Where to find filter sponge material & rant on disposabl

[JenNewbie]

1) Where is a good place to find a big piece of sponge filter that can be cut to fit various filters? I have only found the pre-fitted versions that are sold by brand.

2) (back story) I got one of those All Glass 2.5 gal divided tanks for my bettas at work and the filter on that thing is HUGE so I dug back through the pile of things I've inherited by buying used tanks and voila! I found a Penn-Plax Small World filter w/ air pump & tubing. Tried to pry open the filter cartridge to clean it out to be told by a co-worker it looked like it was supposed to be disposable. Did an online search and found replacements pretty cheap at aquariumguys.com (damn them--I bought a whole bunch of other stuff, too!!). (issue) Does anyone else feel bad tossing out carbon filters? It seems like a huge amount of waste to generate, especially when you can use and reuse a sponge filter forever. Is there any way to make these filter cartridges last any longer than 4 weeks? Soaking in vinegar or something? I just hate to throw away what amounts to the whole filter ever 4 weeks...

 

[Menagerie]

I simply do not replace the carbon filter. You do not need to have carbon in the tank.

 

[An t-iasg]

I agree with Menagerie. You don't need carbon in that tank all the time. I just got an All-Glass 2.5 minibow aquarium and yes, that little filter is nice but the cartridge they sell for it just has carbon and floss, and when you throw it out, you're throwing out any good bacteria that you accumulated. There's really no way to remove the carbon without destroying the floss part. Here's what I'm going to buy soon for this filter -- it's a clamshell-type frame, with small, but separate compartments, plus a sponge. You can choose to run carbon occasionally, and just open that compartment to remove it without throwing away the sponge.

Bio3 Filter

Here's some media that I'm considering:

Biological media

I did a search on "biological media". That link was for another brand of media, but it looks small enough in the picture for the minibow filter. Before I order I'll call and ask how big it is.

Here's a good price on some additional sponges (scroll down a little). They will probably have to be cut to fit the minibow filter.

Mini Foam

 

[JenNewbie]

I should clarify: I already pulled out the Whisper filter the mini-bow came with. I found an old Penn-Plax Small World filter (basically a frame & cartridge hooked up to an airpump) in the stuff that came with one of the used aquariums I bought. Since it's what I already have, I'd like to stick with it, but the only cartridges made for it are disposable. Could I just crack one open and get rid of the carbon and put a piece of sponge filter in instead? It just seems wasteful to throw basically the whole filter out every 4 weeks, especially since I use sponge filters in all my filters at home. Which brings me to my first question: where to find large blocks of foam that can be cut to size. I have HOB filters that range from a Whisper 5 gal to a Penguin 330 that takes 2 filters.

 

[An t-iasg]

I used this Small World filter in a bowl for awhile. Those little cartridges are disposable, which I thought was wasteful too, and stopped using it. If you can figure out a way to open it without breaking it, I don't see why you couldn't take the carbon out and put in a sponge that you cut. You could still use one of the Aqua Clear Mini foam blocks. Since it's such a small filter, just make sure that the sponge is getting enough water moving through it.

 

[youronlysin]

I use the AquaClear hob filters in my larger tanks, but I replaced the basket and filter media with a disposable filterbag with carbon in it. I too got tired of replacing the thing all the time, so I used one of the AquaClear sponge filters as a pre-filter. I cut a hole in the middle of it and slipped it over the intake tube to the hob filter. The carbon filter bags last a lot longer now, and I can clean the sponge prefilter easily.

 

[youronlysin]

As a sidenote, Petsmart has large pieces of foam/sponge filter media. Look near the pond supplies. The Aquaclear hob filters also have a replaceable sponge filter that you can get at as well.

 

[An t-iasg]

A correction to my earlier post -- I called DrF-S today to order the Bio3 filter that I linked above. This filter media bag can't be opened and customized like I thought. The picture just shows a "cutaway" view to show you what's in the media bag. It comes already filled and you can't customize it, but I guess you could still cut out the carbon if you wanted to. I still bought one. I liked the biological sponge, and I could try to put some of my own floss in the clamshell too, since I won't run the carbon media bag all the time.