Sponge Filter

[eduguy]

How do you make one and if you have a one gallon bowl will it cycle?

 

[shellieca]

1g is really too small for pretty much anything & would be extremely difficult to cycle if not impossible. IMO

 

[jetajockey]

Even a small body of water will cycle if the key elements for bacterial growth are present. The issue with a tank this size in particular is lack of volume.
The balance could get upset by the smallest of changes and you'll have a wipeout.

But to answer the initial question, yes, it will.

To make a sponge filter you just need a sponge, some pvc, airline tubing, and air pump. There are a lot of articles on it with photos.l that'll help your build.

 

[eduguy]

Even a small body of water will cycle if the key elements for bacterial growth are present. The issue with a tank this size in particular is lack of volume.
The balance could get upset by the smallest of changes and you'll have a wipeout.

But to answer the initial question, yes, it will.

To make a sponge filter you just need a sponge, some pvc, airline tubing, and air pump. There are a lot of articles on it with photos.l that'll help your build.

Whats the pvc for?

 

[jetajockey]

It's used to focus the air bubbles so that it pushes /pulls water up through the sponge.

 

[eduguy]

DO you put the airstone in it and then put the PVC in the sponge? Should there be holes on the other end. Should there be holes in the pvc?

 

[jetajockey]

I just drill a hole in the side of the pvc near the top at an angle just big enough to put the airline tube in. I don't use airstones. Then I push the pvc down into the middle of a piece of sponge. Sometimes it'll need to be weighted down, if that happens I usually glue it to a piece of slate.

With the amount of time and effort involved to diy, its usually cheaper to buy a few cheap ones from an online site. Check ebay.

 

[eduguy]

Yes but the smallest is still going to take up a quarter of my tank. Is the sponge inside the PVC? Couldn't you just put a airstone into a sponge and run it and that would be a sponge filter?

 

[jetajockey]

Yeah I guess you could do it that way. You can use a smaller piece of tubing than PVC also, it's just what I've used. The tube serves an important purpose in performance.

 

[eduguy]

Would rigid tubing work?

 

[jetajockey]

http://www.petresources.net/fish/article/pics/sponge_filter.gif

Here's a diagram, as long as you have something similar to this it should work.

 

[eduguy]

Ok. How much performance is lost if you don't use pvc or anything and just put the airstone in the sponge? Could you use a car washing sponge from the dollar store?

 

[jetajockey]

I've never used that kind of sponge so I don't know. I use the sponge filter inserts for aquaclear filters cut to size. It's probably not going to have much flow without a tube on it, that's what really directs the flow through the sponge.

 

[eduguy]

The sponge filter inserts from aquaclear are small though. Can you get the pvc from a pet store?

 

[jetajockey]

The sponge filter inserts from aquaclear are small though. Can you get the pvc from a pet store?

The 110s aren't, they are big enough to make a few with one insert.

The pet store may not have pvc but for all the cost and effort it might be cheaper to just buy a premade one. Some lfs have them.

 

[eduguy]

I know i have seen them at a pet store but they are too big. They are as tall as my bowl and will take up a quarter of the tank. Also you need to suction cup them and bowls don't work well with suction cups.