I was starting to see the need for a filter on my 2 gallon pico planted tank, because I want to add more shrimp &/or maybe a couple of fish to make the tank more interesting. I was hoping to keep this tank without equipment showing, but I find tanks more interesting with livestock, so I will have to accept the need for a filter.
I had thought about a nano H.O.B. filter or an air powered sponge filter, but neither really appealed to me. Then I remembered I had an
Aqua Lift pump which I thought I could adapt to use with a sponge filter. When I was digging around looking for the Aqua Lift pump in my spare parts box I found an auto water changer I used previously on my African Cichlid tank and it looked like it might work well with the Aqua Lift pump. I drilled out the auto water changer a bit to increase water flow & hooked it up to the Aqua Lift pump with a small sponge filter on the uptake of the auto water changer. It turned out to work perfect for a nice low flow nano sized filter. The pump is very quiet and the water flow helped clear most of the surface scum that was starting to build up. It also adds a surface ripple which causes the LED light to do a bit of a shimmer effect.
-Rick