Sand in the filter (not reqd)

[millsn]

What approaches do [eople here take to avoid the filter pulling in sand? I've a fluval fx5 and it's pulling in sand although the strainer is as high as I can get it (about 5" above the sand).

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Diana]

Put a sponge over the intake.
Use the coarsest sponge you can find.

Put rocks near the intake, and keep the sand farther away.

[millsn]

Dumb question I know but is there any way to put sponge over the intake and yet avoid making it a "feature" of the tank?

[Diana]

Dark sponge.
Plants in front of it.
Smaller sponge (but then you have to clean it frequently) I have heard of people putting a piece of nylon stockling over the intake, but IMO it would plug op REALLY fast. The larger area and coarse holes of a good sponge will allow most of the drbris to go through the sponge, into the filter to get trapped. It will slow down the entry of sand. It will still need cleaning.

Seems odd to me that an intake 5" above the substrate is still picking up sand. Are the fish digging so vigorously they are throwing sand in that direction?

Hollow out the substrate there so the sand is farther from the intake. It won't stay hollowed out unless you put something else there to keep the sand out.

[millsn]

Yes the fish are digging there. They like to fight over food at that point in the tank. I'll move the sand I think.

[newshound]

I used to get sand in my fx5.
noisy!
I would raise the intake

[cloudhands]

Yes, diana is correct about the nylon stocking. They clog really fast.

We're using "Filtermax III" pre filters by ATI to good effect, but they are kind of ugly. A large piece of slate in the corner of the tank is the solution.

[millsn]

Could you expand on your "large piece of slate" please? Sounds intruiging

[cloudhands]

We're using rocks in our tanks which probably aren't technically slate. They're local "fieldstone," which in this case is a rock that tends to schist, like slate -- to come in flat pieces. If you prop a large one of these upright you can hide stuff behind it, and also give fish a hiding place. Small ones against each other or the side make nice caves. Medium ones can be propped up to make caves too. I thank my loachy wife for dragging these rocks in and washing them off.