Bandi Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 (edited) I have been reading a lot in the various forums about sponge filters. They seem to be used a lot for fry. Perhaps this is the answer to my having a rather small but valued fish getting stuck (and died) in the filter intake? Please enlighten little me who lives in a small town and doesn't get out much Edited April 19, 2009 by guzookeeper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 Denitrifying bacteria colonize in the filter much like they do in ceramics in a canister or HOB filter. This helps dim the nitrogen cycle and make it safe for fish. I do more waterchanges on tanks with my bio sponges because the water can get a little murky with no power filter to help polish the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 You can also put a sponge over the intake of your powerfilter. This method is used to keep the fry and small fish from going up the intake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balikiss Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 It's basically a sponge with a tube in the middle of it. and you put an airhose down the middle of the tube and hook it up to an air pump. the rising bubbles cause water(and waste) to be drawn through the sponge where the bacteria live. i have one in all my tanks, but i also like to use a small elite mini to keep circulation going, and to pick up the solid wastes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punman Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 I have one for emergencies or as a spare but prefer to use a small AClear with a sponge on the intake tube. Better water circulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Dawg Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 They tend to be very low cost if you already have an air pump, with complete kits ranging from $5-$15. Also good canidate for DIY. You can attach to the back of the tank, leave floating, or hide under a bit gravel. Differnt brands or shapes lend to differnt use. I'm lead to beleive if you do not have snails they last a very long time(5+ years), with just a rinse and squeeze in old talk water one every few weeks. Need to watch they do not disintigrate or plug up. Google searching sponge filters will bring up lots of good info and even dome demo youtube videos. I realy found this artical by Carl Strohmeyer very helpful as it talked about the good and bad of many filter types. We bought a small trangular sponge at the LFS then cut a hole in the middle and placed it over the pickup of our hang on back filter to keep the critters out. I find it easy to clean by placing the net over and unplugging the filter to catch any junk trapped on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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