Jehmco Sponges

[Vinny]

I'm sure a lot of people on the forums are familiar with Jehmco .. and I am definitely considering buying some of their sponge filters. Has anyone tried the Hydro-Flo Sponge Filter w/ Quiet One 1200, 296 gph Powerhead? It looks like a great all in one filtering system for a Discus tank, and even gives the water extra circulation with the attached power head.

It seems like a good system, although I'd like to hear comments on other people's views on the powerhead and sponge filter combo.

http://www.jehmco.com/html/hydro-sponge_filters.html

[devonpond]

The Hydro-Sponge is manufactured by ATI and distributed by a wide variety of resellers, including Jehmco. An advantage to getting them from Jehmco is bulk pricing.

Some use power heads with sponges, especially when densities are kept high. Others use airflow to drive the flow of water through the sponge. Most use sponges as a secondary filter, combined with wet/ dry, HOB, or other filtration.

The ATI Hydro-Sponges sit on a perched base. This can create a microhabitat for hiding discus and accumulating debris. Thus some prefer to mount their sponges from the sides of a tank. The ATI ones are not so designed.

Borrowed from Dan @ GulfCoast:
Dan shared a DIY project for making this type of sponge somewhere here at SD.

[alpine]

Vinnie, Hydro Sponge has a new sponge type heavier and of higher density to be used with power heads . John at Jehmco will guide you to them.

roberto.

[Vinny]

Thank you for the help, I will be making an order at Jehmco shortly. This is going to be a fun project. ...

[mikesmac]

Hello,

I have a LOT of the Hydro-sponge filters manufactured by ATI which I purchased from Jehmco. I started buying them years ago and they used to be a high quality product. The last 2 shipments that I got from them contained sponge material that is MUCH less dense than previous ones. The very dense sponge material holds up much better than what they are apparently switching to. And no I didn't get the "pond" ones that are an open pored filter on purpose.

I called Jehmco after the 1st shipment that came in like this because it was a mixed batch...some were the good ones and some were not....and asked that they please make sure I get the better ones.... Didn't happen. All but two were the crappy foam that falls apart in short order with rinsing / squeezing them out daily with water changes. It doesn't take long for the sponge material to not even stay on the frame because it is so flimsy...... Anyways Jehmco told me they have no control over what ATI sends to them and told me to call the manufacturer.

The lady at ATI told me initially that she didn't know who Jehmco was, that they weren't an authorized seller of their products and told me to call to find out who their distributor was because they could be from some other company, not them. (They say American Technology Inc. right on the frames) So I called Jehmco again and told them what ATI said and John said they knew exactly who they are, Jehmco is a division of HOLLAND MORITZ and he had spoken with them about the inconsistency of their sponge material a number of times. So I called ATI back again and THEN she remembered who Jehmco was and told me that mine was the first complaint they'd had about their sponges. I told her that Jehmco said that they'd spoken to them about this problem previously and then she then told me she didn't know what I was talking about but they'd check into it if send them some of each of the filters from my order so that they could compare them / see the difference I was talking about. I told her to look in their warehouse and I'm sure they will be able to find them...she said that wasn't going to happen, I would have to send them my filters for them to check anything... and no they weren't going to reimburse me for anything I sent them. All in all the lady was very rude and had an excuse for anything I suggested. It is obvious to me that they are simply cheapening their product because it must have lasted too long before and they weren't happy with the amount of repeat business from replacement sponges. So now you can expect to be replacing the sponges a lot more frequently if you buy their product. I cannot even do water changes with out the sponges slipping over the base when the water level gets low requiring the need to fix every one once the water is raised again, and then they don't stay there anyways, they'll settle on the stand / frame with 1/2" of space between the top of the cage and the top of the sponge so I'm sure the efficiency of the filter is greatly reduced not being sealed or at least close on the frame. I have so many of their frames that it really aggravates me that I'm stuck buying their crap replacement sponges unless I want to start from scratch. I certainly won't be buying any more of their frames and if I can find a replacement sponge that fits and doesn't come from them I will switch in a second. As ignorant as their customer service lady was I'll probably switch anyways even if I have to trash their frames. I won't even be garage sale-ing them because then someone else would be stuck buying their crap replacement filters and that ain't going to happen. Sorry about the long post.. my rant is over now.

Mike

I guess this should probably go under product reviews? Any one else notice this problem so I will know that the lady at ATI was lying about that also?

[Vinny]

Wow... well, I appreciate your input, and I had no idea about their inconsistency in their products! I might reconsider now buying from them... if you wouldn't recommend Jehmco, is there another distributer of Sponge filters you would recommend, maybe Dr. Foster and Smith?

