Only sponge filters and no other filters?

[roydooms]

Is it possible to just have a sponge filter or 2 and no additional filter? Or you should always have another one(HOB, canister)? Thanks.

[Larry Bugg]

All my tanks are sponge filter only except for the 125's.

[PAR23]

I think this all depends on your maintance regime. My understanding is that many breeders don't use filters at all.....they maintain high water quality by performing multiple large volume WCs a day.

[LizStreithorst]

I use sponges only for biological. I'm a huge fan of Magnum 250s for mechanical.

[Bill63SG]

Right now I'll run from a 75 on down with only sponges.If I put a hob on I'm a fan of the emperor 250's,400's.

[roydooms]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

So, if you are running sponge filters only, are you suppose to do huge water changes everyday? Or can you get away with every other day water changes? What if you add a mechanical filter like marineland penguin 350 in a 40g tank? (5 sub adults)

[Larry Bugg]

As far as I'm concerned, the type of filter on a grow out tank doesn't alter the need for large water changes.

[LizStreithorst]

Look into the Magnum 250s with the particle filter. They keep the water clear.

As far as WCs go, you will have to decide for yourself. Nothing beats good clean water. JMO.

[SeaDragon]

I use a sponge filter for my 20gal breeding tank. A penguin filter and 2 sponge filters in the 55gal grow out. Then a Ehiem canister for a 90gal display tank. It just depends on how much you can clean it and if its BB or not.


Julia
Sent from my Styrofoam fish box fort using Tapatalk

[roydooms]

I agree with that bugman. I really am planning to do huge water changes even with the addition of another filter. I was just trying to find out if I can get away with just sponge filters(electric bill wise). Thanks everyone.

[Bill63SG]

Nothing beats a good wc.IMO,a 75 gave me a little buffer between wc every day,or skip a day .

[Melissa]

I usually use sponge filters exclusively on all tanks, even on my 135g except I just recently set up an fx5 on that one filled with bio-media. It bugs me to use foam or whatever inside a high flow filter like an FX5 to trap particulates floating in the water column... All that crap is still technically IN the water so the water quality isn't improved... Just hides gunky yucky stuff inside the filter... Nothing beats good clean water. I never do less than 50% water changes at a time. That's just me though...

A sponge filter is great because it traps gunk and debris and you can see when it's dirty and needs a good rinse :)

[roydooms]

Nothing beats a good wc.IMO,a 75 gave me a little buffer between wc every day,or skip a day .

I agree. The bigger the tank and lesser the load the better. Thanks for your input :)

[roydooms]

I usually use sponge filters exclusively on all tanks, even on my 135g except I just recently set up an fx5 on that one filled with bio-media. It bugs me to use foam or whatever inside a high flow filter like an FX5 to trap particulates floating in the water column... All that crap is still technically IN the water so the water quality isn't improved... Just hides gunky yucky stuff inside the filter... Nothing beats good clean water. I never do less than 50% water changes at a time. That's just me though...

A sponge filter is great because it traps gunk and debris and you can see when it's dirty and needs a good rinse :)

Hi. Thanks for your reply.

I also have an FX5 in my 125g. No sponges except for the ones on the sides. Filled it up with biomedia and prefilters. I clean it every other week. Can you guys/gals comment on my water change regime pls? I do an 80% WC on Mondays, skip Tuesday, 60% on Wednesdays, skip Thursday and 80% on Fridays. I'm never home on weekends that's why I do huge water changes before and after. Should I also increase the wednesday changes to 80%? I know some of you do 100% a day..

[strawberryblonde]

I currently have just 2 huge sponges in my 115g. Sadly, my sump sprang a leak last weekend and sponge filters were my only option to handle the emergency. I've used them before (when I was first setting up the 115 and was waiting on sump parts to arrive) and have never had any problems with them.

If you don't use mechanical you're going to have slightly cloudier water. Hmmm, that doesn't quite describe it either. Your water won't have that pristine polished look. It's NOT cloudy like a bacterial bloom, it's just some fine particles floating around in the water column.

I do every other day huge wc's on my 115 anyways, so the cloudiness never has a chance to build up and my water quality is top notch.

[Moon]

I've been using only sponge filters in all of my tanks. Recently, i"m converting to Hamburg matten filters. These have a huge surface area and keep the water really clean.

[roydooms]

Thank you for the info :)