Breeding Tank Sponges

[slipshodman]

Hi All,

Just after some advice

I have set up 2 breeding tanks , a 6ft (300 ltr) and 4ft (200 ltr) , i am going to run them off sponges as from what i have read its more cost effective than a canister and creates a hive of food for little fry

So my question is i have found 2 types of XY-380 sponges , high flow and not high flow. (Will probably end up getting them from a sponsor but examples below)

I believe the sponge size is probably correct but which is better for breeding tanks, the tanks will have a very small layer of sand but no other filters etc

I was also going to run two of each in each tank so i can move one to a grow out tank as needed as it wall be already seeded to the fry current environment

If i have got it wrong totally also please let me know.

All advice is appreciated

Cheers

Oh and at this stage both thanks will be for Severums as i have two breeding pairs



https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/XY-380-...226471&hash=item2ef6c561df:g:LlEAAOSwODFaXrCg

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aquariu...951956&hash=item3609c3fc41:g:gWQAAOSwmfhX5L0h

 

[tlindsey]

Hi All,

Just after some advice

I have set up 2 breeding tanks , a 6ft (300 ltr) and 4ft (200 ltr) , i am going to run them off sponges as from what i have read its more cost effective than a canister and creates a hive of food for little fry

So my question is i have found 2 types of XY-380 sponges , high flow and not high flow. (Will probably end up getting them from a sponsor but examples below)

I believe the sponge size is probably correct but which is better for breeding tanks, the tanks will have a very small layer of sand but no other filters etc

I was also going to run two of each in each tank so i can move one to a grow out tank as needed as it wall be already seeded to the fry current environment

If i have got it wrong totally also please let me know.

All advice is appreciated

Cheers

Oh and at this stage both thanks will be for Severums as i have two breeding pairs



https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/XY-380-...226471&hash=item2ef6c561df:g:LlEAAOSwODFaXrCg

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aquariu...951956&hash=item3609c3fc41:g:gWQAAOSwmfhX5L0h

If the one sponge is rated for the aquarium size you should be fine but like with others filters a sponge filter rated for aquarium larger would even be better. Just don't let them get clogged up if you didn't know this already.

 

[pescado209]

personally I started switching all my breeder/small tanks to HMF using these.
running it already on my convict grow out tank and shrimp tank. will add into my planted and convict fry tank aswell this weekedn, all the above are 40g breeders . also will adding it in my 2 20g tanks

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01E...?ie=UTF8&qid=1523462914&sr=8-2&keywords=poret

so far I like HMF better thank those sponge filters you linked since you can even tell the HMF is there, you can hide the heater behind it aswell. don't have pictures at the moment but I can add some if your interested .

 

[slipshodman]

Hi pescado209

Thanks, I understand the HMF concept but pictures and some commentary of how you set it up, if air or pump and what rates etc

Thanks

 

[pescado209]

HMF are super basic. think of it as a sponge wall with some sort of lift tube moving water from the back side of the sponge to the other side of sponge where your fish are. all the good stuff gross on the sponge wall to process the bad stuff.

you can bearly see the sponge wall on the left side of my shrimp tank, I have the heater and a bag of media tucked behind the sponge .once the sponge has a colony on it I will remove the media bag.

 

[AKBlueJacks]

If you go to a straight sponge filter I have found that I like the kind that stick to the side of the tank with a suction cup better. You can put one on each end and move them to other tanks easily as well. I found that the ones like you have pictured are usually kind of wobbly and I am always worried that fry might get smashed under them when I am doing water changes and messing around in the tank.

 

[slipshodman]

HMF are super basic. think of it as a sponge wall with some sort of lift tube moving water from the back side of the sponge to the other side of sponge where your fish are. all the good stuff gross on the sponge wall to process the bad stuff.

you can bearly see the sponge wall on the left side of my shrimp tank, I have the heater and a bag of media tucked behind the sponge .once the sponge has a colony on it I will remove the media bag.

View attachment 1309404

Thanks

What flow rate do you go with ? ... i did some googling on HMF and there is a science behind the flow rates but i don't quite get it

 

[pescado209]

to tell you the truth I didn't put much thought into flow rate. I made my own lift tubes with curved conduit pvc piping. I have what I would call good flow with no real dead spots . if you want to get real technical buy kits from this dude I linked , everybody praises him as the go to guy for HMF and the "best " kits.

http://www.swisstropicals.com/filtration-shop/poret-foam-shop/

me, I'm a cheap ass and like to experiment with diy . plus getting kits for my 6 tanks would get pricey, so I'm making my own.. search on you tube and your find breeders that do the same thing. I just learned from them.

 

[AKBlueJacks]

One of the things that I have read about the flow rate that made sense to me was dwell time. It was referring to how quickly the water passes through any kind of sponge filter. It pointed out that if the water is passing through too rapidly, the beneficial bacteria that lives within the sponge doesn't have enough time to completely consume the ammonia and/or nitrites that are in the water before the water passes out of the filter. The opposite scenario is that water is not passing though the filter fast enough and the ammonia and nitrites are not being consumed as quickly as they are being produced.