Sponge Filters

Sponge material is both an excellent mechanical AS WELL AS biological filter media!

Also, I don't think that faster flow rates in any filter promotes more ammonia/nitrite oxidation. If anything, faster flow rates reduce BB's efficiency as these pollutants fly on by.

I agree on both counts. I find it rather amusing that in another group for Flex owners everyone seems hell bent on cramming as much media as possible into the chambers and upping the flow rates. In my 15G I ditched the ceramic rings and swapped the pump (which was noisy) for a far lower capacity one. If anything that tank is overstocked and I never had filtration issues.

In my 55G I replaced the larger of my 2 canisters with a dual sponge filter. The smaller canister has an identical sponge filter as a pre-filter.

The only downside I see to air driven sponge filters is that although they are great bio-filters, they fall short on mechanical filtration...so detritus must removed manually.
Yes and no. The detritus does stick. I rise mine a couple of times a week because it only takes a few seconds to do. On the plus side the last time I opened the canister it was spotless inside.
 
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Ok, so I currently have a filter in both sides of a split 10G tank. Do you think I can get away with one sponge filter to filter both sides? Pic of one if the new sponge filters not yet hooked up yet and filters I currently have in use.
 
This has been interesting to me. My filter, an Aqua Clear Power filter, says to switch out charcoal pads each month, the sponge pad every 2 months and the biofilter every 3 months. It said never to switch out more than one filter at a time (kind of hard NOT to do it If your switching out a charcoal filter monthly). Frankly I was never that concerned about my sponge filter but was very concerned about dumping the biofilter in the trash. After listening to all this I'm starting to wonder if it's just a ploy to get you to replace filters all the time. So whose instructions should I follow? Aqua Clears or a group of experienced aquatic hobbyists (actually professionals in some cases)? I don't care about voiding the warranty - the filter works great but is a pain in the neck to keep level (they give you a little plastic part to stick in a hole behind the filter and it falls out constantly, if it didn't also adjust the flow I'd just superglue it on - I may yet).
 
It's just a ploy to sell you filter material... i run a thin sponge and a thicker sponge and a layer of floss on top in my aquaclear. I also lay the bag of ceramics on top. I rinse and squeeze out the sponges and ceramics every two weeks in tank water and replace the layer of floss at that time as it is pretty gunked up by then. You don't need the carbon unless you use it to remove meds. Works for me.
 
It’s a ploy. I bought extra everything when I bought my first Aqua Clear several years ago and I’ve never replaced any of it. I just clean in tank water and reuse. All the extras are still in their boxes.
 
I addressed the reason that I didn’t use a pre-filter sponge in my earlier post. Thank you though. I know it’s not fin rot but what other disorder have I possibly overlooked? I’m open to any ideas I haven’t already tried.
AH, you stated you had a Whisper HOB (all HOB's have inlet tubes), but I see from the pictures it's a Whisper Internal filter. Still, I don't see how that would affect fish fins.
 
This has been interesting to me. My filter, an Aqua Clear Power filter, says to switch out charcoal pads each month, the sponge pad every 2 months and the biofilter every 3 months. It said never to switch out more than one filter at a time (kind of hard NOT to do it If your switching out a charcoal filter monthly). Frankly I was never that concerned about my sponge filter but was very concerned about dumping the biofilter in the trash. After listening to all this I'm starting to wonder if it's just a ploy to get you to replace filters all the time. So whose instructions should I follow? Aqua Clears or a group of experienced aquatic hobbyists (actually professionals in some cases)? I don't care about voiding the warranty - the filter works great but is a pain in the neck to keep level (they give you a little plastic part to stick in a hole behind the filter and it falls out constantly, if it didn't also adjust the flow I'd just superglue it on - I may yet).

