Filter for a pair in a 29

[captainandy]

I had to move a couple of 3 1/2 inch fish into a 29. Gone thru two cycles of trying to introduce them to my planted community tank (Rx'd each time with met and prazi; 6 weeks quarantine@, got them eating again) only to be brutalized by the other fish.

My plan is to grow them until they out grow the tank. Went hi-tech with filtration on my big tanks. My question is what is a good filter for these two? Want to keep it simple but effective.

[CanadianGuy]

If you want simple go with a sponge filter. Just keep up on the water changes and your stylin'.

[captainandy]

Thought about the sponge. But seems too simple to work. But I must admit that I have no experience with them. Thought they were more for breeding tanks.
How long before the sponge has enough bacteria to reduce NH4 and No3?

[Carol_Roberts]

Do you have cycled media in your current filter? If yes, move some to an aqua clear 200 for the 29 gallon and you will have an instantly cycled filter. Otherwise run the filter you choose on the community tank for 2 or 3 weeks to cycle it.

[captainandy]

Thanks Carol,

What kind of media do you put in your AC

[Carol_Roberts]

The aqua clear come with one internal sponge - I buy a 2nd internal sponge for twice the media.

[CanadianGuy]

Sponge filters can be for any type of tank you want. It's the same idea as running an AC with a sponge inside. The air flow in the sponge filter causes water to be pulled through the sponge, just like the pump in the AC pushes water through the sponge insert.

I find that I like sponge filters better in smaller tanks. The best part is if you already have an air pump you can split off a line from there and you don't have to find an outlet to plug in the AC. I'm always running out of outlets! I had to resort to adding a pony panel just for the fishroom.

As a bonus the sponge filters also give you much better surface aggitation for offgassing.