# air driven spongefilters



## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

whats the purpose behind the air driven spongefilter?


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## Newobsession (Nov 17, 2010)

They're pretty cheap given the size of tank they can filter. More importantly, they are used mostly on shrimp and breeding/fry tanks as there are no worries about anything getting sucked into a filter


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

I mean the air bubbles inside the spongefilter. not power heads.


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

like this.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

I believe Newobsession is talking about a sponge filter.

The air bubbles create a type of suction that pulls water through the filter as it exits through the tube on the way up. 

Sponge filters act as a bio filter, that's about it.


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## Newobsession (Nov 17, 2010)

gucci17 said:


> I believe Newobsession is talking about a sponge filter.
> 
> The air bubbles create a type of suction that pulls water through the filter as it exits through the tube on the way up.
> 
> Sponge filters act as a bio filter, that's about it.


Yes I was. Sorry, can't get into youtube at work so if you were referring to something else I apologize.


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## camboy012406 (Jun 11, 2010)

gucci17 said:


> I believe Newobsession is talking about a sponge filter.
> 
> The air bubbles create a type of suction that pulls water through the filter as it exits through the tube on the way up.
> 
> Sponge filters act as a bio filter, that's about it.


ahh, so it cleans also water?


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Newobsession said:


> Yes I was. Sorry, can't get into youtube at work so if you were referring to something else I apologize.


No, you were right 



camboy012406 said:


> ahh, so it cleans also water?


Not mechanically. Sponges culture beneficial bacterial which will take care of the ammonia but you still need to vacuum out the dirty particles in your tank.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

Actually they do filter mechanically as well as being quite efficient biological bacteria filters. Tanks with spong filters will usually be crystal clear because they gradually collect even the finest particles in the water column. It is really useful to use either 2 of them, or one in addition to another filter. If you have one in each left and right side of the tank you can alternate squeezing the sponges into a bucket of tank water every 2 or 3 weeks, so you are only disturbing one filter at a time. When you squeeze them out thoroughly the larger sponge filters can turn the buckets water dark brown or black with all the waste and very fine particulates it has collected.

They don't filter chemically obviously though.

This style of filter is pretty old. It's tried and tested, And remains one of the best choices for a tank that is not a show tank where you would want to hide filter and heaters and such.

What's more is they only use an air pump to run them so you can run them on emergency backup, on batteries, in a bucket while driving cross country with your fishtank (lol), or just to save wattage rather than running filters with big motors.
Also if you have acquired fish you want to quarantine you can take one of your two sponge filters, fill a small tank or pail, drop in the sponge filter, and now you have an instantly cycled hospital or quarantine tank. Easy to move from tank to tank, or start a new tank.


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## bcarlos (Nov 19, 2009)

They also provide necessary surface agitation while being great media for beneficial bacteria.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

While I'll agree they are tried and true, I really didn't want to say that it is considered a mechanical filter because at most, it will pull in very fine particles. Not enough to consider it a proper mechanical filter. You end up having to suck it all up when doing waterchanges.

It is best to be paired up with a mechanical filter such a simple hang on back aquaclear in my experience. 

Everything else Will mentioned is great advice such as using two and alternating between cleaning.

Just know that they do eventually get really clogged up and would need replacing to become 100% efficient again. Some may argue that they can last forever though.


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

I have put stuff inside sponge filters for chemical filtration.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

gucci17 said:


> While I'll agree they are tried and true, I really didn't want to say that it is considered a mechanical filter because at most, it will pull in very fine particles. Not enough to consider it a proper mechanical filter. You end up having to suck it all up when doing water changes.
> 
> Just know that they do eventually get really clogged up and would need replacing to become 100% efficient again. Some may argue that they can last forever though.


Some of this is untrue. They do not get so clogged they can't be cleaned, and they last a very long time. They definitely don't need to be replaced because they get clogged. If they didn't filter mechanically, they wouldn't need cleaning. As far as solid debris left in the tank that needs to be removed, that may be true. Do you believe it is better to remove that crud or store it in a filter?


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

BillD said:


> Some of this is untrue. They do not get so clogged they can't be cleaned, and they last a very long time. They definitely don't need to be replaced because they get clogged. If they didn't filter mechanically, they wouldn't need cleaning. As far as solid debris left in the tank that needs to be removed, that may be true. Do you believe it is better to remove that crud or store it in a filter?


I never said they get clogged to the point they can't be cleaned. I was talking about efficiency. Yes, they do last a very long time. I never they didn't either. I was merely stating efficiency drops over time. I agree they do filter somewhat mechanically but smaller particulates. Why would you want to store it in a filter? I don't know anyone that would want to store unwanted debris, fish poop, _crud_ in their filter. Which is why we periodically clean out our filters no? Whether it is a HOB, canister, sponge, sump, etc.

