Filter recommendation for 10 gallon tank?

[ashley]

I have a 10-gallon tank with one adolescent axolotl. I have been using an undergravel filter for just over 3 months, but lately the water has become murky with a yellowish-brown tint. I've tried more frequent water changes (2x/week) but no success. Can anyone suggest how to make the undergravel filter work better, or recommend a more effective filter for a 10-gallon tank?

Thanks for your help!

 

[maggie]

I have a ten gallon aquarium for my two four-month old axolotls and I have a corner filter. It works fine for me and it's hardly expensive. Because it uses an air stone there isn't as much water flow as there would be with an electrical filter that puts water back into the aquarium. The water level is also only about 65-75%. I am sure other people can give you their input too, I have never used an under-gravel filter.

 

[pollywog]

The efficiency of an undergravel filter depends on many things:
Depth of substrate,
Type of substrate (gravel or sand) and the size of the substrates particles,
Power of air-line / air-stone or power head for the uplift and how many uplift tubes are on the plate as 2 work better than 1,
Depth of water,
Also other factors to be taken into account are:
The Axolotls diet (certain foods foul the water quicker).
Do you have plants in the tank? If yes are they suitable for the lighting conditions as if not they can add to the waste as they degrade.
Do you remove uneaten food?
If you are finding that the undergravel filter is not coping with the amount of waste then perhaps supplementing it with a small submersible filter such as a Fluval 1 would be a good idea.