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Thread: Prefilter Sponge

  1. #31
    Registered Member Carol_Roberts's Avatar
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    Hi DD:
    I live in a rural area. The closest Home Depot is 90 miles away. I use online catalogs alot.

    You should take pictures of any that you've brought home and tried. We'd all like to see it.

  2. #32

    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    Hi Carol: As I have previously mentioned, I will get the pics. up when I get the correct software, so please have patienceI will get them posted as soon as possible. My priority at this point is in the rearing of my Red Leopard fry, plus a million and one other items that pop up. I did manage to get to Home Depot for the info on the syphon tube pre- filter medium as promised. Beside the Dicsus I also restore historical aircraft at Floyd Bennet Field NY, plus I have a exec. board position with a three hundred or so membership R/C Flying Club. All of this while constructing aircraft in three Boroughs in the NY Metro Area. As you can see My plate is full, very busy all the time, most days I put in eighteen hours or more: Sincerely, 8) 8) (Discus Devil)

  3. #33

    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    Hi All: This is for everyone interested in a reliable source for pre-filter sponges! Lustar makes a quality pre-filter sponge, and for $2.99 a pop you can't go wrong. I'm using them(currently) as I post this thraed. They are 4in. long x 2-1/2 inches in diam. I found them at That Fish Place. Take a look, you have a lot to be gained w/pre-filtration. Use keyword www.thatfishplace.com and click on fish, then filters and finally sponge. Scroll down a little and you'll find them. Thanks Carol: Sincerely, 8) 8) (Discus Devil)

  4. #34
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    Hi Discus Devil,

    Please post the email you sent to Carol (then forwarded to me) regarding your early experiences with fishkeeping. It was fascinating.

    I really liked the part about keeping the tank warm by using a candle!!

    Very resourceful :P Thanks, thebaglady... Jen K.

  5. #35

    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    For Jen K. in re, (The Dark Ages) as per your request, and for all in The Forum with similar backrounds:

    Hoping this finds everyone in good spirits at our Nations time of strife. I am thinking of our young people at the front and my prayers go out for them. Although I am a Korean Veteran, I was lucky enough to have a good education for the time, and found myself in the USAF as an A&E (aircraft & engine) mechanic, Stationed at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, IL.

    Before that I had a pretty normal childhood. I am the second oldest of twelve siblings. My beloved parents were hard working American Patriots whose ancestry is from Bonnie Wee Scotland. For my tenth birthday I received a 2-1/2 gal. tank and two goldfish, which turned out to be native carp. That is how it all started Jen. By twelve years of age (1949), I had acquired two twenty longs, bought and paid for by running chores and part time work before and after school. You are absolutely correct, it was no picnic keeping tropicals. All the tanks for the most part were chrome framed with slate bottoms. Silicone cement had not invented so the glass was set into the chrome frames of the tanks with non-toxic putty. We preformed routine maintenance to keep the leaks to a minimum. I do not remember seeing power filters, or reliable heaters, although in-tank filters were as varied as the colors of the rainbow. The filter medium, as you remember, was glass wool and charcoal(not carbon), thank God for little the little things. If you stuck with the carp(goldfish) you had no problems with the heating. Right here you have to remember who is paying for the G&E, certainly it was not I, and so a bargain was struck with Mother and Father as for surely I must have some Tropical Fish.

    I was to have only one twenty long to be placed at the south of the house, relying on the warm sun of only three seasons, supplemented in the cooler evenings with a large diameter candle alight and safely placed under the slate on the bottom of the tank. Although this system was not perfect, I was not the only one employing same and enjoying tropical fish. I have never belonged to any organized club for the advancement of the wonderful hobby of Tropical Fish. There was a loacl pet shop in my neighborhood, were most of my knowledge at that time was gleaned. I must say it was a very solid foundation for the coming years, as the discipline, now that I am looking back was quite vigorus. There weren't too many problems with the tropicals from mid-April thruogh late October, when at that time, you traded in your tropicals at the same neighborhood pet shop for the goldfish and some extra goodies.

