HOB filters vs Sponge

[Dalray]

Just wondering the pros and cons running a sponge filter or 2 in a tank vs the HOB's.

Winter is here and money is tight this year. Was planning on running 3 sponge filters in my 55 and 1 or 2 in my 38. dont have hte cash for a canister which does best.

Any input with the members is appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[corrosionjerry]

Just wondering the pros and cons running a sponge filter or 2 in a tank vs the HOB's.

Winter is here and money is tight this year. Was planning on running 3 sponge filters in my 55 and 1 or 2 in my 38. dont have hte cash for a canister which does best.

Any input with the members is appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Sponge is good and you could probably get by using just sponge, however the HOB are a way better when it comes to cleaning and polishing the water.. Overall I have to say you should go with the HOB....

[Dalray]

now since I can't afford the cartridges over the winter and I can run on just sponges. Would I get away with filter floss in my emperors to polish the water?

I saw a setup of a breeder on here with just sponges with wicked clear water. How does he do it? Just don't want to mention any names.

[snaggle]

Using the sponge filters will use less power. I use sponge filters in my grow out tanks/QT tanks I find that if stock levles are low and you change the water every two weeks or month depending on stocking and give the sponges a good rince in old tank water that they will be fine. I also use a sponge filter rated to 40 gallons in my 20 gallon tanks.

[jvision]

I almost never use the media cartiges in HOBs - I find they just don't have what I need, and you have to throw the whole thing out to clean it... you just lost all of your beneficial bacteria! I often mod them by removing the channels (if they're easily removable), then fill the bottom 1/2 to 2/3 w. some kind of biomedia (lava rock, scrubbies, etc.) then use filter floss on top of that for polishing. With a bunch of biomedia in the bottom, I just have to replace the filter floss when it's gross, and never lose the beneficial bacteria.

If you're using sponges, I'd use 2 or 3 per tank. That way you can always rinse one without killing your bacteria population. You can try rinsing sponges in a bucket of aquarium/dechlorinated water, but I always find that to be inadequate - I always use the tap.

[Dalray]

i can kind of picture what you mean Jvision. Could you possibly post a picture or drawing. Dont mean to be a burden but your idea sounds super.

[Murminator]

I use ac 500's I just squish out the sponge in dirt water change water and replace i never buy sponges. I use media bags for carbon and buy a big jug of carbon usually black diamond and replace the carbon every 2.5 months or so. The jug of carbon will almost last a year on 6 tanks

[patrick]

Personally I am a big fan of hydro-sponges. They are very effective. In most of the 45's I run one hydro-sponge IV pro (rated up to 80gallon) hooked up to a powerhead. Works great but even better is to have one additional air powered hydro-sponge III as a backup.

I also have a 45 grow out with two hydro-sponge III powered by air only. At most I had about 80 juvies 1-2 inches in this tank without any problems.

Hydro-sponges are quite expensive in the stores which I think is a reason why not many are using them. Why buy a sponge filter + air pump, air stone and hose if you can get a HOB at the same price? If there is enough interest I might consider looking into the possiblilites on bringing these in.

In my case, using internal sponges meant that I could put the rack closer to the wall and saved a lot of space. Also, they are sure to boot up after a power failure and there is no risk of leaks. The drawback is that you have to get into the tank to remove them, and pulling them out of the tank usually leaves a bit of a mess.

[Slough Shark]

I have never had a bad experience with an HOB. You can always maximize the efficiency by putting a sponge on the intake (this helps to prevent small fish/fry from being sucked in as well). I never use the media either, just the sponges that they sell. Rinse those when they get too dirty and replace. I also use the media bags in between sponges to add a refinement level to the filter.

[patrick]

The really nice thing with a HOB is that it is so convenient to clean.

[jvision]

i can kind of picture what you mean Jvision. Could you possibly post a picture or drawing. Dont mean to be a burden but your idea sounds super.

I don't have one going at the moment, but the last HOB I had was a Tetra, and I could remove the grooves for the filter cartiges - they just pulled out. THen I filled the bottom portion with Lava Rock or scrubbies with floss on top.

I can't remember if the Emporers have the grooves/slots for the cartiges, and if they can be removed. If not, I'd still just fill the bottom 1/2 - 2/3 with biomedia (scrubbies seem to be cheapest, but lava rock is cheap, too). And you can get a huge bag of filter floss from WalMart for like $12.

[RockThePylon]

Any HOB filter I've ever seen can easily be run with...uh...3rd party media.

I've never replaced the sponge in my tank with a HOB filter. It's got 5 years on it.

[Sam Chicklets]

I run sponges on most of my tanks and don't have water clarity issues. I find that they are super easy to clean and there are no moving parts. If you have more than one sponge running you can rotate cleaning just like any other filter.

[African_Fever]

The filter you choose also has a lot to do with how heavily you want to stock your tank, and how often you want to do water changes. Sponge filters are great and I'm a big fan of them for fry tanks and planted tanks, but I'd never ever consider using them alone on a stingray tank (even pups). Look at how heavily stocks your tank are, and consider how often you'll be able to do water changes all winter when making your decision as to which filter to use. One thing to remember as well with Patrick's setup is that running a powerhead with a sponge filter will provide the same sort of flow and filtering capabilities as a HOB with sponges (which is how I run all my HOB's). Air powered sponges have much less flow, and therefore filtering capabilities.

I'm a little surprised that there's no hard data on which filter works best (ie. sponge vs. hob vs. canister). It wouldn't be too hard to do if someone had the right monitors.

Edited December 14, 2008 by African_Fever