Reddit reviews Aqueon Quietflow 10 Filter
We found 1 Reddit comments about Aqueon Quietflow 10 Filter. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Increases oxygen levelsFour-stage filtrationFor 10 to 20 gallon aquariums.Size: 10-20 GallonReduces noise
FILTER
Nothing fancy. A basic "hang-over-back" filter is all you need. Make sure to get one rated for your size tank! If you get one that's too big, you'll create way too much flow in the tank and it will tire out the fishies. This one on Amazon is rated for a 10-gallon tank.
HEATER
Again, nothing fancy. You just need a basic heater for your size tank. Don't get an "adjustable" heater because those take time to calibrate. Just get a "pre-set" heater. Pre-set heaters always keep the tank at about 78-degrees, which is perfect for guppies. Again, don't get one that's too big or too small. Too big will heat the tank too quickly and too small means the heater will get over-worked and eventually wear out. This one on amazon is good for a 10-gal tank as well.
WATER CONDITIONER
Tap water often contains chlorine to keep bacteria from growing in the pipes and making people sick. Its a safe level for humans, but it kills anything that lives in water (e.g., fish and plants). Water conditioner contains chemicals that neutralize the chlorine in tap water, making it safe for fishies again. Just follow the instructions on the bottle. Its OK to add the conditioner straight to the tank itself. As long as you have a filter circulating the water, it'll quickly make the water safe for fish and plants again. This is the water conditioner I use in my tanks.
OTHER COMMENTS
Employees at these stores often give some really stupid advice for more complicated issues, like the best way to make your plants grow or how to breed fancy fish, but they usually do an OK job with recommending the most basic stuff like a heaters, filter, and water conditioner. Its really hard to fuck this up because all of these products say what size tank they're rated for right on the box. Just double-check to make sure you're buying a product made for your size tank.
Once you have these three things, just follow the instructions that came with each product. Its super straight-forward. When you finally have all of this set up, come back here and we can give you some more advice for the long-term care of your guppies.
EDIT: Just to add a few things. The most likely culprit at the moment is either the chlorine in the tap water or the water temperature. If you used tap water and you didn't treat it, the chlorine that's often in the water is probably burning the guppies gills and making it harder and harder for them to breathe.
If you did treat the water or if you're using filtered/well water, then the next most harmful condition is the cold temperature. Guppies are tropical fish and will die if left in cold water for too long. They can survive for a little while in cold water, but they'll eventually die if you don't get the water into the high-70s.
Finally, the least likely problem right now is the lack of a filter. Fish excrete their waste directly into the water and over the course of a few days the tank will gradually buildup a concentration of ammonia. This ammonia will poison the fishies when the concentration get's too high. Conveniently, there are bacteria all over the place that love to eat ammonia and turn it into a less toxic chemical called nitrate, which is very safe for fish even at high concentrations. The filter provides a medium for these bacteria to grow and constantly circulates the water through the bacteria colony so the bacteria can constantly turn ammonia into nitrate. Once the bacteria colony is established, they convert the ammonia into nitrate faster than the fish can excrete more ammonia, effectively keeping the concentration of ammonia at a constant zero. All you need to do to culture a colony of ammonia-eating bacteria is to set the filter up using the instructions that came with the filter. Nature will do the rest: The bacteria are everywhere, so once the filter is going those bacteria will move in to the filter and start growing all on their own. Another benefit of the filter is that it oxygenates the water column. This is important for tanks with lots of fish, but because you only have two guppies, lack of oxygen probably isn't an issue.