    It remained that way untill I was to enlist in the USAF. After my discharge from the military and some ten years later, my first born son and I stopped at the local pet shop. Well I nearly fell down in pure amazement, the technology had taken a giant leap since my absence from the hobby. There were tropicals from the world over,and powered filters, small air pumps not the old belt driven piston type(I still have two of the latter in perfect working condition), more medication that we had at home in the medicine cabinet. A complete library of books and monthly mags, dealing with every known subject by every notable ichthylogist of the time. Every modern convenience and contraption that never existed before. Of course this was all for the pursuit of the hobby and hobbyist, be he novice or expert.

    My son was six then, he is now 46 and it has been nonstop since that day we walked into that local pet shop, except for an occasional hiatus now and then, we all need a break at times. So here I am all set up again and growing out Red Leopard Discus with all seemingly as natural as can be expected, getting ready to breed and be in happy land once more. Jen I surely enjoy sharing with someone whose been there, but unlike yourself I did not keep records, with having the foresight to realize that things always change(except for the basics), someone constantly finds new ideas, new techniques and so I have developed a mechanism for baselinse information retention, it works for me, like I've said we are all in the learning curve, somewhere or other so just keep on trucking: Sincerely,
    8) 8) (Discus Devil)

  6. #36
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    A few snipets of what I can remember:

    Neon tetras were .12 cents a pc. on sale for .07 We were recommended to buy "schools" by LFS sales clerks...Not hard to do in those days.

    Most were "bread and butter" fish, but all were beautiful to me. I was hooked at an early, early age and remember looking at fish at a shopping mall (Southdale was one of the first indoor, contained malls in the Country), with great interest.

    Temperature was regulated by heaters. I don't think we owned one that didn't bother our B & W t.v. Needless to say, our 20H tank was also near a window which got a lot of natural lighting.

    Tops/hoods were beautiful stainless steel. They gleamed. I had no regard for our water conditions and worked hard to keep the tops from getting hard water deposits.

    We had UG filters and also those big boxy ones which had tubes hanging here and there and were hard to prime once you disconnected them. Cleaning the charcoal before placing it in the filter was messy. We had dedicated cleaning equiptment, like spaghetti strainers for charcoal, that were only used for aquarium purposes.

    Before we knew about the bacteria colony growing under the UG filter, my bro and I tore down MANY a tank, an entire Saturday procedure, to CLEAN the tank top to bottom. We had well water so we must not have killed all the good bacteria, but some mysterious fish losses were expected. We could always get more!!

    Funny about the old air pumps....they were very reliable. I had a Supreme Challenger by Danner that just gave out a couple years ago!! That thing had been suppling air for like 25 years! Other names I remember were Metaframe ie: the Hush II

    My parents, especially my Mom, enjoyed fish. We had a large built-in tank in our living room. This tank held native fish like sunnies and perch. We fed chopped up earthworms etc... I would tell my brother's "peskey" friends that they were piranha and that I would stick their hand in the tank if they got out of hand while over at our house. Of course, they were VERY well behaved!!! ;D

    My Dad had made an automatic fill/flush system for this tank. Unfortunately, out of copper tubing. Not the best choice, but who knew then?

    I started loving fish then and today, I have thirty-five tanks. I keep cichlids, killies, rainbowfish and some natives, like darters. I have never kept discus, but hope to soon! Cary and Joe are coming to Minnesota in early April. Can't wait!!!!

  7. #37
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    I have a millinnium 2 exterior filter on a 75 gallon tank, I didn't want to go to the larger 3 because I had read from another source that discus don't like fast moving water. After reading about how others use the larger filters on this forum I wish I had gone to the larger filter. Because I was using the small filter and the intake tube was so high I didn't think a prefilter sponge would be very much help. But I decided to try it anyway, and what a hugh difference it makes, I am amazed at the amount of material it picks up and prevents from accumulating in the filter itself.
    Thanks for the idea Carol.

