Too much current!

[kvetch]

Hello, hello!

Well, I'm now in possession of two axolotl babies (pinky-length) in a ten-gallon tank, which has a cooler and a 10-20 gallon filter attached.

I've only had them in since yesterday, but it's obvious that the current is too much for them on one half of the cage. The plants tremble a lot on that side, and the more active of the pair often floats around in circles on that side. Something has to be done before the current really starts to do damage, even though right now they're doing great on the non-current side.

It's a Whisper type filter, waterfall hang-on-the-side, 10-20 gallon filter. The water is filled up pretty high in my attempts to lessen current, but it hasn't worked much.

I'd like to know if anybody has any suggestions or knows a good way to help the situation. It's frustrating work, trying to raise the little critters when an inexpensible piece of equipment is endangering them.

 

[Kerry1968]

Hello there!

With a waterfall style filter the best thing to do is to try to 'dampen' the flow by placing something directly underneath the dropping water. Some large stones, a piece of bogwood or perhaps a large bunch of hardy aquatic plants. If you have none of those I would use a jug or terracotta plant pot so the water can drop into there and disperse more gently. Or even a tank divider close to the outlet. When I was worried about the water flow on one of my filters with axolotl larvae I tied a piece of sponge around the outlet, this did a great job of lessing the flow.
If there is no way of turning the water flow down and you still have too much movement in the water after trying any of the above, then it'll have to be a different filter I'm afraid, you don't want to stress out those babies!

 

[kvetch]

Thank you for the incredibly speedy response! Because of your suggestions, I'm on the way out to purchase some more plants and a piece of sponge, and if this doesn't work, I'm setting aside some cash for a 5-10 gallon filter. Hopefully one of these will work out.

Thank you again! I'm sure something will work, I'm really attached to these little guys already.

 

[supergrappler]

I have the same filter. I am running a 20-30 gallon Tetra Whisper in a 30 gallon aquarium. I am using a floating turtle island to diffuse the flow. Basically the island has suction cups on one side so you can attach it to the portion of the tank right under where the water falls. My axies love it. They are healthy, eat a lot, are super social and have no signs of stress related to too much current.

Good luck my friend.

 

[Darkmaverick]

That is a fantastic tip supergrappler. The use of a floating turtle island is a simple, effective and aesthetically pleasing method. I shall quote your tip in future posts! You have been rewarded with green points!

Cheers.

 

[supergrappler]

Ahhh my first green points! Thank you for that Darkmaverick . If you find any part of my posts useful please feel free to quote me. My axolotls started at 10cm, and after 3 months have reached 16cm. in length. Now that they have reached this size they kind of enjoy sitting in the current.

 

[kvetch]

Wow, thank you all for the help!

I used a combination of your ideas to achieve a really nice flow inside the tank. I took some pieces of filter sponge and jammed them into the output streams of both the filter and the cooler, and that lessened the output jet of the filter incredibly, while also doing another job of taking out ammonia and some other chemicals, according to the box.

The cooler wasn't so affected by the sponge, so I used the idea of the turtle island and stuck it directly under the output. It worked unbelievably well! It's also pleasing to the ear while it trickles around the edges of the island. It also works visually with some other items in the tank.

The flow problem is gone, thank to your suggestions. <3 I'm so happy I found this site. These guys would be doomed if I hadn't stumbled across it.

 

[blueberlin]

Ok kvetch, now you've done it. I'm intrigued and would love... to see a picture!

Photo-photo-photo, please?

-Eav

 

[kvetch]

Aw, thank you, Blueberlin! <333

Just for you, I'm going to take a bunch of photos of my tank! I'll get them up in the next day or two.

 

[headinthepark]

having the exact same problem. local herp retailer tried to use the argument that "our axolotls are fine! they've got loads of flowing flow"...i then pointed out their unhappy frills!

where can i purchase said floating turtle island?

any suggestions?

xxx

 

[big a little a]

As risk of sounding really dopey - what is a turtle island?!

Never heard of one, but keep seeing them mentioned in regards to water flow...I have a spray bar, so won't need one, but my curiosity has been awakened...

Zoe x

 

[Darkmaverick]

Turtle islands are those floating platforms you can put in your tank to allow turtles to bask out of the water. Some of them come with little suctions to attach them to the edge of a tank.

Cheers.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

This is such a good idea, I have suggested it to a number of folks since the thread started both on the forums and in the shop.

 

[supergrappler]

As risk of sounding really dopey - what is a turtle island?!

Never heard of one, but keep seeing them mentioned in regards to water flow...I have a spray bar, so won't need one, but my curiosity has been awakened...

Zoe x

This is a random photo that I found online of what a turtle island/turtle dock looks like.

Here is another type of turtle island. It is totally unrelated but bears mentioning. :ufo: