Prefilter Sponge

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes, they are. A friend located some for me awhile back so I have some in reserve now ;D

[utiliy]

any regular car wash sponge?

[Carol_Roberts]

Any fine pore sponge that does not contain fungicide, bacteriacide, soap or perfume

[maestro]

A couple of q's, apologies is this has been asked ihavent read through all teh pages

Does using a prefilter sponge have an impact on the flow rate of an external?

If using a prefilter sponge should i still keep the internal mechanical sponges at the bottom of my eheim or should i just fill it up with biomedia?

many thanks

[Carol_Roberts]

A couple of q's, apologies is this has been asked ihavent read through all teh pages

Does using a prefilter sponge have an impact on the flow rate of an external?

If using a prefilter sponge should i still keep the internal mechanical sponges at the bottom of my eheim or should i just fill it up with biomedia?

many thanks

A prefilter sponge may slow the flow rate slightly. Keep all the sponges in the eheim. They are easy to rinse and catch what the prefilter misses.

[GrillMaster]

Hi all.....Great forum!! Great thread Carol.

With myself bein a newcomber, I have been doin alot of readin...This post was a great tip.......and I got an emperor 400 I'll have to put a whole carwash sponge around that strainer!! An they dont make em in black!

[wolfbane]

I found another way to keep the gunk from floating around when you remove the pre-filter sponge! instead of a cup, I use a catfish net, it has a tight woven fabric that keeps all the gunk contained. They are white, not green like the regular nets. just get one big enough for the filter sponge, ease it up from underneath, push the sponge down into the net, and there ya go, into the bucket for a rinse !
Debbie

[fish_maniac]

Hi Debbie,
That is a good tips. I will looks for the white net!Thank you for sharing it.

Kam

[ricmod]

Hi All:
This is what I use from AuacCave pricie $6.45 each. Comes with diff. adapter depending on you size intake tube.

Ricmod

[Alight]

You'd think all has been said by now. But I have a slightly different solution that may also be useful for the fry question.

I just use the replacement sponges from typical air driven sponge filters like here--http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...&N=2004+113425

The will fit on any filter dip tube, albeit with some tugging for the larger diameter dip tubes (wet the sponges first). Cap the hole at the bottom with a bit of sponge cut from the sponge up higher.

OK, this is the adaptation that will help complaints of low flow, and too much suction.

I put holes in the dip tube extension by using a large diameter nail heated on my stove (use pliers and gloves so you don't get burned). The nail melts the holes nicely and makes smooth holes. I put lots in, at least half way up the dip tube. Then I simply pull enough replacement sponges up the dip tube to cover all of the holes. Makes one nice long prefilter sponge.

What this does is spreads out the incoming water flow, so there is not much suction on any one part of the sponge. For fry, you'd still have to use the smallest power filter available for your tank size and turn down the flow to keep the fry from being stuck to the filter, but it can be done.

This solution also solves any reduced filter flow rates, even with the very small pore size of these sponge filters.

To clean, I simply pull off the whole dip tube extension, put it in the same bucket you all are using, and squeeze the sponges vigorously to get rid of all of the black gunk.

Seems to be cheap, very good prefiltration ( my AC filter sponges stay very, very clean) and keeps good biofilter bacteria, even in the prefilter sponges that can be transfered to another tank (quaranteen, breeding tank) for an instantly cycled tank.

[bennyblanco]

check this item out on ebay just type it in Baby-Fish-Saver-Pre-Filter

[babypenguin]

i just bought one prefilter sponge specially designed for the water intake tube in melbourne, australia.

it does make the filter much cleaner.

[lhforbes12]

Sorry if this was already mentioned (I didn't feel like reading the whole thread) but http://www.jehmco.com/ sells sponge pre-filters at reasonable prices.

[dixiedog]

check this item out on ebay just type it in Baby-Fish-Saver-Pre-Filter

Just bid on a pair. Have you actually tried these?

If they look good I'll use two of them in the manner Alight suggests above.

[Apistomaster]

I do use sponge pre-filters in fry tanks but not for fish 25 cent size and up. I make pre-filters out of empty SeaChem 250ml clear plastic containers by drilling/melting about 100- 1/8" holes in them. Then drill a hole in the lid just large enough for your filter's intake tube to fit snugly and allow the tube to reach the bottom of the clear container. Then cut blue bonded filter pad to make a piece about 8-10"x4-1/2" which I wrap around the intake tube section that extends through the lid, then screw the lid/intake tube/rolled filter pad back on the perforated jar and attach back on the filter intake tube. This makes a very effective mechanical prefilter that is not subject to rapid clogging and is completely reusable and easily cleaned. I use this mostly on Aquaclear filters. I also replace the AquaClear sponge with another cut-to-fit Blue Bonded pad and retain the sintered glass bio-media. This allows more room for chemical filter media,too. Best of all is the long lasting high flow rate and very clear water.
Larry Waybright