The Woefully Underappreciated Sponge Filter

[Jer]

Well, after reading this whole thread I'm sold! I have a new 80gal going up soon and was researching my filtration needs when someone pointed me this direction. I never thought that a simple sponge could be such a powerful filtration tool. It honestly sounds from my reading that two of these bad boys w/powerheads on them will MORE than handle all of my filtration needs for an overstocked 80gal aquarium. I love the benefits discussed here and I've been wanting to find ways to lower my noise and power consumption levels. This seems like the perfect answer really. Not sure why everyone doesn't do this. Are there downsides? I've seen these and thought 1) they looked ugly and 2) didn't think they could possible flow that much water. Now that I'm reading this I'm finding that it's not too hard to hide them if you want and they actually flow a LOT more than I had figured previously. One question is will a powerhead flow too much? In other words can you pull the particulate right through the foam and blast it back into the aquarium or does this matter? I'm just envisioning tons of flow from the powerheads if a small airstone can pull sufficient flow and don't want to overdo it if it's possible.

Random idea here, but I'm thinking now about putting a smaller sponge filter in my sump. Anyone else ever try this? You could get all the benefits of a sponge filter without the downside of having an unsightly sponge filter in the display. You could probably theoretically remove a wetdry chamber on the sump, and fill that space with sponge filters run off a single large air pump. As long as your sump doesn't have downwards water flow in the chamber you put the sponge in. In that case, you would probably have to use a small powerhead.

The only downside I can see from doing it this way is that they won't be in the tank. This means you lose the benefit of them being in the tank itself should you lose power. This was another selling point and I rarely if ever lose power but the thought that I can hit the tank itself with some sort of circulation via battery power and all of my filters will remain cycled.

 

[aclockworkorange]

IMO there are no downsides to having a sponge filter in your tank. Hydor recently began making a "reticulated" sponge filter that is made from a different material designed to handle high flow rates for use with a powerhead. IME normal sponges will clog quickly when hooked up to a lot of flow. I think they are called the "pro" series.
The only "downside" to running JUST sponge filters in a fully stocked tank with a high flow rate would be that they would get dirty pretty quick. Like I've stated earlier in this thread I think their strength really lies in complimenting additional filtration so you get the best of both worlds. That being said, if you don't overstock or don't mind cleaning the sponges weekly, I believe 100% sponges are entirely capable of handling all your filtration needs.

Well, after reading this whole thread I'm sold! I have a new 80gal going up soon and was researching my filtration needs when someone pointed me this direction. I never thought that a simple sponge could be such a powerful filtration tool. It honestly sounds from my reading that two of these bad boys w/powerheads on them will MORE than handle all of my filtration needs for an overstocked 80gal aquarium. I love the benefits discussed here and I've been wanting to find ways to lower my noise and power consumption levels. This seems like the perfect answer really. Not sure why everyone doesn't do this. Are there downsides? I've seen these and thought 1) they looked ugly and 2) didn't think they could possible flow that much water. Now that I'm reading this I'm finding that it's not too hard to hide them if you want and they actually flow a LOT more than I had figured previously. One question is will a powerhead flow too much? In other words can you pull the particulate right through the foam and blast it back into the aquarium or does this matter? I'm just envisioning tons of flow from the powerheads if a small airstone can pull sufficient flow and don't want to overdo it if it's possible.



The only downside I can see from doing it this way is that they won't be in the tank. This means you lose the benefit of them being in the tank itself should you lose power. This was another selling point and I rarely if ever lose power but the thought that I can hit the tank itself with some sort of circulation via battery power and all of my filters will remain cycled.

 

[Jer]

Can you describe cleaning a little more? I'm a bit confused by this because I read you take the sponge out and 'squeeze it in aquarium water' but what does that mean? I have a single aquarium so do I just take it in my hand and squeeze it in the tank? To me that seems like you're just squeezing everything back into the tank but maybe the bulk of it is broken down already?? It also doesn't make sense that you would squeeze it into a sink/toilet because you would loose all or at least some of your beneficial bacteria. I know this seems like a foolish question to those in the know on these sponge filters but to me it's a mystery. lol

It also sounds like Power Heads may not be ideal for this and I should just source some cheap-o pumps and possibly some battery backup pumps for a power-failure-proof solution. This is unfortunate because while pumps are cheaper than power heads I already have the power heads. I know it's not a big deal but would be nice and I like the amount these guys flow and how much air you can pump into the water using the aeration hoses.

 

[aclockworkorange]

If you want to use powerheads, just get the high flow Hydor sponges. I used a powerhead (aquaclear 70) on a regular hydor and it kind of imploded/collapsed after a few weeks from all the pressure.

To clean, you can just siphon some tank water in a 5 gallon bucket during a water change, and shake and squeeze the sponge in it. If you're running only sponges, you'll want to run at least two, and only clean one of the sponges at a time, waiting a week or two in between cleanings (since these would be your only bio filters).

 

[Jer]

If you want to use powerheads, just get the high flow Hydor sponges. I used a powerhead (aquaclear 70) on a regular hydor and it kind of imploded/collapsed after a few weeks from all the pressure.

