Best Sponge Filter?

Hello everyone. Thinking of switching to sponge filters in my 30 gallon fry tank. But thought I will ask fishbox for some advise first. Do this things actually work?? And which one should I go with hydro sponge or hydro sponge pro. Only difference I could see is the pro sponge is black.

Thanks!

One is more porous than the other. The best sponge filters I have ever used

API hydro sponge pros get my vote. the pros are the more porous of the two.

iandraco wrote:API hydro sponge pros get my vote.  the pros are the more porous of the two.

That's what I use, no complaints!

Cool thanks guys! I was kind of leaning towards the pro since the beginning.

Swiss Tropicals Cube Filters - hands down the best out there, in my opinion and experience (having owned hydro sponges in the past).

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pbmax wrote:Swiss Tropicals Cube Filters - hands down the best out there, in my opinion and experience (having owned hydro sponges in the past).

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What makes them better? Always good to hear about other products...

BallardFishGuy wrote:

pbmax wrote:Swiss Tropicals Cube Filters - hands down the best out there, in my opinion and experience (having owned hydro sponges in the past).

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What makes them better?  Always good to hear about other products...

They're pretty cheap for what you get.  They have more media surface area and you can select the density of the foam.  They have many fewer parts - easier to maintain.  They come with a small bubble-size lifter and for a bit more you can get the directional lifter.  With the hydro sponges you have to add an air stone to get small bubbles.  I think the foam is more durable too... poret is pretty good stuff.  I know the hydro sponge pro has better foam, but i'm not sure it's as good as poret.  The base is more stable as well (it's a tile siliconed to the foam ).  The foam on the base line hydro sponge filters is junk... same stuff on most basic sponge filters.  It doesn't last very long and it clogs relatively quickly.

i've head good thing about poret foam. i will have to try it someday.

I haven't tried the poret cube sponges but I have looked at them. Now I will have to try them.

I do use poret foam in almost all my tanks in that I buy their foam sheets and cut pieces to fit into both my HOB's and canisters. It is the BEST foam around and will probably last forever. I also have a couple of their Hamburg-Mattenfilters running on my 20G long tanks. I love them.

Nice, looks like am going have some experimenting to do! Thanks for all the help.

If you use sand and african cichlids.  Not so great but still works. The Effer dominant male of the tank keeps digging sand up on to the sponge. Sand goes into the pores. Have to clean it weekly and lose 1\2 cup sand weekly.

SiRWesDragon wrote:If you use sand and african cichlids.  Not so great but still works. The Effer dominant male of the tank keeps digging sand up on to the sponge. Sand goes into the pores. Have to clean it weekly and lose 1\2 cup sand weekly.

But it's better than the sand getting into your HOB or canister and damaging the motor

True on that , Graham aka LJ

True. Just got rid of using sand. I was getting tired of getting it in my canister filters. Have crush coral now. Felt bad getting rid of the sand though my cichlids just loved it like crazy! But I hated it!!! Just way to messy.

Cichlids do that, they redecorate there home. So allow them this simple pleasure.

I have huge C&S Am. Cichlids that move sand constantly, my sponges dont need cleaning every week, Id say more like once per month.

Madness wrote:Cichlids do that, they redecorate there home.  So allow them this simple pleasure.  

I had a Kenyi long ago that would spend all day aquascaping, it was quite entertaining to watch

Yeah kenyi's go crazy with the digging! I actually had to rehome mine for the reason they kept knocking down my rocks.

Hey folks,

I'm thinking about getting some of these poret foam filters from swiss tropicals. I was hoping someone could weigh in on how large of a cube filter I might need for effective bio-filtration in a 10 gallon crowded fry tank? A twenty? Also, what is the purpose of the jet lifter instead of the cube lifter? Is it simply for producing current or is it somehow making the filter more effective?

thanks in advance!!

Brandon

I use a single 4" cube filter in my 10g tanks (including one crowded platy fry tank) and a pair of them in a 20g tank.  They do have larger ones for bigger tanks, but I have no experience with these.  It definitely wouldn't hurt to put a 5" cube filter in a 10g, beyond the space it would take up.

I would go with 20ppi and no denser since these clog up much slower than 30ppi on up. Most of mine are 30ppi, but the last two I ordered are 20 and the one I'm using is definitely lower maintenance. The trade off, of course, is less bio filter surface area. My fry tank has 30ppi foam.

