Advice On Filtration For 10 Gallon Betta Setup

Hello All,

I'm planning to upgrade my betta from his current 3.5 gallon setup to a 10 gallon planted tank. In his current tank I'm running this filter and it works wonderfully for what I have now:


Would this corner filter be too small to handle the bioload in a 10 gallon? I’m only going to have the one betta (and potentially one entire snail if algae becomes an issue), and I plan to plant fairly heavily. Should I get a larger sponge and cycle it with my current sponge still running?

I’m also considering adding a small HOB filter such as the AZOO 60 (with custom media), or a small canister like the zoo med nano 10 to supplement the sponge filter and add some mechanical filtration in the 10 gallon. Anyone have advice as to what filter might be good to pair with the sponge, or if it would even be necessary?

Thanks!

 

That sponge would do just fine in a ten gallon, especially since it’s just a betta (and potentially a snail) in there. Over-filtration is always better than under-, but I don’t think a suplimentary filter will be necessary. If you’d like to be able to add media to your filters though, go for it.

 

Personally, I'd go for the canister if you can. The sponge filter would be enough for a single betta, but I personally don't enjoy sponge filters in my Display.

I have the Azoo mignon (one step below the 60) and it's tiny. Barely big enough to keep a 2.5 gallon cycled.

You can start with the sponge, and then get the canister and add the cycled sponge into the canister to insta-cycle the filter.

 

Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad to know I won’t be under filtering with my current setup. I think I might initially keep my current sponge and see how it does. Then maybe save up for the canister. If the sponge does a good job I may just keep it, I don’t mind the aesthetic terribly and I like the amount of biological filtration provided

 

You could always, if you were worried "T" off your air line and add a second sponge filter