I will see what I can find. I just called my LFS and they have some in-stock but he said they're not by ATI. Said they're about the same thing for $7ea. He didn't know if they were more rigid for the power heads or the less rigid ones for the air pumps (king of like the 1-5 numbering on the ATI ones) so I may have to buy a couple to try them out. I'm worried about it collapsing on itself because my current power heads are Aqua-tech ones from Walmart. I have two 402's but one recently gave up the ghost after about 20yrs of use so I decided to try these from Walmart and they seem pretty decent. Even have some nice upgrades over the Power Heads I had. The one downside is I don't see a way to decrease the power like on the power heads so I may be more apt to try to find the #5 ATI sponges since I think those are more made for the power heads.

To clean, you can just siphon some tank water in a 5 gallon bucket during a water change, and shake and squeeze the sponge in it. If you're running only sponges, you'll want to run at least two, and only clean one of the sponges at a time, waiting a week or two in between cleanings (since these would be your only bio filters).

Ah, that makes more sense. I assume this is primarily to keep from killing off the good bacteria by using tap water to rinse them since the chlorine would indeed do this? Funny that you mention running two and alternate cleaning of them because that's the conclusion I had arrived at as it seemed like a good idea. In fact, I'm going to throw a couple in my tank now (in place of my under gravel filter riser tubes) and am curious how long it will take to populate the new sponges w/enough bacteria to take care of the new tank when I move everything over. Couple weeks be enough you think?

 

[aclockworkorange]

Yeah, really too many factors on a biological level to say, but I'd say a month would do it.

This site should have everything you could ever want sponge filter wise:
http://www.jehmco.com/html/hydro-sponge_filters.html

They even sell connectors so you can stack sponges like pancakes, and powerhead specific attachments. Make sure you buy the PRO sponges if you're using a powerhead!

 

[Morledzep]

Can you describe cleaning a little more? I'm a bit confused by this because I read you take the sponge out and 'squeeze it in aquarium water' but what does that mean?

It also sounds like Power Heads may not be ideal for this and I should just source some cheap-o pumps and possibly some battery backup pumps for a power-failure-proof solution.

even with excellent filtration you still need to do water changes. when you do your regular water change, you put some of the water coming out of the tank in a clean 5 gallon bucket and squeeze the sponge out in there. you don't have to do it every time you do a water change.. if you have more than one sponge you can alternate water changes if you're worried about losing your BB. then you take the fish poo in the 5 gal bucket to your garden and water your veggies.

power heads are wonderful on sponge filters.. but i do use the "pro" series sponges that clockwork was talking about. they are only $2 more than the regular ATI hydro V sponges. worth every penny to me.

 

[Oscarum monstruoso]

Would you place a sponge filter near the intake or outflow of other filters, or away from them? I would think that near the outflow would be best because that would reduce the mechanical filtration o the sponge.

 

[Morledzep]

Would you place a sponge filter near the intake or outflow of other filters, or away from them? I would think that near the outflow would be best because that would reduce the mechanical filtration o the sponge.

i try to keep them away from the intake because most of my sponges run on air. and air in a canister intake is a bad thing. other than that there are no rules about where to put a sponge.

 

[Jer]

Yeah, really too many factors on a biological level to say, but I'd say a month would do it.

This site should have everything you could ever want sponge filter wise:
http://www.jehmco.com/html/hydro-sponge_filters.html

They even sell connectors so you can stack sponges like pancakes, and powerhead specific attachments. Make sure you buy the PRO sponges if you're using a powerhead!

Cool, thanks for the info. I'm hooked on sponges now after reading up on them more.

even with excellent filtration you still need to do water changes. when you do your regular water change, you put some of the water coming out of the tank in a clean 5 gallon bucket and squeeze the sponge out in there. you don't have to do it every time you do a water change.. if you have more than one sponge you can alternate water changes if you're worried about losing your BB. then you take the fish poo in the 5 gal bucket to your garden and water your veggies.

power heads are wonderful on sponge filters.. but i do use the "pro" series sponges that clockwork was talking about. they are only $2 more than the regular ATI hydro V sponges. worth every penny to me.

Oh yeah, I still plan to keep up on my water changes. It used to be something I dreaded but has become almost therapeutic... old age?

We don't have a garden but we do have trees and plants and they always get my fish water in the summer months. In our other house that is also in a new built neighborhood where the builder planted the same tree in everyone's front yard our tree is over 2x larger in a neighborhood that is only about 5yrs old and has been 2x larger since year two so neighbors always ask what my secret is and I tell them it's fish poo. lol

I don't mind the extra couple bucks for a PRO sponge but my only concern is trying to source one locally. My new tank will be in my possession this weekend and I will get everything ready next week. The hold up for moving everything over is going to be establishing the new sponges since those will be what moves my BB over as I will have it closer to the wall than this one so my HOB won't fit. It's not a cost issue it a time issue becuase if I order parts it will be a week or so before I receive them so that will be an extra week or so before I can move everything over to my new tank. Not the end of the world but I know I will be antsy once I have it. I will do a few more vacuums since it tends to stir up lots of BB which will then be picked up sponges. I'm sure that will help.