Running a very small 10 gallon sponge filter in my 45 gallon.

[Mpwallace1]

Hi everybody. I just wanted to share some recent changes I made to my 45 tank that I think will help me down the road. I also have a 10 gallon quarantine/hospital tank I fire up as needed, that also has a small sponge filter and air pump.
In my 45 I use to run a small in invasive air stone as well, for no real particular reason has I have good agitation from from Aqua-70, but I actually switched out the air stone and replaced it with this small attachable sponge filter. It's approx 5 inches tall, with an outtake pipe that extends it to 9. My thought was, if I need to get the QA tank up and running again, I hopefully have a filter that's got some good bacteria already established. The filter was 5 bucks at my LFS, and as you can see it sticks to the sure of the wall. The plecos like it.
Here's some pics to best illustrate it.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Mp...

Sponge filters work as well as any filtration device. I use the dual type in my 45 and 60 gallon tanks. They do a good job of aeration. I just keep the water clean by changing out half or more every week. The water changes are the best means of tank aeration, but the sponge filters add a bit more O2 to the water and there's nothing wrong with that, unless you're heavily into aquatic plants. But, that's a story for another time.

B

 

[Fresh2o]

Yes, that is a good plan (regarding the sponge filter in the main tank between QT sessions). Over time, BB will become established on the new sponge. Of course, the total BB population is dictated by the amount of ammonia and nitrite available. It is small enough that it's removal should not affect anything in the main tank.
I would be cautious though, if you did have to deal with anything that required treatment in the QT, about re-introducing it back into the main tank. Might be easier to clean/disinfect it first.

 

[Mpwallace1]

Thanks, omg I totally forgot the about the threat of reintroducing any disease into the QA tank