Prefilter Sponge

[Carol_Roberts]

Personally I like very fine pored sponges to trap all the little particles. The slower water flow gives more time to be in contact with the good ammonia eating bacteria on the internal sponges.

[thebaglady]

Thanks Carol. And you rinse them every day during water changes. Mine doesn't slip on and off that easily, but maybe it will overtime.

I'm reflecting back on advice from Willie. He said, a little biological filtration (a sponge filter) goes a long way with discus.

Mechanical filtration (power filters) are wasted because you change so much water, they are essentially an afterthought. :P Sage advice to a newbie!! (at least I have discus now!)

[jamesmcsyd]

I wash my prefilter sponge daily, but my problem is that when I take off the sponge from the intake tube, alot of gunk flies about and is released back into the tank. Sometimes I use my siphon to siphon the pre filter before I take it off, but even still, some gunk gets back into the water. Does anybody have a trick up their sleeve to address this problem, or am I being too paranoid about cleanliness!

By the way, I use a thick carwash sponge for my prefilter. I rinse it everyday, and even after 3 months, it's as thick and tough as when I first got it!

James

[thebaglady]

I have noticed that too James. Little bits of this or that fly off into the water.

Some people say their fish eat the stuff off the pre-filter, but i haven't seen mine do that, maybe they would if they were older and got less feedings a day (right now, they're getting five meals :P each day!)

At least all that little stuff isn't in the main filter. Jen K.

[Carol_Roberts]

Here's what I do. . . . I don't have extensions on my intake tubes, so the pre-filter sponge is just below the bottom of the aqua clear.

After I have removed the old water (filter is turned off) the sponge is partially or fully out of the water.

I take a large plastic cup, manuever it under the pre-filter sponge, then lift the cup up until it covers the sponge, then push the sponge down off the intake tube deeper into the cup.

I remove the sponge filled cup from the tank, rinse it vigoruously under the tap and replace.

AFfter a little practice you can do it with most of the water still in the tank.

[jamesmcsyd]

Funny you mentioned your method Carol. That idea hit me square in the face today, as I was pondering how to overcome this problem. I gave it a go, with the sponge still below the water line, and presto! Worked a treat! Not one bit of 'gunk' spillage. Then I logged onto the internet and found out that you have been using this method all along.
Great minds think alike Carol!

James

Hi,

another great use for the prefilter sponges is that they trap the flakes i feed.

Really neat to watch those guys learn their favorite spot.

alex

[Carol_Roberts]

;D ;D ;D

[daddyg70]

Hi everyone,

I got rid of my big and un-aesthetic car wash sponge as a pre-filter and replaced it with a fluval 3 filter sleeve similar to Carol's pic in the beginning of this thread. Hope it works!

Greg ;D

[Nightowl]

Prefilter sponges! My favorite topic!(one of)... they ask me at work: J, sell any pfs. today? Lustar provides 3 types: Max3 a coarse sponge for higher flow rates. Max 2 uses the same sponge as a Hydro sponge filter #2, and max1 is one half size of # 2 for smaller filters. These pfs. come w/ fittings that will adapt to whisper filters1 2 & 3; the tubing sizes of fluval & eheim canisters; aqua clears(all sizes) + Millenium 2000's(a personal fav.)Not sure about marineland stuff. They don't adapt to mill.3000's right out of the box.. u must improvise. Another thing that works is the (now kaput) tetra billi& brilliant sponges. I will use on aclear200's.Probably could adapt to larger w/ Carol's kitchen knife procedure. Hagen also makes a similar sponge replacement(at least they did last year). Carol: its a longshot but I might be able to get those blue sponges for the fluval internal filter....was able to get the fiber insert for them about 6 weeks ago... believe its same model... will let you know........ J(nightowl) Happy mothers day to all! one more thing : have also used # 3& 4 hydro sponges on the prefilter "chassis" so to speak, for improved function... they just look large is all.

[jamesmcsyd]

For australian readers

The yellow car wash sponges they sell for about $2 in COLES is what I use, and they work a treat. I'm still on my first one. Tough and finely pored.

James

[Shari]

Ok I'm finally getting smart and going to add prefilter sponges to my tanks this week. May be stupid question but I presume you take the little extension 'cage' off the intake tube before you put your sponge on? Only concern I've had is water intake flow rates which is why I've delayed using them.
:

[Carol_Roberts]

Hi Shari:
Nope, I leave the pointy filter tip on and slide the sponge over it.

Perhaps your filters are too small if you are worrying about flow rate? What size filters do you have on what size tank?

[thebaglady]

Yep. I left the little cages on too, but mines' not pointy like Carol's on one of my tanks....One's an Aqua Clear, ones a Supreme Aquamaster 400.

One has durable internal sponges and pointy outlet tube so it's easy to get the pre-filter on and off. One has non-durable floss type internal sleeves and non-pointy outlet that's not as easy to get the pre-filter on and off.

Can you tell which power filter I like better???? : Jen K.

[Carol_Roberts]

Aqua Clear ;D