Do sponge filters circulate the water enough?

[trinifella]

Hey guys, I have a lightly planted 20g, which i was running on an AC50 and was fine. But i gave it away and am stuck with an old Aquatop CAF-60 sponge filter atm.



Right now, its being powered a 20g Azoo air pump which i know is a little weak but still, i feel as if i should be getting some visible sign of water circulation.

Haven't been able to extend the uptake tube on the filter as yet, which should help i think, but was just wondering if I should try a strong air pump (I know there has to be a quiet one somewhere) or look into a powerhead, or just ditch the whole thing and go back to an HOB. I continue to read and read but its driving me crazy so I thought I should just ask before wasting any $$$.

Has anyone ever tried one of these filters as well and had luck wit em?

 

[fort384]

It won't provide much in the way of circulation, but that might be ok. What is the tank stocked with? If the tank is appropriately stocked, a lot of circulation may be ok since you still have plenty of surface area of water for gas exchange to occur. Many folks use a sponge filter as their only method of circulation/filtration. Personally, I'd rather run an aquaclear HOB, but it could be overkill for your setup.

 

[Mebbid]

Sponge filters are great for biological filtration. Other than that they are junk as they just dont offer enough water flow for your tank. I generally only use them in my breeding tanks.

 

[trinifella]

Just a pair of Dwarf Gouramis. But there are some plants in there, and that's what I'm worried about: them not getting enough circulation. That's what I think I'll have to do Mebbid, save it 4 a breeder tank

 

[Hobgob]

Sponge filters are great for biological filtration. Other than that they are junk as they just dont offer enough water flow for your tank. I generally only use them in my breeding tanks.

If book up to a power head they can provide lots of flow it all depends on how it's done up. For instance my discus tank has two seapora 136s in it. One was powered by my maxijet 900 and the other by a 402 marinland or something. I also have my eheim canister filter 2213 classic. My maxijet does 230gph so when it's on my sponge the sponge roughly would flow say 200gph with the resistance of the sponge plenty of flow for a 20g...

Now What about a ugf or a corner filter? They are powered the exact same way as a sponge normally? Do they not have enough flow? I've seen many tanks with them and they do well. For instance my discus tank that had my powerheads are now just ran by air pumps and my water quality is just as good as before. I have notice more pop on the bottom and the sponges don't get as dirty but still great water quality.

Just because something doesn't flow fast doesn't mean it isn't a good filter. Eheim filters are low in gph but they make up for it with a bunch media. It all depends on what you are looking for IMHO.

 

[Hobgob]

And good like 5ppm after three days of not doing waterchanges and it more yellow then then the 5 is. But that's just my opinion. I had a 20 with a pair of rams, barbs and some Cories. All I had was a corner filter which works the exact same as a sponge

 

[Mebbid]

If book up to a power head they can provide lots of flow it all depends on how it's done up. For instance my discus tank has two seapora 136s in it. One was powered by my maxijet 900 and the other by a 402 marinland or something. I also have my eheim canister filter 2213 classic. My maxijet does 230gph so when it's on my sponge the sponge roughly would flow say 200gph with the resistance of the sponge plenty of flow for a 20g...

Now What about a ugf or a corner filter? They are powered the exact same way as a sponge normally? Do they not have enough flow? I've seen many tanks with them and they do well. For instance my discus tank that had my powerheads are now just ran by air pumps and my water quality is just as good as before. I have notice more pop on the bottom and the sponges don't get as dirty but still great water quality.

Just because something doesn't flow fast doesn't mean it isn't a good filter. Eheim filters are low in gph but they make up for it with a bunch media. It all depends on what you are looking for IMHO.

I agree with you to an extent and if I'm not mistaken you are echoing what I said, just a bit more eloquently

Sponge filters are great for biological filtration which is the prime part of keeping a healthy tank. However, as far as mechanical filtration goes they are lacking. They offer very little in the way of assisting with water clarity since you can't realistically use other types of media in them such as filter floss and purigen.

If you're going to go through the trouble of hooking up a powerhead to it why not just use a hob filter?

Box filters operate on the same principle.

 

[trinifella]

To me powerheads take up too much space. The sponge already uses enough space

 

[Hobgob]

I agree with you to an extent and if I'm not mistaken you are echoing what I said, just a bit more eloquently

Sponge filters are great for biological filtration which is the prime part of keeping a healthy tank. However, as far as mechanical filtration goes they are lacking. They offer very little in the way of assisting with water clarity since you can't realistically use other types of media in them such as filter floss and purigen.

