Possible with sand?

[Taratron]

So now I have a spare 10 gallon tank setup, lightly planted, with sand and some kuhli loaches (and possibly a banjo cat that I can't remember if I pulled out or not!

Was thinking of perhaps getting a trio of small hillstream loaches, but they obviously like strong currents and the like. Has anyone succussfully set up a mini-river tank (not a true river tank, more like powerheads with sponges on in the corners) with sand?

I've already burnt out several AquaClear filters via my substrate.

[jellyfish]

Hi
Yeah, I've burned out a few Aqua Clears when sand gets up the intake tube and into the impeller For a 10 gallon tank you might want to try a Duetto internal filter - the DJ100 model has a good flow for a small unit and the impeller is pretty well protected from debris. You should be able to order them online from Foster/Smith or That Fish Place if you can't find them in a LFS.
Jeri

[Deb]

That's a pretty good idea. I've got the Duetto 50 on my ten gallon (the products in this line have been repackaged, so checking the FosterSmith website is a good idea.)
Anyway, mine is the one rated for up to 10 gallons.
It works fine; you can adjust the waterflow, and the impeller is never dirty. I have black sand, three big pieces of wood and many plants.

The only thing that might be a pain, is the filter inserts get clogged quickly, and need to be rinsed often. On the other hand, I do this every two weeks and it works out fine.
Weekly would be better, but they are a lttle hard to get to.
(That's not my only maintenance, though. I siphon up the extra poop and change 10% of the water every other day.)
I use it mainly as a powerhead (I've removed the carbon insert) with mild bio-filtration benefits.

Deborah