Filter floss or sponge?

[The guy of fish]

Hi, I want to get out of filter cartridges as they are Quite expensive and I want to save money. Bothe the sponges and the filter floss are way cheaper. But I’m looking into only using one not both at the same time. Which will be most beneficial in the tank. I know filter floss makes the water very clear but I’ve also heard sponges do that too. Also, Can you rinse filter floss?

 

[Hendre]

Floss is not easy to clean. Using a sponge and floss is ideal where possible as the sponge catches larger particles and the floss lasts longer catching small particles. What I have been doing is using a coarse sponge, followed by a thin, finer sponge and then my biological media. Just clean it all out every time I clean the tank

 

[kno4te]

I use filter floss from Walmart. After a week a cut out section and replace it. I make layers of it. I don’t wash it out and throw out the old.

 

[esoxlucius]

Sponges are great. They come in varying grades from coarse to fine. They can be rinsed out thoroughly and used over and over again. However, just to give your water that extra polish it's good to have a wad of polyester filter floss for it to pass through before entering your bio side. The downside of filter floss though, as Hendre said, is it's difficult to clean. But that doesn't matter because it's that cheap you can just toss the used stuff and replace with new.

I use both, I wouldn't just use sponges, or just use the floss. But used together they make an excellent team.

 

[The guy of fish]

So with a Hob or internal filter, would you put the sponge on the bottom with the floss in top or would you put the sponge in the back and the floss in the front?

 

[DN328]

I use an Aquaclear HOB filter on quarantine tank. I use the sponge that came with it at the bottom, then floss, then a mesh bag of seachem rocks.

I use something like this for floss:

Amazon.com : inTank PREMIUM THICKNESS Aquarium and Pond Filter Floss | VALUE PACK (3 large sheets) | Blue and White Bonded Poly Filter Pads 600-square-inches | Cut to fit | Clean Clear Water : Aquarium Filter Accessories : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : inTank PREMIUM THICKNESS Aquarium and Pond Filter Floss | VALUE PACK (3 large sheets) | Blue and White Bonded Poly Filter Pads 600-square-inches | Cut to fit | Clean Clear Water : Aquarium Filter Accessories : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

 

[DN328]

So with a Hob or internal filter, would you put the sponge on the bottom with the floss in top or would you put the sponge in the back and the floss in the front?

I would put the sponge where the water flows through first, depending on the type of HOB.

 

[Gourami Swami]

I think it depends what kind of filter you are using; in a canister which you don't open and clean as much, the floss would likely get dirty in there very quickly and efficiency would go down. In an application like that I would use sponge/pads along with bio media (can be ceramic rings, etc, or "diy" like lava rock).
In an HOB filter I would use a coarser sponge/pad on the bottom (or where water reaches first) then floss on top. In a HOB filter you can easily swap the floss and throw the old floss out. It is a PITA to clean floss so I don't bother.
In my reef tank I use floss as the main mechanical filtration; I normally swap it twice a week. lately have been swapping every day to fight some free-floating algae.

 

[The guy of fish]

So far I’m still deciding on which sponge is a better deal but for the filter floss I ordered a 72”x12”x1” dual layer filter floss so it’s finer at one end then the other.

 

[Rass]

It would help if we knew more about your overall setup. Having said that, I run a marineland penguin 350 on my planted 40 breeder, with blue dream neocaridina and yellow tiger endlers, one otocinclus, and a bunch of snails. I upgraded it with all coarse sponge from aquarium co-op on the inside of the filter, and a large coarse intake sponge inside the tank. I also have a filter bag with ceramic bio rings nested on top of the sponges, at the top of each chamber, right before the water hits the bio wheels. Works great! Hardly ever have to clean it, and if you wanted to run filter floss for some reason, you could run it on top for a few hours to polish the water and then toss it. Really no need to run it all the time. Plus when you do clean it the coarse sponge rinses out very easily.