Heaters, and Filters, Help?

Question

I just got a new 10 gallon tank and need a heater and filter for it. All I have in it is a Single male Betta (Living large huh?) and snails.

Just need to know the wattage and what kind of filter you guys recommend. Also ideal temperature for the Bettas? Will the temperature effect the snails?

European Ramshorn Snails

Answer 1

I would suggest a 50 watt heater for a 10 gallon tank unless your house gets very cool in the winter and in that case a 75 will do just fine. A good range of temperature for both bettas and snails would be i the 75-85 range, but can take a wide range of temperatures with no problem at all, but if you made me pick a temperature, I would say about 78F.

As for filters, you need to look around at what brands are commonly available so that replacement cartridges and parts will be easy to get when you need them. Also, it should be one that you think looks easy to clean and maintain. If it's hard, you won't do it as often as you should. That's true for anybody. Personally, I like Whispers because they fit that in my area.

Substrate, I like darker colored gravels. Dark brown in my personal choice. To me it looks natural and in addition, fish generally do better over a dark substrate.

As for as decor for the tank, keep to live or silk plants and only decor the fish can't get stuck in trying to swim through it. As far as live plants are concerned, without getting special lighting and stuff, Java Moss, Java Ferns and Anubias are great choices for your tank.

Hope that helps

MM

Answer 2

You should use a 50 watt heater and the filter I use is Whisper. The ideal Temp. for a Betta is usually 80 degrees Fahrenheit especially for breeding, but anywhere from 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit will do good. Depends on the snail? Some snails are effected more than others. The ramshorn snails like the same temp. as the Betta 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Answer 3

Heater - You want to get one rated for 5 watts per gallon in most cases, so for a 10 gallon tank, that would be a 50W. If you need to raise the water temperature more than 10 degrees abobe the room temperature, go up one in size (that would be a 75W for your tank).

Filter - As long as you aren't overstocking or keeping anything extremely sensitive, an AquaClear is good - it's not one of the most expensive models, but the foam insert has plenty of surface area for bacteria to colonize. You want one rated (in gallons per hour) to turn over 5-10 times the tank volume. Since you're keeping a betta, you might want to go with the lower end of this range, or at least plan to decrease the flow rate so you don't create so much current that you make swimming difficult for them.

For a betta, the ideal temperature would be anywhere in the range 76-86o. Most snails will do well at tropical fish temperatures (76-80o), but the apple snail's life span will be shortened somewhat. Apples can live for 10 years at room temperatures (65-70o), but only 2-3 at tropical temperatures. They will still breed at this temperature, so they'll repopulate.

Answer 4

The wattage of the filter should be 50 watts, or 5 watts per gallon.

Any type of filter will work for your tank, but probably not a sponge filter. A canister filter would probably be too big and/or expensive for your tank, so you probably don't want to get that. Power filter are cheaper and easier to maintain. I'd recommend AquaClears or Penguins. Internal filters can take away the beauty of the inside of your tank, but you can get it if you want to.

I'd say 75-77 Fahrenheit is a good temperature for a betta and snails.

~ZTM

Answer 5

For 1 betta in a 10 gallon tank a whisper 10 is plenty. They sell for $17 at Petco, you can probably find them cheaper elsewhere. I have a betta and about 8 other fish in my 10 (I know, its overstocked), and my whisper 10 is keeping up fine with the filtration.

Answer 6

You could do well with a whisper 20. Go to Walmart, they are around 20-30 dollars. Believe me, its worth every penny! Heater wise, I would go with a 25-50 watt submersible, also found at walmart. It may sound like I advocate Walmart, but believe you me, I only like thier equiptment, never thier fish lol....The snails shouldnt have any adverse effects to the temperature, so keep it around 78-80 degrees. From my experience, my fish have done better at 80 than 78, more lively and much more voracious eaters....

Answer 7

thats ideal if you only want that one fish in the tank you can get the smallest and cheepest 10 gallon filter they sell but i would get a 10 gallon heater but don get the cheepest one that dosent mean get a 234 gallon 1 but dont get a shotty one they crack so get a stirty one, walmart has nice ones! also get a gravel vaccume its a good 6-7 dollar investment youll be glad you did