Sponge Filters

[lyquidphyre]

I have more questions about sponge filters because they are so cheap =o)

How do you clean a sponge filter? Do you just rinse it off?
Can I "hide" my sponge filter in the tank? In an ornament or behind some plants?

Would a sponge filter for a 75gal aquarium be just as affective as a whisper or tetra filter that hangs on the back?

Would you recommend a sponge filter?

Is this a good deal for a 75gal?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20758&item=4305549486&rd=1

 

[QTOFFER]

I have a Hydrosponge filter in my betta tank because it filters and aerates the water without producing any current. The Hydrosponge you saw listed on e-bay should be sufficient for a 75 gal - depending on what kind of fish you have. If your fish like a current, you would have to get a powerhead.

The big downside is that you have to clean sponges more often than HOB filters and you have to be careful about how you do this because the good bacteria live in the sponge. To clean them, you just swish them around in a bucket of dechlorinated tank water. Also, you need to gravel vac more often because the filter doesn't trap large debris effectively. I wouldn't recommend this filter for messy fish like cichlids.

The other downside is that it's kind of ugly, but you can hide it behind plants.

Finally, it is driven by an air pump that must run 24/7. Quiet air pumps are quite expensive and I doubt if the pump in the ebay auction is quiet at all. Something to think about if the tank is located someplace where you like to read or sleep. HTH

 

[lyquidphyre]

The fish that I plan for my 75gal are- 4 rams, one angel, a school of tetras, 2 dwarf gouramis, a red tailed black shark, hatchets, a pleco and some corys. Would those work?

I have another air pump that is fairly quiet if the one on ebay isn't... The cleaning shouldn't be too bad and I don't have to wait to get filter bags before I clean it.. I can just clean it. Hmm..

It just seems like the best deal for my money problem.. and im sure I could hide it

 

[QTOFFER]

Sounds like it should work. The Angel and the gouramis will probably appreciate the relatively still water. The rams and the pleco are probably your messiest fish at feeding time - so you'll just have to gravel vac a little more often. The corys are going to love grazing stuff off the sponge - mine even sleep on the sponge!

Before you bid, I would check out Big Als or Drs Foster-Smith for prices.

 

[BrianNY]

Sorry to disagree here. . As a user of sponge filters extensively and sometimes exclusively I can say that they will never perform the mechanical filtration required.

Sponge filters are ideal for increasing the bioload however, in a moderately stocked 75g aquarium, you will need additional mechanical filtration. Where I use sponge filters alone are in tanks where I'm prepared to change a great deal of water, say 50% every other day. Even then I supplement with weekly diatom.

Don't mean to rain on your parade lyquidphyre but you are far better off investing in a top notch cannister or HOB. JMO.

 

[jratuszn]

What about running the sponge off of a powerhead?

-J

 

[TankGirl]

You still have a fine-pore sponge that is expected to do a lot of work. I think, like BrianNY, that if you have a bare-bottom tank such as for fry or discus where you can get to all of the particulate matter that collects, it is doable. For a tropical tank like you are planning, lyquidphyre, you are going to have gravel and lots of stuff that ought to get moved out of the tank that will just sit due to the slow water movement and the lack of staged filtration (even with a powerhead).

I would wait for a deal on a canister, meself, since you will someday wind up getting one anyway as the tank matures and the sponge has a harder and harder time of it.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Thanks! I figured that would be too good to be true =o)
I will go ahead and get something else for my tank.
Thanks for all the information

 

[TankGirl]

I'll donate some kudos, hope that will help...