# mertens water monitor filter



## jessjam (Jul 17, 2010)

Hey guys,

I'm interested in getting a Mertens water monitor but before I do I want to do some research into the enclosure set up. In particular, what type of filter should I use and approx how much will the filter cost? 

Thanks for your help!


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## Scleropages (Jul 17, 2010)

Any filter that can pick up all the waste and grow a good amount of nitrifying bactera will work./ most people would use an external canister filter and something internal to create some water movemeent.


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## bfg23 (Jul 17, 2010)

I used to have a canister filter for my croc tank, but i spent 250 and it was not good enough for the amount of water I had.
So I stopped using it and just got 2 internal filters, one at each end and they keep it much cleaner.

The canister filter did not create enough flow to be worthwhile in the setup.


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## jeremy_88 (Jul 17, 2010)

The more you can spend on a good cannister the better imo. You'll find the more expensive ones such as eheim (the best) make little to no noise aswell whereas cheaper versions can be very noisy. I'de also consider having a bear bottom with no substrate as it will be easier to keep clean, but its up to you.


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## BigRed (Jul 17, 2010)

hey jessjam, 
great choice on gettin a mertens they are awesome, 
I work in an aquarium so i've got lots of experience with water filters, i agree with what jeremy said about the eheim cannister filter, you won't get a better one. i wouldn't have a bare bottom tho, i'd use an undergravel filter with 2 internal powerheads running it. Undergravel filters keep the water crystal clear and they are not expensive. I've got a mertens and 2 long necked turtles in a 6 by 2 by 2 tank with an undergravel and a small internal and it's working really well. here's a few pics of my set up..


if you want any help or advice setting it up send me a message, good luck


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## Kristy86 (Jul 18, 2010)

hey i was thinking of getting some mertens as well, how long do you reckon a pair would last in a 6x2x2 tank? as i have a spare one here and would love to use it for them!


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## Guest (Jul 18, 2010)

I use a canister filter connected to an undergravel filter with large rocks covering the majority of the bottom so as the water can flow throught fairly freely and I dont get a large biuld up of waste on the bottom I do also use an aquaclear waterfall type filter along with it but I found using the canister filter in this way gave me better results than just hooking the intake onto the side of the tank


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## Klaery (Jul 18, 2010)

Sump out of the question? Gives you a larger (thus more stable) water volume. Also you can make it any size you want and it would have a much larger surface area for your bacteria. if you are pretty handy then you can make it yourself out of an old tank and drill your big tank yourself. All you need to buy is a pump. Would also have a much higher flow rate depending what pump you use. Also leaves your tank looking more natural as you don't have to have a canister filter sitting in there.


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## Kenshin (Jul 18, 2010)

with the waste involved you will definatly want to buy the biggest cannister filter you can aford (around 250 for a good one) or build a sump

danielk mate cannister filters are external cannisters that have an inflow and an outflow pipe thus they are easy to hide under the tank


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## Klaery (Jul 18, 2010)

Ah sorry was thinking you were talking about internal filters. Always used sumps past that point as those external ones (that I now know are called cannisters ) always seemed very expensive for what they were.


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## Kenshin (Jul 18, 2010)

danielk said:


> Ah sorry was thinking of those internal things. Always used sumps past that point.


 
yea sumps are hands down the best but next to them the cannisters are good i used to use them in messy cichlid tanks


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## BigRed (Jul 18, 2010)

Kristy86 said:


> hey i was thinking of getting some mertens as well, how long do you reckon a pair would last in a 6x2x2 tank? as i have a spare one here and would love to use it for them!


 
if you get them young (a few months old) they should be fine in there for 2-3 years without a problem.


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