TOM Aquarium Mini Internal Filter 45gph adjustable flow

This filter is great.

Plastic is sturdy construction.

It is dead quiet. The first few days there was a slight rattle with the impeller but that went away and never came back. It is in my bedroom and it is so quiet that I can barely hear the minutest of hums in the dead quiet of the night. Like I have to concentrate to hear it. During the day I literally have to put my ear a few inches from the glass to hear it ticking over.

Adjustment of the water flow is easy and doesn't cause the unit to make more noise like the Hydor Ekip did. The flow control however is also not continuous, but rather in a 3 discrete levels.

I like the fact that it comes with 3 output attachments; Spray bar, top v-spout, and standard center pipe.

I will say that the cleaning of the filter requires a bit of delicate handy-work as the flow control tab (hard to explain but you will understand when you buy it) is delicately wrapped around the sponge. As long as you are careful you won't break anything.

The electrical cord is about 1.6 meters long.

The spraybar dampens the current nicely in a small tank. I have a 5.5g nano and it keeps the water moving but does not 'blow stuff around'. With the spraybar attached the unit is 6 3/4 inches wide and 6 1/4 inches tall.

The suction cups are very strong, in fact, maybe too strong, as I have to really pull them off hard to get them to cooperate.

It has a good quality sponge whose grain is not too fine or too thick. It takes a good couple weeks before I start to notice dirt in the sponge (which you can see because the filter case is clear), and my water stays very clear. When I squeeze out the sponge carefully (in water from the tank so as not to kill the bacteria) I can get it looking brand new again easily. Also, the current around the sponge intake is not too strong, I think baby shrimps would have no trouble steering clear of the being sucked up into the intake. Besides, the sponge grain is too fine to allow them in.

The carbon section of the filter is ridiculously small, maybe 7 cubic centimeters. Instead of bothering with carbon I just leave the original carbon in there as an extra biological filter medium.

This is a great mini filter. I would highly recommend it.t

Hands down this is the best filter for a small tank thus far. It comes with a foam and carbon cartridge which you can replace separately or all at the same time. I really like that you have the option of using the directional flow diffuser or the spray bar. On top of that, you can adjust the flow of the water on the cartridge. For those with a betta, I highly recommend using the spray bar with the flow turned all the way down. I was at first hesitant that the current would be too much but with this set up my betta swims happily and freely.

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I initially had a Tetra Whisper In-tank Filter 3i for my 2.5 gallon tank and it did absolutely nothing. It barely cleaned the tank and the bottom of the filter always had to be at least an inch away from the rocks. This got annoying every time I moved the plants around or when the rocks moved during water changes. Since I've added the TOM Aquarium Mini Internal Filter, I've kept the Tetra Whisper since it holds some of the good bacteria. I plan to retire the Tetra once the TOM has gathered enough good bacteria.

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My girlfriend and I picked up a betta around Christmas time which we promptly named Frank. Frank was a dull fish, he did not move around very much in his 3 x 3 cube. He kind of just floated in the same spot, occasionally attacking a passerby's finger. It was a mere few days before we became severely depressed by Frank and decided that he needed a life intervention to spruce up his funky mood. We traveled many moons through mist covered forests to the mystical shop of Walmart where we purchased a 1.5gal tank with a heating lamp. After the brutally quick transition from cup of water to gallon + paradise Frank was alive! He was happily swimming throughout his new home and flashing his brilliant colors for all to see!. The only problem? his water would become cloudy in two days...and I am not exaggerating. Whoever suggested that bettas do not need a large environment, heated water and a good filtration systems should be forced to live in a 4 ft x 4 ft unlit closet with no bathroom in a house in Alaska with no heat. seriously, you may be able to survive in this tiny filthy closet but would you ever be remotely happy? No, I think not, and neither was Frank in his tiny little cup of water.

So began the quest for a good filtration system. This led to many dead ends, and returned purchases. It turns out that Frank does not like moving water...at all. This little guy will literally attack moving water. The Walmart filters that said they would be good for "small tanks" blew him around like a fart caught in the wind. He would get so troubled by this that he began attacking the nozzle head. I was stuck without an idea left, I was sure Frank was doomed to a life of swimming in his own fecal matter and algae overgrowth. Until one day when the clouds parted and a ray of sunshine kissed my troubled mind.

The TOM Aquarium Mini Internal Filter popped up in my amazon search results. After a few days of waiting (filter arrived ahead of schedule, go amazon!) the filter was installed and churning out a gentle stream of water. Frank loves this filter. The sprayer bar is the best invention of the 21st century. The water it it cranks out it gentle enough that Frank swims by it regularly, I am actually beginning to think that he like the sensation. The filter is absolutely dead silent. I kid you not, no noise what so ever. We have had it on for about 1.5 weeks and the water is crystal clear. Just like other reviews have stated the suction cups are like a jacked up octopus tentacle, good luck trying to get these suckers off lol. The one trick is to slide the filter up and out of the tank...voila...easy removal. I would 100% buy this filter again, you should buy it too. It will totally work for you tiny tank. Our little Frank is happy and clean, which is really all that matters!

Stay classy amazon.

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I've had this in a 2.5 gallon betta tank for about a month and it's been great so far.

I encountered the same problem with the suction cups being too strong and solved it by taking off the two cups on the bottom of the media cartridge. Now the cartridge pops right out of the impeller assembly with no fuss.

The little cartridge of carbon can be pried open and new carbon put in but as the other reviewer said there's so little space it's not really worth it.

I also want to note that the amazon description states it's good for up to 10 gallons but the packaging and instruction manual say 5 gallons

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I just got it tonight so this is just off the last hour or so but I'm not to impressed right now. I am using this for a 1 gallon Betta tank and once again it seems just a little to strong a current even on the lowest setting. I had been going off other reviews that said it worked great for exactly such conditions. I will have to see though if things even out with time. I have another tank that I need to figure something out for still.

Update:

Ok I've now had this filter for a couple of weeks now and I do like it a lot actually I tried the other attachment head for it and that made a lot of difference in how strong of a current it puts out. I even bought a second one for my other Betta tank. Now just to figure out the replacement filter part. They do have them on amazon but not with prime shipping and the shipping costs more then the replacement. I'm thinking I may try and just replace the carbon and the sponge.