Eliminating the foam sponge in my ac110?

[Edwardo]

The foam insert clogs up fairly quickly and the whole basket, sponge and lid lift up on one side, its a pain in the butt.

Im thinking of taking out the foam sponge and just filling the entire filter box with bio max or ceramic noodles in a bag. Would it be ok to do this? thanks

 

[mudbuttjones]

The whole point of the sponge is to remove waste. If it clogs it's doing its job. Cleaning soiled ceramic rings is a pain in the butt from my experience.

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[Empyreal]

The foam insert clogs up fairly quickly and the whole basket, sponge and lid lift up on one side, its a pain in the butt.

Im thinking of taking out the foam sponge and just filling the entire filter box with bio max or ceramic noodles in a bag. Would it be ok to do this? thanks

Duck tape the lid down

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[xraycer]

If you do that, then you'll just be cleaning solid waste matter off the ceramic media.

As MBJ mentioned, your sponge is doing its job, but if its clogging up as quickly as you say, then you may need additional fliters. Maybe add an Emperor 400. It has the bio wheels for bio media, and the filter pads are super easy to replace/clean http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/aquarium-filters/emperor-400-power-filter.html

 

[Redearsunfish]

Just clean the sponges when they need to be cleaned.

I think a dual sponge AC 110 is the best.

 

[mudbuttjones]

Agreed. My solution for filters clogging with waste is always adding more filters, haha.

My fluval 406 used to clog nearly solid in a 3 month span. since adding a second 406 and 2 HOB filters to my 75g my canisters looked almost as clean as I had left it after 3 months without a cleaning.

The solution to pollution is dilution. Add more filters or clean the AC more often.

You don't need to drop $100 on another AC110. A cheap whisper, aqueon, Marineland HOB in their largest denomination will do the trick for helping polish the water. Usually those cost under $40

If you remove the sponge you'll just have tons of fine particles circulating in the tank.


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[nossalucard]

Cut the sponge in half (long ways) down the middle, making 2 thinner pieces. It makes it alot easier to take outside and get really clean with the water hose nozzle vs. whe it's one big block of sponge. Also, get an ATI PRE-filer sponge to put on the intake...http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=21426

 

[celebrist]

You could get a coarser foam block to put before it to catch larger waste

 

[nossalucard]

You could get a coarser foam block to put before it to catch larger waste

See above... "Prefilter for intake" Quicker and easier to maintain clean, especially during water changes whe water level is lower

 

[Botiadancer]

I always run double sponges on my aquaclears, that way you can clean the heck out of the old/dirty/first that water hits sponge each time you clean them.

And as mentioned in other posts...
Prefilters on the intake can help even more.

Some people cut the sponges in half lengthwise, still double sponge, making 4 pieces. This lets 3 of them get old with biofilm when you clean the old one.

And still other people use different porosities of foam. And cut them in half. And double the amount. Such a great filter that is easy to customize.