# to filter or not to filter



## Guest (Oct 19, 2005)

In planning my first vivarium, I've come to an apparent connundrum: to filter the water or not. Filtering (or changing out the water) should prevent the buildup of parasites harmful to the frogs. On the other hand, if the water from a false bottom was directly recirculated to a drip wall or misting, it would naturally fertilize the epiphytes. (I assume the ground plants would get plenty of nutrients directly from the frog poop.) Is there an answer here? Am I missing something?

--Wrenn


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2005)

*filter*

if you have the water being sucked through a filter then pumped onto your background make sure the filter doesnt contain activated carbon as this removes nutrients.


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2005)

Do you know exactly what those "parasites" are that supposedly build up in unfiltered water? I would do some research or ask around a bit more to make sure you're not making a decision based on mythinformation. IMO, even circulated and filtered water can contain parasites.


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## JoshKaptur (Feb 17, 2004)

Filtration unecessary, and most epiphytes dont want constantly wet roots. For me, filters = more maintenance, and I am all about reducing maintenance.


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2005)

Well, I'm making assumptions based on my public health background--if a person excretes parasites from their gut, then contintues to be exposed to what they excreted, they will pick up more and more parasite eggs until the load becomes more than their system can cope with. Does that not work the same way with amphibians?

Creating a clean water supply has done much more to extend average life span (in humans) than all the medicines and medical treatment put together.

--Wrenn


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2005)

Personally, Id recomend a filter. Even a very small one nearly buried out of the way. Not only does it filer out wastes, but it also keeps the water stirring a bit which stops it from becoming stagnant.
IMO this is worth the nutrient loss.


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## Blort (Feb 5, 2005)

It is worth having something to keep gunk from getting into the pump independent of the other concerns.


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## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

Filtering water has no impact on parasites. Filters are designed to culture "good" bacteria which de-ammoniate and denitrify the water. It can also provide a current to the water which will decrease stagnance and therefore keep certain bacteria from building up. Filters decrease bacteria, not parasites. They clean the water of particles visible to the naked eye and keep ammonia and nitrites from building up. Parasites would not be affected by traveling through a sponge. 

Other additives can also be placed in a filter such as ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, removers, or carbon, used to remove medications and nutrients. 

Whether or not to add a water feature depends on the setup of the water feature and vivarium. If the viv has a lot of water in it and contains a waterfall/pond, then perhaps you could add a filter, which would circulate the water up the waterfall and into the pond. But if it's just a small pond, then I wouldn't bother. Attaching a filter to a vivarium usually invovled drilling the tank and building the filter/pump into the setup.

Any nutrients/bacteria in the water would be taken up by the plants as they sank into the substrate. The substrate in a vivarium in this way becomes a natural filter, containing all the "good" bacteria just as a filter sponge would. PDF's don't usually spend much time in water features, and therefore probably don't poop into them much. So the poop buildup is mainly in the substrate and on plants (which will be eliminated by plant uptake), rather than in the water.

In conclusion, include a filter if you have a lot of water to circulate and are incorporating a waterfall/stream/larger pond into the vivarium. If you have just a minimal amount of water in the vivarium in terms of a water feature, I wouldn't bother. In terms of parasites, a filter will not change anything, it's best to have fecals done on your frogs and know if they have any parasites, so that you can treat them before putting them into the vivarium, so that you can be sure that no nasties will build up.

Good luck.

Luke


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2005)

i would go witha filter...the water might become nasty and dirty without one..


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## JoshKaptur (Feb 17, 2004)

Anecdotal as it is, I have several tanks with standing water that never become stagnant. I mist and the tanks regularly, and they have drains, so there may be enough turnover in my tanks to compensate. But I have no filtered frog tanks, and no stagnant water.


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## Guest (Oct 20, 2005)

Thanks, everyone, for all the info. Does it make sense to wrap the pump (one with or without a filter) with something like a piece of green scrubbie to keep particulates from clogging the mechanism?

--Wrenn


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## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

Yes, either make it easily accessable incase it clogs, or attach a prefilter. Particles from the substrate WILL clog the pump if the water is dirty and you do not have some sort of filter.

Luke


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## JoshKaptur (Feb 17, 2004)

Pre-filters will need periodic maintenance/cleaning, however. They clog too.


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2005)

as mentioned before, fiters wont remove parasites.

if you are still woried..... get a uv sterilizer. talk about some clear water afterwards.

a filter would help prevent clogged nozzles in a drip/mister set up.

id rather clean filter media than a bunch of hoses pipes tubing tips etc.


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2005)

I have a medium water feature, and no filter, but I do have a small pump burried in gravel that circulates the water, nothing too splashy, and this is enough to keep the water from stagnating.


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