The Woefully Underappreciated Sponge Filter

[Freezekougra]

I bred Discus, Malawi Peacocks and Tanganyikan Cichlids for some time, and all I ever used in the growout tanks were DIY sponge filters. They worked wonderfully! A piece of the old girlfriend's stocking, a few river pebbles in the bottom for weight, tubing to the bottom, pack with pillow batting, tie the top with monofilament fishing line, done.

I just built a river style sponge filter for my new pleco tank. I'll post pics once I get them transferred to it. Sponges are a great way to filter, I enjoyed the write up!

I know this was posted a while ago, but has anyone tried this method for a DIY sponge filter?

 

[sluder4]

Need a thread on how to create your own :]

 

[lp85253]

ac 110 sponge,and a capped piece of pvc pipe ,drill holes in the pvc.cut a hole lengthwise in the sponge,big enough to fit pvc.insert pvc in sponge .insert airstone ,connected to air pump,inside pvc . DONE you could weight it down with a tile attached to the capped (bottom) end of the pvc.

 

[Jess.in.WI]

well, I've begun stocking my 72g bow with african cichlids, so far we have 5, and I was considering buying a new canister filter cuz I didn't think my two sponge filters would have been enough. Thanks so much for this thread because now all I'm going to do is get a low pressure high volume powerhead and one pro series sponge to replace one of my current sponges! I want the powerhead for more surface agitation; currently I just have bubbles from the two sponge filters and one other air stone, not much surface movement at all, and if I'm going to stock this on the heavier side I want to know that I have well oxygenated water. Now I'm off to do a little shopping and view more of this site.

 

[greenranger]

emperor 400's are pretty good for a 70 something gallon

 

[lp85253]

well, I've begun stocking my 72g bow with african cichlids, so far we have 5, and I was considering buying a new canister filter cuz I didn't think my two sponge filters would have been enough. Thanks so much for this thread because now all I'm going to do is get a low pressure high volume powerhead and one pro series sponge to replace one of my current sponges! I want the powerhead for more surface agitation; currently I just have bubbles from the two sponge filters and one other air stone, not much surface movement at all, and if I'm going to stock this on the heavier side I want to know that I have well oxygenated water. Now I'm off to do a little shopping and view more of this site.

that should work, stack the 2 youhave now and youll be OVERFILTERED

 

[fwiffo]

sponge filters rock! this thread rocks too! ive always used sponge filters and never had a problem with them!!!

 

[Aqualoon]

I'm sold, was going to toss an airstone or two in my tank and have decided to put two Hydro V's in there instead. Only question is, what's a good air pump to use for two of these?

 

[lp85253]

I like penn- plax,but anything that puts out lots of air will do.some smaller pumps can be problematic in deep tanks

 

[charlie1187]

Whats the best cheapest material to use ? Ive read chair couch cushions or outdoor chair cushions , i know about 110 sponges, poret,etc. i wanna use something different i know people are using different stuff so some input would be very useful as i wanna use them in my fish room so thanks in advance!