8 Hydro Sponge V's only filtration for 360 gallon
- Thread starter inline4
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I'd add some large box filters (also driven by air) for mechanical filtration...but yes your plan could work. Another option is Poret foam...
I ran 2 - 55 Gallon, 1-65 Gal, 2-40 breeders, 1-75gal, and 1-56gal all on powerhead powered Hydrosponge filters (biggest ones with the open cell foam) on Air for about a year, then converted them to poweheads and could not BELIEVE the difference.
The amount of DIRT and BLACK WATER that came out of those things during cleaning in a month on a powerhead matched 3 months on Air (and I was running a Danner 100 diaphram POND air pump). Those sponges really do a great job when "turbo powered". You WILL be surprised if you've never used them with powerheads (I was using some old maxiflow 1200's I had laying around)
I've since shut 4 of those tanks down due to lack of time to care properly from them, but I would never hesitate to use Hydrosponges with a powerhead or even air again. There's a reason sponge filters are still regarded as highly cost efficient as well as a viable low tech/cost solution that WORKS, even with large cichlids (I keep Amphs/Flowerhorns/Brasiliensis). I also only feed every other day....
YMMV....
Awesome, thank you!!!! May I ask what power head you used? I am geniunly curious as I have never run a power head on a sponge filter. TIA!
It’ll work but will look horrible and cluttered in my opinion. Why not just setup one or both ends of the tank with a large Hamburg Matten Filter (HMF)...you can drive them with air or powerheads. You can run two powerhead a instead of 8...it’ll look nicer, be quieter than air, etc. Would look a lot nicer and will accomplish the same thing.
The (air powered) jet lifters that Swiss Tropicals sells are great. I use Poret on a couple of my big tanks. You actually don't want too much flow through Poret (it will clog and won't work as well). Add a couple of large box filters for mechanical (including one behind the Poret wall) and you'll reduce the amount of crud in the tank, especially with messy eaters.
I think it would work. I considered this idea in my head for a future 300g tank.
One good thing about the sump is that it adds water volume. I heard it makes drip systems easier yo setup. Ultimately, I'd like to have that on my future tank so I could automate some water changing, though I'd expect you to vacuum the tank still.
If you use those ATI sponges , I think you should stack two, or maybe three high powering some by powerheads. I got the stocking idea from here:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/SpongeFilter.html#sponge5pro
Though I bought my sponges from aquacave as they were the cheapest (plus they price match an give you an extra % back in addition to matching prices).
I run a regular Hydro V stacked on a hydro pro v powered by an Aquaclear 70 powerheads. I also run a hydro v pro run by an air pump in my 125g.
I don't need these as I'm running HOBs but I wanted to put the PH was current for my clown loaches and I wanted to have an airstone. I figured Id have backup filtration in case of a power failure.
The air stone sponge has a battery backup pump hooked up to it that automatically turns on if the power shuts off. If I'm home, I could hook up battery powered pumps to the PH driven sponge.
I clean my sponges almost every week. They draw up a lot of debris and these, along with my sponge intake filters means my HOB don't get as dirty.
If I eventually get a 300g or do big tank, I think I'd run a few of these as backups.
FYI, the pros are easier to bring out. The regular Hydro 5 is a pain to clean. Its pores are smaller so it captures a lot of detritus and is harder to clean.
This made me just think of how annoying it'll be to clean all those sponges.
Ive never had a sump but I've been reading into it and it seems like they are way easier to maintain.
Of course cost is another thing. Those sponges are gonna be way cheaper than buying a sump and the pump and media.
I wish I could trust myself to DIY a sump off a Craig's list tank but if I get a big tank I'll likely get a sump made. The commercial ones I've seen are 400-800$ for the sump itself. Granted those are expensive ones with room for refugium and protein skimmer. I haven't actually priced how much it would be to get a simple one for freshwater but for $119.50 you could have ten hydro pro v:
https://www.aquacave.com/hydro-sponge-5-pro-aquarium-filter.html
One good thing about the sump is that it adds water volume. I heard it makes drip systems easier yo setup. Ultimately, I'd like to have that on my future tank so I could automate some water changing, though I'd expect you to vacuum the tank still.
If you use those ATI sponges , I think you should stack two, or maybe three high powering some by powerheads. I got the stocking idea from here:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/SpongeFilter.html#sponge5pro
Though I bought my sponges from aquacave as they were the cheapest (plus they price match an give you an extra % back in addition to matching prices).
I run a regular Hydro V stacked on a hydro pro v powered by an Aquaclear 70 powerheads. I also run a hydro v pro run by an air pump in my 125g.
I don't need these as I'm running HOBs but I wanted to put the PH was current for my clown loaches and I wanted to have an airstone. I figured Id have backup filtration in case of a power failure.
The air stone sponge has a battery backup pump hooked up to it that automatically turns on if the power shuts off. If I'm home, I could hook up battery powered pumps to the PH driven sponge.
I clean my sponges almost every week. They draw up a lot of debris and these, along with my sponge intake filters means my HOB don't get as dirty.
If I eventually get a 300g or do big tank, I think I'd run a few of these as backups.
FYI, the pros are easier to bring out. The regular Hydro 5 is a pain to clean. Its pores are smaller so it captures a lot of detritus and is harder to clean.
This made me just think of how annoying it'll be to clean all those sponges.
Ive never had a sump but I've been reading into it and it seems like they are way easier to maintain.
Of course cost is another thing. Those sponges are gonna be way cheaper than buying a sump and the pump and media.
I wish I could trust myself to DIY a sump off a Craig's list tank but if I get a big tank I'll likely get a sump made. The commercial ones I've seen are 400-800$ for the sump itself. Granted those are expensive ones with room for refugium and protein skimmer. I haven't actually priced how much it would be to get a simple one for freshwater but for $119.50 you could have ten hydro pro v:
https://www.aquacave.com/hydro-sponge-5-pro-aquarium-filter.html
They cost a bit more but course Poret works so much better than traditional foam sponges. I've switched out most of mine...
