Sponge filter Oscar tank
- Thread starter evers86
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You would be okay when they are small so you could start with just one then add a canister or HOB as it grows. The more filtration for these guys the better. I guess if you did extensive cleaning and water changes along with very specific dieting you could get away with it but that would be absurd. If cost is the problem DIY canisters are easy to make, cheap, and crazy efficient. I know paying a hundred bucks for a cheap piece of junk from Petsmart always deterred me.
I reccomend a cheap canister is the cascade they filter some of my tanks very well with a hob or songe filter for extra support
Something to look forward to, when full grown Oscar turds are about the length and width of your pinky finger. No joke
I believe many aquarists have erroneous ideas about filtration, filtration is not there to pick up big turds.
That's what vacuuming and siphoning are for.
If a big turd gets into a filter, if it sits and is not cleaned out, it is not out of the tank, its metabolism by-products are rotting just spewing toxins back into the tank, fouling all the water that passes over it.
Mechanical filtration is there to remove small particulate from the water column, and that type media, be it a sponge, or pad, also needs to be regularly rinsed out.
Biomedia, is there to convert nitrite and ammonia to "less toxic" nitrate (notice I didn't say non-toxic).
Sponge filters are great filters for any cichlid, but the bigger the cichlids get, the more they need to be squeezed out, perhaps every day.
In my large cichlid tanks, I clean mechanical media with every water change (for me, that's 30-40% every other day).
Leaving turds and other crap in a filter is the same as if you swept dog turns under a rug.
That's what vacuuming and siphoning are for.
If a big turd gets into a filter, if it sits and is not cleaned out, it is not out of the tank, its metabolism by-products are rotting just spewing toxins back into the tank, fouling all the water that passes over it.
Mechanical filtration is there to remove small particulate from the water column, and that type media, be it a sponge, or pad, also needs to be regularly rinsed out.
Biomedia, is there to convert nitrite and ammonia to "less toxic" nitrate (notice I didn't say non-toxic).
Sponge filters are great filters for any cichlid, but the bigger the cichlids get, the more they need to be squeezed out, perhaps every day.
In my large cichlid tanks, I clean mechanical media with every water change (for me, that's 30-40% every other day).
Leaving turds and other crap in a filter is the same as if you swept dog turns under a rug.
Hello; I agree with everything in duanes post and especially like these two lines. He is right on. Let me add an observation or two.
I have run tanks with only a sponge filter many times. The sponge filter is very good at aeration with a bubbler and can be a decent surface for colonization of beneficial bacteria (bb).
They do trap some stuff mechanically but this is not their big talent. Run one a while then squeeze it out and you will see. The operation should not matter with regard to the type of fish.
From reading threads on this forum I sometimes get a feeling some members think that a lot of power filtration with a large capacity for media somehow means the filter will "take care" of the waste and other detritus in a tank. The power filters do trap the stuff but as Duanes says the poo, excess food and other junk just rots in a different place other than in plain sight. A power filter should have mechanical media at the very least. That media needs to be cleaned or replaced so as to remove the stuff from the closed system.
You can also load a filter with media intended to become a home for the bb but this is a different aspect to tank well being but can be made to work in a power filter in a neat way.
In a sponge filter tank the bb will colonize surfaces throughout the tank so that is not a problem. The sponges bubble aeration can and does set up some circulation of the water which helps get the water past the bb as well.
So yes you can run an Oscar tank with a sponge filter. I would likely run a few of them as plenty of bubblers keep the water moving in the size tank needed for an Oscar. In the end you are the cleanup crew and the WC you do are the main thing.
I agree sponges filters are incredible and undoubtedly work. However when you have multiple tanks, a busy family and work life it can be difficult to schedule a 40 percent water change every other day among other things. I believe the ultimate goal is to create the healthiest environment for your fish to thrive. There are many roads that reach the same goal, heavy filtration works well for my lifestyle as it buffers my time. I think the question should be. If using sponge filters can I fit in the necessary time required to maintain my tanks health? This a rewarding hobby but it takes a lot of work. Anyone can buy a fish, few can cultivate their true potential.
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