  8. #38

    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    Hi GMW: You are right, Carol idea to use pre-fliter sponges was a great idea. I also tried w/a very good result. I wonder how she came up with the thought, sometimes you are struck, as if by magic with something that is so basic and yet so fantastic it really amazes me(every time) when I see it happen,lol. If you have read the posts you will see that it motivated me to do the research as to sources for same. As I use power filters in all of my tanks, the sponges was a Bonanza for the health of my fish. It takes appx. one week for the beneficial bacteria to colonize in the sponges. That is when you start to gently clean them. My meathod of cleaning is to use a bucket of tank water that the sponges are in and to gently squeez them untill all the visible waste is rinsed off. In this way you leave the beneficial bacteria colony in tact. Rinse your sponges once a wk. in this manner, you'll have happier healthier fish. Currently I,m using four different type of pre fliter sponges on the syphon tubes. You will find what they are and where to secure them in this thread: Just Keep On Trucking. Sincerely, 8) 8)
    (Discus Devil)

  9. #39
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    Hi DD,
    I too rinse my sponges out once a week in a pail of water from my holding tank. Also during my daily water changes, I have 7 young discus, I run the siphon over the sponges to remove any of the larger material and some of the finer dusty material too.
    Michael

  10. #40
    Registered Member Carol_Roberts's Avatar
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    I rinse my prefilter sponges everyday when I do my water change. I don't want my water running over several days accumulation of gunk on the outside of the sponge. I don't worry about maintaining bacteria on the prefilter sponge. I use it as a mechanical filter only and rinse them vigorously right under the faucet.

    I rinse the sponges inside the filter in used tank water about every 6 weeks. These are the sponges that are full of the "good" nitrifying bacteria. Even with the prefilter they still accumulate some mulm.

  11. #41
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    Carol:
    Thanks for the great tip, I was wondering do you use this method in a breeding tank with fry, or should that be strictly a sponge filter?

    I like my AC 300s & 500s for the job they do keeping the water very pristine, but am afraid they will be sucking in any fry that may be free swimming.

    Chris

  12. #42
    Registered Member Carol_Roberts's Avatar
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    I just have sponge filters in the breeders tanks. When I move the babies at 3 or 4 weeks the 55 gal tanks have an aqua clear 500

  13. #43
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    Hey Carol,

    I just put 1/3 of a carwash sponge on my penguin 330 as a prefilter. It works ok but not very appealing in a BB tank and a hydrosponge. Do you know of any website that sells prefilters like your first picture in this thread?

    I also took your advice earlier about adding AQ sponges in the penguin instead of the inserts with carbon that Marineland sells. The flowrate has dropped but thats ok, right?! I read that discus do not like high flow rates anyway.

    How often should I rinse my AQ sponges and clean my filter?

    Thanks

    Greg

  14. #44
    Registered Member Carol_Roberts's Avatar
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    Hi Greg:

    There is a real prefilter sponge out there - Ryan has one, but I can't remember who makes it. I've wondered if the sponges for powerheads will work . . .

    The reduced flow rate is OK. It depends on the fish load as to how often to clean the internal sponges, but every 4-6 weeks works for me

  15. #45
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    Default Re:Prefilter Sponge

    I have a "real" pre-filter made by Aquarium Technology, inc. (same folks who make Hydro sponge) It's called Filter Max II pre-filter, for tanks up to 40 gal. This is the bigger of two sizes, but....

    It was too short (only 4&quot to be useful on my intake tube so I'm using a home-made pre-filter sponge. Openings on my intake are about 5 1/2.

    One thing, it does seem to have larger pores than the reg. Hydro-sponge filters. It's meant to prevent food or fry from entering the main filter. I'm assuming you don't want to impede/restrict the flow much, just trap large stuff from going in the main filter, so BIG holes are better. Can be used on a power head.

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