Sponge Filter

[Joinerlavin]

Hi all, So I recently got a sponge filter off ebay for about £5 and it came today, I was thinking that If I set this up in my main tank and buy a small 5 gallon tank then I can put my pregnant guppy in there when she is ready for dropping.

How do I set the filter up?
Where can I get new foam and how often change it?
and how does it work really?

this is my filter

thanks ppl

 

[raptorrex]

Hi all, So I recently got a sponge filter off ebay for about £5 and it came today, I was thinking that If I set this up in my main tank and buy a small 5 gallon tank then I can put my pregnant guppy in there when she is ready for dropping.

How do I set the filter up?
Where can I get new foam and how often change it?
and how does it work really?

this is my filter

thanks ppl

you will need to cycle the tank. the sponges are a BIO mass for the bacteria. changing it? not until it falls apart. the sponges should be rinsed in old tank water, whenever the flow drops too much. depending on feeding, you may also need to add a small mechanical filter too.
so, fully cycle it. clean (after cycle) when the flow drops.

 

[Joinerlavin]

my tank is fully cycled, been set up for a year. just adding the sponge filter extra

 

[raptorrex]

my tank is fully cycled, been set up for a year. just adding the sponge filter extra

yeah, that's the current filter. if you add this, it will need to Cycle. its not the tank/water, that is cycled, just the filter.
you could try to "seed" it, but you will get a Mini cycle at least. if you are looking to "just" add it. go for it. and clean it when it slows. don't remove your current filter though.

 

[loachman]

For that one, it looks like the airline goes in the side of the center tube (near the clear part). Stick it to the side of the tank so the bubble flow up and out the top of the center tube (rotate it 90 degrees counterclockwise relative to what is shown in the picture).

In a sponge filter, the bubbles travel upward and produce a gentle flow of water with them that goes in the same direction. This causes water to be drawn in through the sponges (it can't come from anywhere else) where it is mechanically filtered and the bacteria can work on whatever "food" is in there.

 

[Joinerlavin]

yea I know the filter needs to cycle and grow the bacteria on this, so do i just put it in the tank with my internal filter and leave it for a few weeks. thanks

 

[raptorrex]

yea I know the filter needs to cycle and grow the bacteria on this, so do i just put it in the tank with my internal filter and leave it for a few weeks. thanks

hard one this. if you have another filter in the tank, it will take some of the food the sponge needs, to build a colony. i would think it will take longer than a few weeks. you will need to, slowly, remove the Bio media from the first filter, as the weeks go buy.

 

[Joinerlavin]

yes but I dont want to remove the main filter in the tank, I want to run them both in the tank and take the sponge filter when I have pregnant fish, then put it back in when they have grown and gone.

 

[raptorrex]

yes but I dont want to remove the main filter in the tank, I want to run them both in the tank and take the sponge filter when I have pregnant fish, then put it back in when they have grown and gone.

Ahh, i see. sorry, I'm a bit thick, sometimes! yes that should be no problem. just watch the feeding in the "main" tank. you will remove a fair amount, of the Bio mass every time you transfer the sponge out. i still think it will take a good bit longer than a week or so though, to seed the sponge.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yes, you will be just fine to add the sponge filter to your main tank.

There is always ammonia present in the tank, no matter how good a filter you got, so where there is ammonia there is a potential to colonize the beneficial bacteria!

It may take sometime, but your sponge filter will start to have bacteria grow on it!

-FHM

 

[Joinerlavin]

thanks people. yea it will take longer than a week to grow bacteria on it, I will give it a few weeks to colonize then put it in my other tank when I breed my guppy. Just playing around really getting more out of the hobby than just one tank. I am limited for space so I can only have a 10gal and a 5gal tank in the house, and its not my house lol.

 

[Joinerlavin]

is it meant to just bubble up the tube and bubbles come out the end I thought bubbles would come out from the sponges

 

[fatheadminnow]

is it meant to just bubble up the tube and bubbles come out the end I thought bubbles would come out from the sponges

Yup, when the bubbles are coming out of the center larger tube, it is moving/pulling water through the two sponges.

-FHM

 

[Joinerlavin]

ahh ok thanks

 

[OldMan47]

The way it works is simple. Air goes in at the obvious air connection and rises straight up through the clear tube. Because the air is moving, it carries water along with it. That air / water mixture comes out of the filter where the open ended black fitting is between the two sponges. Since water is rising through the clear tube, it needs to get back in somehow and that is accomplished by water going in through the sponges. If you can adjust the bubbles to where they are taking up about 1/3 to 1/4 of the space in the clear tube, you will get your highest flow from an air driven device like that. Those of us who were around before motor powered filters got pretty good at judging how to get the most flow from our filters.