The only benefit of the jet lifter, as far as I'm aware, is redirecting the current horizontally.  I prefer the jet lifter over the standard lifter, personally.  You can really tell the difference in current.

Cant find the box for the brand name but I use this style sponge filter in ALL my tanks, even if they have Canister/HOB filters. I have a 60gal african tank that I only have 2 large sponge filters of this style and am so far impressed.

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Thats a Hydro sponge, Kensfish.com sells them and the prices are fairly cheap.

I use them also, even in my large tanks with sumps, I use a power head on them.

Madness wrote:I use them also, even in my large tanks with sumps, I use a power head on them.

Why? If u don't mind me asking.

Why a power head? Or why use them?

Madness wrote:Why a power head? Or why use them?

Just wondering why you would need to use them unless the current filtration system wasn't sufficient? I too use a sump system & never fathumed adding additional filtration. So I was just curious if your sump, flow for your particular tank is inadequate or if there is an added benefit?

They are great for fry tanks. I graft them onto the intake of all my aqua clear filters.

bassetman wrote:They are great for fry tanks. I graft them onto the intake of all my aqua clear filters.

This is an interesting idea. I too use AquaClear filters. How would you fit this together?

I just heat the riser tube from the sponge with a heat gun and push it on to the pickup tube from the aqua clear . The sponge in the aqua clear stays clean and I do not suck up all my fry. The "Pro" ati filter works longest but the standard sponges do no plug in a couple weeks.

fishNAbowl wrote:

Madness wrote:Why a power head? Or why use them?

Just wondering why you would need to use them unless the current filtration system wasn't sufficient? I too use a sump system & never fathumed adding additional filtration. So I was just curious if your sump, flow for your particular tank is inadequate or if there is an added benefit?

Its all about extra filtration, you can never have to much. For my wet/dry to work at its max efficiency the flow needs to be 1200gph or less(thats on my 300)any thing over that and you blow water through the filter at a rate that loses its efficiency. I use the the sponge filters w/power head to do several things, increase current flow closer to the substrate, extra filtration to remove all loose particles floating around, not to mention it causes the poo to flow to the sponge filter and gather at its base for easier clean up.

bassetman wrote:I just heat the riser tube from the sponge with a heat gun and push it on to the pickup tube from the aqua clear . The sponge in the aqua clear stays clean and I do not suck up all my fry. The "Pro" ati filter works longest but the standard sponges do no plug in a couple weeks.

I use pre-filter sponges on all of my intakes. Cory should be well acquainted with this tactic as I first got the idea from Jim at Conway several years ago. Fusing them to the tube defeats some of the positives IMO. They catch much of the goop that would otherwise end up inside the filter. That includes food. The fish figure this out quickly and it ends up acting as a feeding station. Having that food eaten and not passed into the filter saves overworking the good bacteria in your filter. I don't have to clean my filters nearly as often, instead I just remove and rinse the pre-filters in tank water with each water change.

bassetman wrote:I just heat the riser tube from the sponge with a heat gun and push it on to the pickup tube from the aqua clear . The sponge in the aqua clear stays clean and I do not suck up all my fry. The "Pro" ati filter works longest but the standard sponges do no plug in a couple weeks.

Nice. Something to think about, thanks!

Madness wrote:
Its all about extra filtration, you can never have to much.  For my wet/dry to work at its max efficiency the flow needs to be 1200gph or less(thats on my 300)any thing over that and you blow water through the filter at a rate that loses its efficiency. I use the the sponge filters w/power head to do several things, increase current flow closer to the substrate, extra filtration to remove all loose particles floating around, not to mention it causes the poo to flow to the sponge filter and gather at its base for easier clean up.  

I've spent a great deal of time experimenting with directing flow for optimum performance & water quality. When my long tank wasn't planted it was much easier. Now I have mini power power heads throughout the tank behind plants and wood. The more stuff that's in the tank the trickier it is to maintain a good flow. You have to keep water moving everywhere or those spots become "dead zones" where things can get funky!

Thanks for sharing madness, this gives me an idea for pulling water up from a dead zone a under large hollow log in my tank. Sponge filter, 2' tube under and behind the log, power head above and behind a big fern. Cool!