Embarrassing Dumb Question

[LadyBlue]

:& OK Here We Go .... Spounge filters .... I just cant figure out what makes them work ? Do you plug them in ? Do they have batteries ? What makes the water go threw them to collect the dirt ? I Just Dont Get It ? I know it is supposed to be easy to figure out but I Can't .... Please Don't laugh at Me .... I really can't figure these out and the seem, according to what I read, to be good as well as low priced {very important} I am thanking everyone in advance 4 not making fun of me and this old,wornout,brain of mine.... I will now post this quickly before I chicken out.

[werner]

"Embarrassing Dumb Question" had me expecting something more along the lines of a personal hygiene issue. :tongue:

However, I'll give it a shot anyways: there's usually an airstone or small powerhead that draws a water current through the sponge.

[Burbot]

The air or pump draws water through the sponge which acts as media to hold the bacteria for biological filtration. Not so different then a HOB filter pumping water through a sponge.

I have an entire fishroom with tanks from 5 to 125 gallons all running off air. It is a fraction of the cost of setting up power filters and buying an F5s, sump pumps, etc, for all my tanks. Not to mention the monthly running cost is a lot less with one air pump instead of a power filter for each tank.

The only draw backs I find on this system is you have to keep an eye on the flow rate of air through the different filters. Sometimes a filter may get a clog from a build up of gunk in the base of the air tube (most common on one particular brand that looks like a Hydro sponge knock off, Hydro sponges don't suffer from this issue by design). Also as one sponge builds up in mulm it makes for more resistance to water flow through the sponge. This willl cause the sponge filter to stop working as efficiently and cause the air pressure on another filter to increase (path of least resistance). In addition a sponge filter operated with an air stone tends to have some inherent problems with the stones becoming clogged up and stop working over time. Especailly the blue air stones more then the red. I would go with either Hydro sponges or the tetra sponge. Both of these designs have worked well and had few problems when compaired to all the other sponge filters I have encountered.

There are no dumb questions, but we do have an aweful lot of very silly emoticons -ham-

Cheers

:beer:

[Jayba]

The air rising out of the tube creates a low pressure, this draws water through the sponge, collecting the gunk, and loading it with good bacteria. Simple yet ingenious

[JLake]

I also use sponge filters,mainly on my small fry tanks or shelldweller tanks. Im a big believer of water movement so i always add something else to stir the tank a little. Great amounts of bacteria are able to grow on a properly functioning sponge filter.

[punman]

When you buy them, you normally will just get the sponge with the tube and the air stone inside the tube. You then have to buy some vibrating pump to attach a line from the pump to the filter. Filter is cheap but you have to still buy the pump.

I have used them with success but think I would just as soon buy a small Aqua Clear hang-on-back filter and put a sponge over the intake. Then when the fry grow, just remove the sponge and I have a filter in place.

[LadyBlue]

YESSSSSssssssssss ..... I finally get it !!!!!!! Whooooooo-Hoooooooo. I kept looking for ways to get power into them and none of thr had cords to plug in ..... I am a Happy Camper Now Thank You Everyone -ham- -ham- -ham-

:& OK Here We Go .... Spounge filters .... I just cant figure out what makes them work ? Do you plug them in ? Do they have batteries ? What makes the water go threw them to collect the dirt ? I Just Dont Get It ? I know it is supposed to be easy to figure out but I Can't .... Please Don't laugh at Me .... I really can't figure these out and the seem, according to what I read, to be good as well as low priced {very important} I am thanking everyone in advance 4 not making fun of me and this old,wornout,brain of mine.... I will now post this quickly before I chicken out.

[JLake]

honestly when i first seen one i never understood either than i seen them at big als in the tanks and it made perfect sense. no one is born with knowledge it must be acquired, everyone starts learning somewhere.

[aquatica]

There is no such thing as a dumb question, but answers that's another story.

I think the answers are great, just thought I would add one extra thing. Always remember to never rinse out sponges completely or fully under tap water as this is almost certain death to those good beneficial bacteria that are living in there and may cause untold trouble especially in a heavily stocked tank.

R