Like I said, why wouldn't you want to raise efficiency by replacing the sponge filter every so often? I am not saying it will get clogged to a point that even after cleaning it is rendered useless. Billd, you are reading into my posts as if I were putting sponge filters down. Which is definitely not the case...as anyone that has seen my previous setups knows I am a avid user of sponge filters. I am a firm believer in a sponge filter's ability to culture beneficial bacteria.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Efficiency doesn't drop over time, at least until they begin to disintegrate. People do store crud in their filters, as most people, especially cannister users don't clean their filters every water change, sometimes going months between cleanings. They seem to forget that anything in their filter must be considered still in the tank. Personally, I don't mind the crud gathering near the base where it is easier to collect. I didn't intend to offend; I guess I didn't make my point clearly enough.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

BillD said:


> Efficiency doesn't drop over time, at least until they begin to disintegrate. People do store crud in their filters, as most people, especially cannister users don't clean their filters every water change, sometimes going months between cleanings. They seem to forget that anything in their filter must be considered still in the tank. Personally, I don't mind the crud gathering near the base where it is easier to collect. I didn't intend to offend; I guess I didn't make my point clearly enough.


Why wouldn't efficiency drop over time? You're claiming that sponge filters maintain 100% efficiency over the course of their lifetime as more and more of the pores get blocked with snails, sand, debris and crud? Interesting concept...does that mean we would never need to replace our hepa filters for my central air?

I never knew canisters were supposed to be cleaned out every water change. That is new info to me that I would need to read up on before accounting it as valid information. I was always under the impression that common practice was to clean canister filters every 3-4 months or observing the reduction of flow into your tank.

Don't get me wrong, I am always up for a healthy debate but I do get offended when my words are twisted around.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

gucci17 said:


> Why wouldn't efficiency drop over time? You're claiming that sponge filters maintain 100% efficiency over the course of their lifetime as more and more of the pores get blocked with snails, sand, debris and crud? Interesting concept...does that mean we would never need to replace our hepa filters for my central air?
> 
> I never knew canisters were supposed to be cleaned out every water change. That is new info to me that I would need to read up on before accounting it as valid information. I was always under the impression that common practice was to clean canister filters every 3-4 months or observing the reduction of flow into your tank.


You are assuming that the sponges take on things that can not be removed with washing. Its quite surprising how much crud fine sponge filters collect, and it does take some effort to remove it all, especially if left too long.
Your impression of cannister filters is precisely what is considered normal, cleaning every few months, which means they are storing crud. No one cleans them every water change, while many clean their ACs or sponges every change. You will often hear cannister owners say they wait for the flow to drop noticeably before they clean them. The efficiency will have dropped off significantly before the loss of flow is noticed. Does it matter? Perhaps not so much, but for the purpose of discussion, we should try to be precise. With sponge filters, you can't see if the flow is reduced so you need to clean them regularly,


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## acropora1981 (Aug 21, 2010)

Sponge filters are the cheapest way to keep large numbers of fish in non-display tanks. I use them in my holding tanks and breeding tanks. They can also be had for very cheap, maybe 10 bucks or so. I used to have a 500 gallon angelfish breeding system that ran on 12 spong filters, and maybe cost a total of $130 or so, plus one very large air pump. See it here.


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## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

The efficiency of sponge filters does decrease over time, but its hardly noticeable. I do agree that they need to be cleaned regularly though.


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

I read about one person that cleans them in the washing machine. I could just imagine what my wife would say if I tried that.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

matti2uude said:


> I could just imagine what my wife would say if I tried that.


Maybe something like, honey I've never seen you do your own laundry before... I'm impressed.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I have run them through the washing machine before. I bought a bunch of used #5 Hydrosponges that had been sitting for a while and ran them through the machine with water to get them clean. It saved me a lot of time.


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## acropora1981 (Aug 21, 2010)

thats actually a really good idea if you're starting fresh...i'll have to remember that one!


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

BillD said:


> You are assuming that the sponges take on things that can not be removed with washing. Its quite surprising how much crud fine sponge filters collect, and it does take some effort to remove it all, especially if left too long.
> Your impression of cannister filters is precisely what is considered normal, cleaning every few months, which means they are storing crud. No one cleans them every water change, while many clean their ACs or sponges every change. You will often hear cannister owners say they wait for the flow to drop noticeably before they clean them. The efficiency will have dropped off significantly before the loss of flow is noticed. Does it matter? Perhaps not so much, but for the purpose of discussion, we should try to be precise. With sponge filters, you can't see if the flow is reduced so you need to clean them regularly,


Yes, I was assuming the sponges took on things that cannot be removed. It does take quite a bit of cleaning to get it looking like new again. Your washing machine idea is interesting. Perhaps a dishwasher would work too?

I guess we shouldn't bring canisters into this discussion simply because that is a different design and we would be comparing apples to oranges.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I used the washing machine for the agitation. A dishwasher is probably too hot.


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