filter that is attached to a plastic deal. as far as the snail situtation i would like to get rid of them using some chemical or something. anything that i could just put in the tank and a few days later all the snails are dead. at this point the population is so much that i would rather not have any snails then have 50.

i also dont believe i am over feeding, i barely give my fish food. and i will try the advice about getting a bucket and swooshing it around in the bucket

Hi,
To kill of snails go to the LFS and pick up a medication
that is snail specific. The problem with doing a mass
kill is the potential for polluting the tank, badly.
Be sure to read the warnings on the box and follow the
procedure to the letter. Copper is the normal active
ingredient. Copper can also be harmful to fish and
plants. Additionally, copper can kill some fish.
Read the box.

Many snails are really quite a boon to maintaining a good
healthy tank. The MTS for instance will keep the substrate
loose and aerated. I'd not kill them.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--