So i posted some pics of a few of my aquariums a few months ago. Everybody lost their mind over the fact that I dont use any sponge filters. I never had before, I seen no advantage to it. So after reading all these comments I decided to give it a shot.
So the new 29 gallon I was currently setting up got set up with a sponge filter. I got a Dual sponge filter setup intended for a 40 gallon. Tank cycled, fish got added (weeks later) and I started to notice that the sponge filter wasn't really doing anything as far as making the water clearer. I'm used to filters picking debris up out of the water column. So I installed a seperate 20 gallon sponge filter on the opposite side of the tank. Now that's 60 gallons worth of sponge filtration. Yet a month later, it still looks just the same. Am I doing something wrong? None of my other aquariums have this issue , and they all have Hang-on-back filters or cannister filters (my larger aquariums). Crystal clear water in every one except this one with the Sponge filters. Help please
Posted by AmbassadorGlad8099
9 Comments
Sponge filters main job is to house bacteria.
I think the coarse ones are much better cuz they dont get clogged so easily as the ones in your pics.
Debris just settles in my tanks, (sponge filter or no filter) and the water is crystal clear or full of tannins as designed.
I definitely prefer internal or canister filters
No moving parts, runs efficiently and effectively. Just rinse it to clean, and nothing to wear out or replace.
I use a coarse sponge on powerhead as “bio” and fine sponge on airstone as slow “mech” to polish the water. For an overnight polish, use a very fine sponge on a powerhead, it’ll need to be squeezed the next day, it’s not useful on a weekly routine becsuse it works too well and stays clogged, lol. But I run my 130g goldfish tank on nothing but various sponges. All my smaller tanks, too. They make sure my nitrifyers survive power outages, and I just squeeze them every water change. It is awesome.
Do you even do water change? What is your stocking? This could be more of a fish and substrate issue.
I have a 70 gallon tank with gravel substrate with a large driftwood, some hardy plants and some few rocks, it has a large pleco and 3 common goldfish. Before I only had an 8.5x10cm sponge filter meant for 20 gallon it works great until few weeks later I saw some bubbles from stagnant water and the water is very yellow, so I decide to just add another identical sponge filter and problem solved. I had no issue to this day; it takes a month to see the water starts yellowing and that just a sign to do another water change.
Crystal clear water doesn’t mean your tank is clean. It means that the filter has moved all the debris to a place that you can’t see. The tank is still dirty, because water is constantly moving through the debris. If you don’t clean the filter, you have dirty water in your tank. With a sponge filter, you can pop it out and squeeze out all the crud. And no, doing this in tap water does not kill the bacteria…
The best filter depends on what you need from it. Tl;dr: gotta balance mechanical, biological, and chemical filtration to meet your specific goals.
Toxins. In general, a filter grows beneficial bacteria to process fish waste. Easy, pretty much all filters contain media to accomplish this goal. All that BB requires is surface area, which you can get with rocks, ceramic rings, bioballs, floss, sponges, etc etc etc etc etc.
Water circulation. Some fish like faster water, some like slower. But overall, you need good circulation to get all the water through the filter at some point. HOB in and out are close together, so on a longer tank you may not get the most efficient circulation. I may be doing sponges wrong but I generally get very little water flow from sponge filters, so circulation is even slower. Canister filters allow you to customize the position of the in and out to maximize circulation. All filters can achieve this circulation if done right, but i think some are more efficient than others.
Mulm. Fish poop and organic plant debris generally settles on the bottom, to be left there or siphoned out per your personal aesthetic goals. It can occasionally be kicked up into the water column by fish activity or any current/flow in your tank. When this happens, it can be taken up by some filters, _depending on the flow_. So debris stays in the water column longer or shorter depending on filter type. And the amount of debris. Even the best filter gets clogged eventually. In canister filters and probably larger HOBs, you can get 10 poret or 20 poret foam to minimize clogging from larger particles, 30-40 poret for taking out smaller particles, and stagger them to minimize clogging all at once, as well as assist in taking debris out of the water column. But you have to rinse it to maintain water flow. Idk how customizable sponge filters can get in this department, but i imagine you’d just have to rinse it now often to prevent clogging
Tannins. Whether from driftwood, plants, or mulm, organic material will stain the water (harmlessly, i believe). Water changes help manage this, but so does _chemical filtration_. Activated charcoal. HOBs, canisters, and internal filters can contain charcoal in their compartments to assist in making water crystal clear, but sponge filters can’t. I think another product is Purigen, which is slightly different from charcoal in that it can be reactivated after used up whereas activated charcoal needs to be regularly replaced. I’m not well versed in this topic so do your research.
All filters accomplish most goals by themselves. The best for your tank just depends on your situation. Hopefully this gives you a better idea of what to expect
Edit: cost is obviously a factor, as well as operational noise. Whether from water falling or pump motor, you’ll get different noise levels. Sponge filter is super quiet, HOB can get loud, etc. Filters with more above-surface water movement also can result in faster evaporation. But things like lids can help with that lol
Sponge filters are low maintenance if not zero maintenance. However, they have limited actual filtration capability.
They work good in tanks with low DOCs in the water. They don’t work well in tanks with a lot of organics and tend to be hazy and you like sparkling water.
My shrimp tanks are always hazy because I have a lot of plants and shrimp produce a lot of waste. I was using a sponge but I like perfectly clear water and dropped a $40 Cannister on it. Perfectly clear in 72hours.
Goes back to my argument that we need better HOBs not compromised with cartridge design.
I have the dual intake sponge filter and I realized that the one I got has a SUPER fine sponge so it gets gunked up pretty quickly. I found a more “open” sponge replacement so I’m going to swap the sides out with those. I read through several threads here and found that those super fine sponges just aren’t as easy to deal with.