There are two aspects to this issue. First, on the carbon media. Carbon adsorbs (not absorbs, but adsorbs with the "d") substances from the water. As it does this, it becomes clogged to the point where it will no longer adsorb anything. Before or at that point, it must be replaced; there is no method to somehow "clean" carbon for re-use, once clogged it is clogged. The amount of substances the carbon removes determines its longevity. If left past this point, it no longer adsorbs but will obviously function solely as ordinary biological media as the bacteria will colonize the carbon just as any other media.

The biological media such as the sponge/foam material will collect bacteria and debris and must be rinsed regularly; this media does not need replacing until it no longer functions, i.e., it is literally falling apart. Water has to get through this media, not around it, and not be blocked. Rinsing such media during the weekly water change (with sponge filters, etc) is all you need. Some sponge breaks apart faster than other sponge. I have over the past decade noticed that my original Hagen Elite sponge filters began to lose shape and fall apart after a couple years, whereas the slightly larger sponge filters I ordered online (couldn't find the Elite anywhere) have lasted far longer, some five or six years now, and still are as good and solid as new.

Coming back to the carbon filtration on another aspect. Carbon filtration is chemical filtration, which applies to any filter media that somehow changes the chemistry/makeup of the water. Mechanical filtration merely removes suspended particulate matter to keep the water clear. Biological filtration involves the nitrifying bacteria and all filter media will function as biological filtration. The chemical is the third type, and one that is usually not necessary. Carbon removes organics which are primary plant nutrients, so in planted tanks you should not ever use carbon filtration because it is removing plant nutrients. In tanks with no live plants, carbon should not really be necessary but it can't hurt. Carbon can be useful to remove medications after a treatment, though water changes usually do this just as easily.
 
This has been interesting to me. My filter, an Aqua Clear Power filter, says to switch out charcoal pads each month, the sponge pad every 2 months and the biofilter every 3 months.
Conventional "filter" thinking is that mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration should be employed in every aquarium. Replacing medias is partly marketing because these medias are a cash cow for manufacturers. But some of it is real...Byron is correct in that carbon adsorbs impurities from the water and once it's 'loaded' it must be replaced. This is the case for all chemical filtration, although a few (Seachem Purigen, API Nitra Zorb) can be reclaimed. And as he pointed out, it's generally held that activated carbon is counter productive in a planted tank as is most chemical media. Some bio-medias like ceramics and lava rock (like Seachem's Matrix/De*Nitrate which is pumice stone [a type of lava rock]) have increased surface areas due to micro pores. In time though, these micro pores become clogged with detritus that simply won't wash away. There are ways to clean, but not for the faint of heart and not w/o some risk. While many hobbyists just run these medias w/o cleaning or replacing, they do become less effective.
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As I've stated many times, I just use bio-sponge material in my current 4 Aquaclear filters as I find that sponge material is not only a great mechanical filter but also an excellent platform for beneficial biology....and as mentioned, they clean easily and last for years!
 
I don’t use any carbon in any of mine. All I want to know is should I use one sponge filter or two? Thanks in advance.
AH, you stated you had a Whisper HOB (all HOB's have inlet tubes), but I see from the pictures it's a Whisper Internal filter. Still, I don't see how that would affect fish fins.
I have no idea why I said that, sorry. Most of mine are hob’s so just habit, I guess.
 
Yea, my tank is fairly small. Just a bit under 3 gallons. The filter I use can filter up to 25 gallons. So with that said, it looks quite bulky and clumsy in my tank. But the bubbles kinda help it with the elegance aspect. If you look at it in way that I always say: "Its truly better to put the fish's health in front of the tank's appearance. The fish is the living centerpiece in there, no matter if you care about the fish or not, if it isn't healthy, then you lose a living effect, and your tank will look ugly either way."
 
One sponge filter is fine for a Betta tank.

I use one triangle corner sponge filter in rearing tanks with 20 fish in and they get fed heaps so 1 is fine for your fish :)
 
So you feel that the divider won’t restrict the flow of clean water to the other side?
 
Why do people put power heads on sponge filters?
 

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