Sponge filter vs Power filter

[tlindsey]

@RD. was absolutely right when he stated that didn't matter how high the intake of a HOB filter was sand will still find away into the filter and impeller housing. In my case a African Peacock Cichlid was the culprit. Trying to decide on wether or not to go with a sponge filter. I don't want to run a sump or canister filter on the 55 gallon. So stumbled across this video for anyone interested its a bit long but worth watching. If this guys store was in my area I would probably be a loyal customer from something he stated in the video.

 

[islandguy11]

@RD. was absolutely right when he stated that didn't matter how high the intake of a HOB filter was sand will still find away into the filter and impeller housing. In my case a African Peacock Cichlid was the culprit. Trying to decide on wether or not to go with a sponge filter. I don't want to run a sump or canister filter on the 55 gallon. So stumbled across this video for anyone interested its a bit long but worth watching. If this guys store was in my area I would probably be a loyal customer from something he stated in the video.

It was a big sponge filter that helped ensure my Blue Base Arowana had a pretty instant cycling when moved to old tank during recent new tank disaster; I wouldn't run a tank without one as back-up (for power outages too). That said it would never be my sole filtration on a tank unless I had a super lot of tanks or was running an LFS. Also I use SF's more for bio filtration, not mechanical, so I keep a shorter tube on them to reduce flow a bit, as SF's just look nasty if used for mechanical filtration and not kept clean.

That said if you need more water flow a sponge filter connected to a powerhead works well. I also sometimes use these instead of sponge filters:



Instead of a sump or canister, in addition to the sponge filter you might consider a trickle/shower filter.