mkay when i bought my tank it came with everything and the filter that came with it is a topfin 10... I am sitting here watching things in the water float right by it and unless its about an eighth inch away from the inlet it wont even suck up the stuff and my fish's poo it doesent matter how close it is to the filter it wont suck it in.... Is there such thing as too big of a filter for my 10 gallon tank? Was eyeballing the Marineland Penguin Bio-Wheel® Aquarium Power Filter 200... If anyone has any feedback on other filters that would be a better choice would love to hear it...

Thanks,
Jon :ph43r:

What animals do you have in the tank? I used a Penguin Mini on my 10 gallon tank when I had fish in it. You can put on a stronger filter but you have to be sure that the fish you have can handle the extra current.

my filter right now is a topfin 10... actually my friend upgraded so i put his other one on there also so now i have two.... The only reason why i was going to go big on the filter is I plan to upgrade the tank size and dont really want to have to buy another filter when that happens I dont have alot of money so try not to buy for what fits just for now.... Im very new to having fish but i really enjoy having them around and would enjoy having more than just a few.... Anyways about what kinda fish i have... one of each... blue gourami, adolfs catfish, and a coolie loach... I plan on buying another of each kind so there not alone in there.... Random thing as i sit here and watch the gourami.... Is there any reason why he/she would have problems with the filter inlets and the heater? Its almost like it does not even see them.... I dont see it doing it to anything else but it will be cruising against the back wall and smack right into it.... the other two dont do it.... and then last but not least... my tap water has ammonia in it about 1.0.... When the tank establishes itself will it take care of that ammonia on its own or should i buy a product to take it out(such as ammo-carb, ammo-lock, or ammo-chips) I dont like the idea of just putting those things in it if I dont have to... Anyways please tell me your thoughts on those if they are harmless then i wouldnt mind using one I just hate to put something in there that might just cause another problem.....

Thank you for your help,
Jon :ph43r:

You may be able to use the larger filter if you can block/reroute some of the output so it isn't as strong. By putting something in the path of the output, you can slow down the flow. Gouramis like slow moving water. The others can take more water flow. Blue gouramis may not get along with each other especially if you end up with two males. I'm not sure why the gourami would be surprised by the outflow of the filter if it's been there a while.

It would be best to treat the tap water with something like Ammo-Lock before you put it into the tank. The good bacteria can handle expected amounts of ammonia constantly outputed like from fish waste. They probably can't handle a lot of ammonia all at once like might occur with water changes. It's a shame your tap water has ammonia. Is it city water? Can you ask them about it? If they use chloramine, and you use a dechlorinator, that will release ammonia. You can use one of the water conditioners that says it treats for chloramine, and it should take care of the ammonia.

well got some ammo-lock today... going to try it out.... Yep my water is city water... And the water conditioner i was using was aquasafe by tetra.... says it takes care of chloramine... Also are Coolie Loach's nocturnal? Im afraid its sick its the only non active fish i have... So far for two days all i have seen is him burried under one of my plants.... Never seen him eat... Have TetraMin tropical flakes, aquarian shrimp pellets, and hikari algae wafers.... None were a big fan of the shrimp pellets.... The gourami likes about anything that will fit in its mouth.... The catfish loves the wafer... anything i should be feeding the loach or is he just eating while im sleeping? Is there any way to tell the difference between male and female gourami's? Prefer not to have fish that hate each other kinda was wanting some matching fish so who knows maybe they might have a lil friend in the tank since it doesent seem like any of the fish i have right now even pay attention to each other.... dont even know if fish think that way but i was just thinking i know if i was in a tank i would like someone else like me..... Just ignore my weird sensitive side if you want :)

Jon :ph43r:

Coolie loaches are nocturnal. They will hide during the day. They like small live foods. If you look them up on the internet, you can learn more.

Adult blue gouramis can be sexed because the males are larger and more intensely colored. The ones at the pet store will be hard to tell since they're usually young. Sometimes, they only sell males.