~!~ Sponge Filter Help~!~

[v3n0m]

Hi guys, I have an old 20g long sitting around so I figured I would do something with it. What I've decided to do is use it for a Guppie breeder tank. From what I've read I believe I'm going to use a sponge filter in there, which brings me to my question... I know with other types of filters & setups the more filtration the better, so, do I need to buy a sponge rated for up to a 20g tank? Or one for lets say a 40 or 60? I know this is probably a really stupid question but I've never used sponge filters before so I'm somewhat of a noob lol. Thanks!

 

[Michiba54]

I use Hydro-Sponge 4 and 5's in all my tanks that have sponges reguardless of size. With my 10g being the exception.

 

[v3n0m]

what size air pumps are you using on them?

 

[uncwnells]

I got my spnge filter off of ebay some time ago, it worked great. I had it in a ten gallon but as cheap as it was you could buy two for what you will pay in the store.

Ill try to find a link for you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Aquarium-Fi...483?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa686846b

http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-Fish-T...106?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27b61273a2

 

[v3n0m]

wow thats really cheap. I think I'm going to go with the ATI Hydro Sponge 3 though. Have any idea what size air pump I should use, I have a couple of spair 60g air pumps laying around, will one of them do?

 

[Industrial]

I would go at least rated for 1 1/3rd the tank size. So at least an air pump rated up to 30 gallons. If you go higher though, you may be able to power two tanks with one air pump. Also, you can maximize the filtration and buy a little control valve to let it get as high as it can before the fish seem uncomfortable.

I also used to use hydor sponge filters until I got the idea to bury the cheap blue/yellow ones under the gravel so you can only see the uplift tube. IMO that looks much nicer than seeing a giant black barrel in the tank. But if you are doing sand or bare-bottom, the hydors look better.

 

[v3n0m]

Im only going to be using 1 tank, will the 60g pump be over-kill? If so, can it hurt anything? Seems like it would only help.

 

[RedDwarf]

The 60g pump will be fine, if the air flow is more than you would want just get an air valve so you can throttle back on the amount of air going to the filter.

 

[v3n0m]

Allrighty, Thanks for the help guys. As always, its much appreciated.

 

[aclockworkorange]

If you have any more questions I'd be happy to answer them for you as I use a lot of sponge filters, but I just want to say DON'T KEEP GUPPIES! God hates guppies. And platys.