[dawncollette]

Vinny, I bought some sponge filters from www.petsolutions.com and was was very happy with them. I have mine hooked to a powerhead and some just as regular sponge filter set ups. I think they are cheaper than fosters and smith.
hth,
dawn

[alpine]

I have many Hydro sponges ...some of them have been very light and not as dense as others ... I guess things are not perfect sometimes , but they are still good . The denser ones seem to pick up more detrius ..
John at Jehmco will stand by the products he sells and has great integrity and is very well respected. Don't hesitate to call him with any questions you might have.

roberto.

[mikesmac]

Hello Vinny,

I buy lots of stuff from Jehmco, the Hydro-sponge filters that they carry, are just not the quality product they used to be. Jehmco is not the only place that sells this kind of filter... but they are the least expensive place that I've found them, especially in quantity, so if you want to pay less for the ATI crap you might as well get them from Jehmco.

The biggest problem with Jehmco was when I went to them with the problem his response was ....as I said... "they have no control over what ATI sends them" ....They did NOT stand behind the product... basically said it wasn't their problem.

Jehmco is a discount place to buy stuff... I haven't had them stand behind anything I've had a problem with and so don't expect them to on anything that I buy there now. One of their GTC1R temperature controllers, which they touted as the "Best controller on the market" for a long time almost burned down my house (started on fire and scorched a 10 inch circle on the wall near my 240 gallon tank ...yeah I was lucky!) His response to that.... it wasn't under warranty...again, not his problem (I had it for just over a year)

They are still cheaper on some things though so that is the trade off / risk that I accept when ordering from there.

Mike

Wow... well, I appreciate your input, and I had no idea about their inconsistency in their products! I might reconsider now buying from them... if you wouldn't recommend Jehmco, is there another distributer of Sponge filters you would recommend, maybe Dr. Foster and Smith?

[brewmaster15]

Mike,
I've noticed the differences you mentioned in the sponges...It never really bothered me I guess because they all seem to work equally well for Biofiltration.....Longevity in use...I can't comment on.. If you are looking for a denser brand to work on your ATI cages...try Azoo.. I believe they are a good fit... The few I have are more dense... but they are also usually more expensive the Hydro material.

On the Jehmco note.... My experiences with Them have been very different from yours....... I have nothing but praise for John and his company....been buying my fish room supplies for years from them....not just because of the prices... I don't think I have ever had a problem with anything they sold That I had a chance to see if they stood by their product, but I can tell you that they will spend a tremendous amount of time trying to help you with something...before you even buy the item....most supply shops won't give you the time of day if you have a "how to question" or any techincal question.

hth,
al

but since we are griping about ATI product design... I can accept their sponges as long as my biological bacteria does. What I have an issue with is the poor design of the cage... They crack way to easily....thicker or stronger plastic is needed or better yet...they should use a simple threaded design...IMO.

[mikesmac]

Hi Al,

Thanks for the info, I've never heard of them but I'll have to look for some of those Azoo sponges. As to your experiences being different....I have no problem buying from Jehmco, John and the lady who answers sometimes are nice enough on the phone when ordering, stuff gets shipped out quickly and the prices on some stuff is unbeatable. Our experiences there are probably the same, but I think the operative phrase is .... your never having had a problem with anything to see if they stood by their product. My experience is that they sell stuff. Even though they do make modifications to some of the products they sell, and put their own name on them (like the temperature controllers) which you'd think would give them some liability....... when it comes down to standing by "their" products ... Everything they sell is someone elses product.

Mike

[Discus-Hans]

Let me start by saying I don't use sponge filters.

Next if you jell in my fish house will all Jehmco stuff leave my fish house will fall apart and there will be not much stuff left.

My experiance is very differend from yours Mike and if I had a problem (didn't happen too many times) the problem is always solved.

Even though I don't use the ATI sponge filters I've some contacts, I will bring this under their attention, see what I (they) can do,

Hans

[Dennis The Mennis]

I am curious, what happened with the controller? I just bought one and I do not want to put my family in any danger. Mine has an additional outlet installed. You can pm me about it if you'd like.

[mikesmac]

Hi Dennis,

I don't know what happened to it. It was one of the older GTC models(which I believe they still sell) with the dial to set the temp...supposed to be the most reliable. I came home one day to my house reeking of burnt plastic.....tracked it down to the controller which, as I said had caught on fire and scorched the wall that it was attached to. Luckily the wall didn't stay on fire, and I had the controller on it's own circuit so when it shorted the breaker tripped and that was all that went off so my filter and air pumps were still operating. It could have been much worse than just having to replace a controller and part of my wall.

Mike

Ps. Hans - Sorry I missed your post that would be great if you could find out what's up with ATI, I got the impression from the lady I talked to there that they didn't much care what any one individual (namely me) thought of their products though. Maybe if they knew that more than some isolated individuals were noticing their either lack of quality control, or intentional downgrading of the quality of the product they would re-think their business plan.

[Discus-Hans]

I got somebody "on it" he deals directly with the owner of ATI

Will probaly take some time but I'm sure I will hear more from him,

Hans