Sponges for sponge filter

[Pongeer247]

Was curious on what type of sponge people would recommend for a DIY sponge filter. I went to wal-mart and bought a car sponge, but am not sure if this will work or if there are certain material I should be watching out for.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Mebbid]

It depends on how you are going to make it. If everything is going to be contained within a bottle then I would suggest that you use the cut to size filter pads or filter floss. Otherwise I would look for natural sponges. I made some out of a synthetic sponge I bought from home depot and it ended horribly.

 

[Pongeer247]

It depends on how you are going to make it. If everything is going to be contained within a bottle then I would suggest that you use the cut to size filter pads or filter floss. Otherwise I would look for natural sponges. I made some out of a synthetic sponge I bought from home depot and it ended horribly.

Hmm. I don't know if the sponge I got is synthetic or not. It did say it was made with specific material so I'm gonna go with it is. I'm going to pets mart this evening for some stuff so I will see what they have. Otherwise I will go to wal-mart and get another sponge.

I have the one I bought, soaking in a cup of water to see if anything will seep out of it.

 

[Mebbid]

Yeah, if it's not natural sponge it will just decompose and fill your tank with bits and pieces of decomposed sponge. I would stick with normal filter media, It's safer in the long run.

 

[Pongeer247]

Yeah, if it's not natural sponge it will just decompose and fill your tank with bits and pieces of decomposed sponge. I would stick with normal filter media, It's safer in the long run.

Sounds like a disaster. Glad I didn't go ahead and use the one I bought. I will continue with the soaking to see if I can use down the road, but I will go and get something else for now. Thanks for the help!

 

[Mebbid]

It wasn't bad because it was in a bare bottomed fry tank. But it was a HUGE mess to clean up every time I changed the water. I switched over to cut to size filter padding and it was one of the better decisions i've made.

 

[Pongeer247]

It wasn't bad because it was in a bare bottomed fry tank. But it was a HUGE mess to clean up every time I changed the water. I switched over to cut to size filter padding and it was one of the better decisions i've made.

How often do you have to change out the "cut to size"? Are they pretty cheap? I have a pretty low budget to use towards fish supplies. Probably exceeding my allowed amount with the trip to pet smart today, ran out of all my water treatment chemicals.

 

[Mebbid]

The pad was about $10 from petsmart and had enough for maybe 15 - 20 diy sponge filters. I would expect the padding to last at least 5 months. They are basically the same as filter cartridges for hob filters but comes in a big sheet.

 

[Pongeer247]

The pad was about $10 from petsmart and had enough for maybe 15 - 20 diy sponge filters. I would expect the padding to last at least 5 months. They are basically the same as filter cartridges for hob filters but comes in a big sheet.

Went and got some of the filter pad. And some extra things for a couple of sponge filters. Thanks for the help I feel more comfortable knowing that these wont fall apart in the water.

 

[Pongeer247]

This is what I created lol. It's a little bulky right now. I will be making some changes to it as time goes on.

 

[Mebbid]

Yeah, it took me about 4 attempts to make something functional. I'll take a pic and post it for you to see when I get a minute.

 

[Pongeer247]

Yeah, it took me about 4 attempts to make something functional. I'll take a pic and post it for you to see when I get a minute.

It seems to be working, but I think I need a bigger air pump. Doesn't seem to be enough suction.

 

[GBHammbone]

It seems to be working, but I think I need a bigger air pump. Doesn't seem to be enough suction.

judging by the pic it looks like the bubbles and water need to move through a bunch of gravel in the tube? that i would think would severely restrict the flow. i would find a different way of weighing down the unit. the faster and larger amount of bubbles that can travel up the tube theoretically the more water that is being pulled through the sponge.

 

[Pongeer247]

judging by the pic it looks like the bubbles and water need to move through a bunch of gravel in the tube? that i would think would severely restrict the flow. i would find a different way of weighing down the unit. the faster and larger amount of bubbles that can travel up the tube theoretically the more water that is being pulled through the sponge.

I was half following a video on YouTube. Makes sense that the gravel is causing issues, didnt think about that problem. I'm going to try and suction cup it to the side. Or maybe I can put gravel on top of the sponge?

 

[Mebbid]

I wouldn't imagine that the gravel would do anything to impede the water flow. The bubbles are still exiting the tube at the same speed and still pulling the same amount of water out.

 

[Andy Sager]

I was half following a video on YouTube. Makes sense that the gravel is causing issues, didnt think about that problem. I'm going to try and suction cup it to the side. Or maybe I can put gravel on top of the sponge?

If you are going to suction the tube to the tank wall, there is no need for the gravel. I just made some filters using PVC parts and made the holes start just above the small rocks ( for weight) so that there is all flow through the sponge , top, bottom and sides. You don't want to impede the flow through the sponge unless it's for another media like a carbon bag. (Last resort type modification.) It will create dead spots in the sponge.

Hope this helps

 

[Mebbid]

This is my third attempt at a sponge filter. I cut dozens of holes beneath the gravel line with a utility knife. I made sure to cut enough that I could breathe normally with it covering my mouth if that makes any sense. I layered gravel on the bottom, filter floss above the gravel, and then 2 layers of filter pads on top of the filter floss. I cut a notch in the lift tube to snugly hold the air line. Then I ran an air tube into the lift tube and put a bubble stone on it.

To get everything to fit together I cut the bottle in half and worked with it to nest the bottom inside the top snugly. All together they took me about 10-15 minutes to make.

It's not pretty but it worked amazingly well for my breeder tanks.

 

[Pongeer247]

If you are going to suction the tube to the tank wall, there is no need for the gravel. I just made some filters using PVC parts and made the holes start just above the small rocks ( for weight) so that there is all flow through the sponge , top, bottom and sides. You don't want to impede the flow through the sponge unless it's for another media like a carbon bag. (Last resort type modification.) It will create dead spots in the sponge.

Hope this helps

What did you use at the bottom to hold the gravel in? Just a slip cap? Looks like I will need to make another filter with more holes where the sponge is.

This is my third attempt at a sponge filter. I cut dozens of holes beneath the gravel line with a utility knife. I made sure to cut enough that I could breathe normally with it covering my mouth if that makes any sense. I layered gravel on the bottom, filter floss above the gravel, and then 2 layers of filter pads on top of the filter floss. I cut a notch in the lift tube to snugly hold the air line. Then I ran an air tube into the lift tube and put a bubble stone on it.

To get everything to fit together I cut the bottle in half and worked with it to nest the bottom inside the top snugly. All together they took me about 10-15 minutes to make.

It's not pretty but it worked amazingly well for my breeder tanks.

It looks good! I need something smaller for the 1 gal. fry tank but I can use something like that for my QT. I will have the filter set up in my daughters 10 gal. For when the QT is needed.

Will post pics of the next build. Probably going to use PVC for the 1 gal. Thanks for the help again!

 

[Mebbid]

What did you use at the bottom to hold the gravel in? Just a slip cap? Looks like I will need to make another filter with more holes where the sponge is.



It looks good! I need something smaller for the 1 gal. fry tank but I can use something like that for my QT. I will have the filter set up in my daughters 10 gal. For when the QT is needed.

Will post pics of the next build. Probably going to use PVC for the 1 gal. Thanks for the help again!

For a 1 gallon? You can do something similar to that but instead of a bottle just use a plastic tube. You don't need a whole lot to filter a 1g tank.

 

[Pongeer247]

Finally got a final product done for the sponge filter. Not going to be a permanent thing, going to replace the tube and air pump.