If you're going to go through the trouble of hooking up a powerhead to it why not just use a hob filter?

Box filters operate on the same principle.

It wasn't any trouble to put a pump into a tube... And seapora sponges have thought about media. You can dismantle them and stick your own media into the center of the sponges here the actual bubbles come out. You can put flow or carbon in it.
Also why would you need more floss. The whole thing is floss basically. All my gunk gets stuck on the sponges and doesn't fall off...

 

[Hobgob]

To me powerheads take up too much space. The sponge already uses enough space

Trust me you don't need a power head for the sponge. My discus tank just has the sponges ran by air. I've ran my 35g off one. And two in a 40g and it was amazing I went out and bought 5 more. I've kept a 33g with a corner filter the water was just as clear when I added the ac hob.

I guess to each there own but if you don't use them that often you can't really not them. I'm basing this all on my experiences with them. If you have one use it as see how it looks to you.

 

[Mebbid]

It wasn't any trouble to put a pump into a tube... And seapora sponges have thought about media. You can dismantle them and stick your own media into the center of the sponges here the actual bubbles come out. You can put flow or carbon in it.
Also why would you need more floss. The whole thing is floss basically. All my gunk gets stuck on the sponges and doesn't fall off...

I was never a fan of the super fine sponge filters. They clog too easily imho. I use the coarser ones.

 

[Hobgob]

I was never a fan of the super fine sponge filters. They clog too easily imho. I use the coarser ones.

So the course sponges wouldn't get stuff stuck to them? Seapora are pretty thick. They just allow for extra media inside them like flow or carbon.. Like inside the housing( if thats right) the thing the sponge sits on.

 

[trinifella]

Strong case Hobgob, now you got me thinking about giving the sponge another shot with a more powerful air pump

 

[Mebbid]

So the course sponges wouldn't get stuff stuck to them? Seapora are pretty thick. They just allow for extra media inside them like flow or carbon.. Like inside the housing( if thats right) the thing the sponge sits on.

Not nearly as quickly as the fine sponges do. In the entire time I used my coarse sponge filter I only needed to clean it out once. Which created a huge mess.

Strong case Hobgob, now you got me thinking about giving the sponge another shot with a more powerful air pump

It really can't hurt to try it out for yourself. Really, all we can do is banter back and forth about our opinions on it. I used one for around 4 months along with an eheim canister filter before I switched it out for something that would give me more flow to my tank. My tank was a very densely planted 55g and I had tons of issues with dead spots in my tank from lack of flow.

 

[Hobgob]

Well I have them on my 75g and clean them once every three days. Even when they look clean they are not. And if you want give it a try. It's up to you really. Just remember in a aquarium your parameters are important so why wouldn't you want a sponge full of bb? Also it's make seeded your next tank extremely easier. Like I said I have many in many tanks, breeding tanks, rearing tanks, and display tanks. I use them a lot.

 

[Hobgob]

Not nearly as quickly as the fine sponges do. In the entire time I used my coarse sponge filter I only needed to clean it out once. Which created a huge mess.

y

You only clean you filter once every 4 months??? That's disgusting. No wonder it made a huge mess. All the poop is inside the sponges for the majority of the part. You should have siphoned the water out of the tank through your sponge and you could have seen how dirty the water actually was.

Anyways do not let your sponge get like this is causes nitrates issues. You need to clean filter media once a month at the least IMO. All the waste inside helps raise your nitrate to fast
Just my opinion but I also keep discus so I might be more picky then others.

 

[Mebbid]

y

You only clean you filter once every 4 months??? That's disgusting. No wonder it made a huge mess. All the poop is inside the sponges for the majority of the part. You should have siphoned the water out of the tank through your sponge and you could have seen how dirty the water actually was.

Anyways do not let your sponge get like this is causes nitrates issues. You need to clean filter media once a month at the least IMO. All the waste inside helps raise your nitrate to fast
Just my opinion but I also keep discus so I might be more picky then others.

I ran the sponge filter in combination with a canister that was cleaned regularly. The canister was mechanical filtration and the sponge was biological filtration. No issues with parameters anywhere in the entire process.

