Running A Tank With Sponge Filters

[australia]

I am running sponge filters on my 680litre tank, each the sponge filter filter`s around 480 litres of water (thats what it says on the box of them!) i am running 5 of them atm, Do i need more filters?

this tank is going to be a african breeding tank!

 

[Eclecticoldsod]

Why are you running sponge filters? I use them in my small shrimp tanks, so that the minute fry don't get sucked up into an internal filter.
I am no expert on African cichlids, but I think of them as being big, quite 'dirty' fish. In a tank of that size, I would have thought that an external filter, or several powerful internal ones would be the minimum you would need.

 

[shroob]

Sponges are often cheaper in big tanks, just using 1 big airpump to power lots of sponge filters, if they do the job I don't see a problem with them.

 

[Eclecticoldsod]

To be honest, I really don't see them doing the job, but like I say, I'm no expert on cichlids. I'm sure that a real expert will turn up soon and shoot me down in flames. Good luck with tank anyway...

 

[shroob]

If each one is rated at 480 litres, and he has 5 of them then they should more than do the job. The only let down of sponges is that they don't really do mechanical filtration (for larger bits eg. poo). But for biological they are good.

 

[Eclecticoldsod]

OK, Shroob, I'll bow to your greater experience. I did not wish to mention 'poo', but as you have brought the subject up, this is what I meant about not fully doing the job. My shrimps do not require much in the way of mechanical filtration, but I was guessing that it would be a much more major factor with the cichlid clan.
One other thing – that '480 litres rating' bothers me. Is that per hour, or per day/week? It seems like an awful lot for even one sponge filter/pump..! Of course, with sponge filters, it all depends on the power of the pump. Would running five sponges off one pump give you 5 times 480 litres per hour, or one fifth of 480 lph for each sponge?

 

[CFC]

I run all my tanks apart from my 900g and display tank in the house on air powered sponges, with a good sized air pump driving them they work as well biologically as any other type of filter, they just dont do mechanical very well.

I run a 6x2x2 with 2 sponge filters rated at 500 litres each and an air powered particulate waste filter with 3 chambers which are run of my fish house air system with a 70lpm compressor. They do the job adequately for the stock i have in the tank which is two bichirs, a jardini arowana, a Distichodus lussoso, a fire eel and a Hemibagrus punctatus, i just have to vacume up any large solids a couple of times a week.

I have a 66x30x24" which also has two of the 500L sponges but the particulate waste filter wasnt coping with the larger solids from the fish in this tank so i swapped it out for a single Eheim 2217 half filled with alfagrog and the rest stuffed with sponges to manage the mechanical filtration.

If the tank is going to be havily stocked then i would recomend running a canister filter along with sponges, you wont need all 5 of them so you could remove one or two.

 

[australia]

thanks alot everyone

 

[australia]

I will add a external canister filter for the poo ect....

what are my choices for a different type of air driven filters? any good websites that sell them?

 

[CFC]

The one i use is UK based so no use to you, just google for air powered filtration and you should find a local seller.

 

[australia]

okay, ill have a look....



cant find mutch there! anyone got any links?

 

[darknirvana217]

I'm no expert on African cichlids, but can the fry be trapped in the external filter? Sponge filters are usually best for fry tanks. I have used sponge filters on hospital tanks, and have never had a problem.