Info about sponge filters

[Uncle Dirty]

I'm always interested in aquarium "gadgets" and bought a sponge filter on eBay for about $2. At my LFS they are around $18. Is it only for fry tanks or can any tank benefit from it? Any info or thoughts would be appreciated. Trying to post pic but won't work right now. I'll keep trying.

[Uncle Dirty]

Here it is. I'm assuming the elbow on the top should be below water.

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

any filter will be fine for both fry and adult tanks, depending on the gallon capacity on the filtration. what is the filtration? how big is the tank?

watch out for these awesome deals, some may not be trustworthy.... x

[HAVAMAL]

Originally Posted by Uncle Dirty

I'm always interested in aquarium "gadgets" and bought a sponge filter on eBay for about $2. At my LFS they are around $18. Is it only for fry tanks or can any tank benefit from it? Any info or thoughts would be appreciated. Trying to post pic but won't work right now. I'll keep trying.

Nice deal, you can use these on any tank, they do a great job!

[ShadoeFox]

I've seen pretty large tanks running sponge filters. It just depends on what it's up to doing. Actually looks like a nice one, though.

[toddnbecka]

Above or below water doesn't matter much, slightly above will actually increase the flow rate a little. I use a sponge filter in all of my tanks, the impellers in the hob filters sometimes need a bump to restart afyer a power outage. No such issues with air pumps, so circulation and at least some biofiltration is maintained until I find/restart the hob.
IMO anything that picks up debris is helpful in maintaining a tank, particularly with sand substrates.

[Uncle Dirty]

Originally Posted by Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic

any filter will be fine for both fry and adult tanks, depending on the gallon capacity on the filtration. what is the filtration? how big is the tank?

watch out for these awesome deals, some may not be trustworthy.... x

Never had any problems with eBay since 1999. Over 700 items purchased and 80 items sold. 100% buyer/seller rating, been lucky I guess.......

[potatochobit]

I use sponge filters to keep starfish and hermit crabs from getting sucked in or trapped against the filter intake...
basically what it does is disperse the suction to a larger area instead of a small focal point
so it is good for many things, like keeping shrimp safe
the more gallons per hour your tank flows, the bigger sponge you need
also particles do get trapped inside as it does act as a media filter so you should rinse it out when you service the main filter