It goes along with sponge filters not circulating much water which was the original question asked by the OP

 

[Mebbid]

Since I am really over this absolutely absurd argument with hobgob over what is really really unimportant I will leave with this last statement before leaving.

To the OP:
Biological filtration is there solely to hold bacteria for the nitrogen cycle. Why is it that people feel the need to MAX out their biological filtration media when a simple filter cartridge is more than enough to hold all the bacteria needed for an appropriately sized tank? Adding more media doesn't add more bacteria to a tank period which is why a sponge filter simply isn't needed. Power filters are more efficient in circulating water, polishing water, and they take up WAY less space in a tank. Believe what you will but that statement is a simple truth.

To hobgob:
I love that you keep stating your stocking of discus. Like you are trying to prove you are a better aquarist than me.. Seriously? You keep discus, congrats. I keep a full mixed reef tank. My freshwater community tank is currently sitting at 5.0ppm nitrate and my last water change was 3 weeks ago. But you are OBVIOUSLY more picky about your water parameters than I am.

 

[Hobgob]

Since I am really over this absolutely absurd argument with hobgob over what is really really unimportant I will leave with this last statement before leaving.

To the OP:
Biological filtration is there solely to hold bacteria for the nitrogen cycle. Why is it that people feel the need to MAX out their biological filtration media when a simple filter cartridge is more than enough to hold all the bacteria needed for an appropriately sized tank? Adding more media doesn't add more bacteria to a tank period which is why a sponge filter simply isn't needed. Power filters are more efficient in circulating water, polishing water, and they take up WAY less space in a tank. Believe what you will but that statement is a simple truth.

To hobgob:
I love that you keep stating your stocking of discus. Like you are trying to prove you are a better aquarist than me.. Seriously? You keep discus, congrats. I keep a full mixed reef tank. My freshwater community tank is currently sitting at 5.0ppm nitrate and my last water change was 3 weeks ago. But you are OBVIOUSLY more picky about your water parameters than I am.

To the op. biological filtration is not solely to hold nitrogen for the bb. Nitrogen is found in the water. Think of your ceramics for your hob. They are for biological filtration allowing places for your beneficial bacteria to stay not to hold nitrogen in place lol! And honestly every type of filter is biological. Filtration is based on the bacteria. That's why we cycle our tanks first... If you have a bunch of flosh performing "mechanical" filttration all it does it hold the poop in the filter allowing your beneficial bacteria to eat it. All your media contains beneficial bacteria which is biological. This is why we don't through out our media or rinse it under tap water.

To medid I'm not trying to prove I am better then you. I never once said i was, the oh thing I was doing was stating that sponge filters are not junk. I dont know why you think i am getting so mad over that fact im disagreeing with you. Im saying listing things that i have seen. I have agreed with things you have said before but this is something I am disagreeing with solely based on my experience of keeping fish and my family experience. Not just my discus tank. The reason why I keep mentioning it is because I recently changed the powerheads out making them junk to you. But I see the complete opposite and my parameters can prove it. I'm glad your tanks nitrates are low. It's not hard to create a self sustaining tank. You just need to look at the nitrate levels and add enough plants to eat it. Otherwise your just completely understocked. To bad there is no such thing as a true sustaining tank and you need to do water changes. Your fish need certain minerals in the water for proper tissue formations...

Back to the op. if you want try it. If you don't want to don't do it. I've have used them fine before.

 

[trinifella]

I think you guys are both right, I just have to try for myself and see. Just didn't want to waste money on a stronger air pump when I could have thrown that toward another AC or Fluval or something. I think deep down as well I feel that sponges even powered by a very strong pump or power head wouldn't give circulation comparable to even an average-sized hob filter. I'm just looking at it from strictly a mechanical standpoint too: airflow due to a vacuum caused by bubbles vs a filter actually sucking in water. But yea Hobgob I think I will invest in a stronger pump and a better sponge as well, just to see the difference. I have 2 identical 20g tanks with the identical number of fish and the identical number of plants. In one I currently have a tetra whisper ex30 and the other the sponge. So it will be interested to really check it out and see how the a sponge performs. That same tank with the tetra I had an AC50 not too long ago, and whew!!!! Didn't even have carbon or floss in it, just sponges and rings, and man that water was clear! I thank you guys for helping me think it through some more though. I really like to think things through logically