Hydro Sponge Users

Hey,

not to be picky......but everytime i sqeeze them (which is everyday) some float.

It is kind of annoying (maybe not) to have to go back through your tanks and sqeeze like crazy until they sink.

What to do? ???

May be i shouldn't clean them at all :o



alex

[Discus Don]

Hi Alex,

Someday I mean to write this up better, but for now, I'll take the lazy way out.

When I was raising lots of corys, I had the same problem. It was a *real* problem when the filter finally sank back down and landed on the fish! So I built these DIY filters which I've come to use on a more widespread basis now. See this thread on the Angelfish Forum.

Good luck!
-Don

http://www.angelfish.net/yabbse/index.php?board=2;action=display;threadid=620;star t=15

My sponges often float. I have all of my tanks on a drip system, and I'm thinking it has something to do with the gases in the water. In my holding tank for manual water changes the water gets aerated before usage so this isn't a problem. With the drip system it just goes through a sediment filter and then carbon to remove chlorine, so I'm thinking the water doesn't have a chance to "off-gas"...
anyways to make a longwinded story short ::) what I've done is I've attached the hydro-sponges to the bottom of the tanks with a suction cup and some fishing line...that way if they float, they only rise a couple inches off the bottom and the tube on the hydro sponge still remains below the surface... ;)

[gary1218]

Don,

Those are really cool. I like not having anything on the bottom of the tank for debris to get trapped. Can you explain a little better where you're drilling the hole for the air line tube. Can't you just feed the airline tubing down the 45 degree fitting?

GARY

[Discus Don]

Hi Gary,

As I said before, I should take some more photos of the whole thing, and write it up more clearly.

As for the airline tube hole, I use a rigid airline down to the airstone, so while you can certainly feed it down the opening in the 45 degree fitting, I was trying to keep the ridgid line straight. Therefore, the hole I drilled through the fitting was a plumb line down through the top.

Again, not completely necessary, but gives it more of a finished look
and keeps the airstone location fixed (it's a tight fit through the drilled hole).

Hope this helps!
-Don

[Fish_Fin-atic]

Discus Don, very, very cool! I'm going to have to build a few of those for sure. I wouldn't be too surprised if a Discus or two used the vertical tube to spawn on ;)

Two questions for you.

One, you mentioned that there are two different types of sponge availlable (small and large pore) which would be better for Discus? I think that the smaller the pore, the more surface area for beneficial bacteria to live on?

Two, you didn't specify on the Angel forum, why is the 45 degree bend needed at all? Is it for asthetics? Or is it a way to hold the airline in place?

Anyways, very nice, thanks for posting that.

[gary1218]

Don,

I sent you an Instant Message.

GARY

[Discus Don]

Hiya Fish_Fin...

Glad you found the idea useful - hope you can put it to good use.

Re your questions....

I generally use the smaller-pore sponges in tanks with small fry (corys and angels) in them (I haven't yet had any discus fry). It gives them less of a chance to get sucked into the sponge. I've never tried the larger pore sponges in fry tanks, so it may not really be a problem. I use the larger pore sponges in my discus tanks where I'm growing juvies and small adults.

I'm sure someone else who used them extensively would have a better answer for your bacteria collection hypothesis, but I would think you are correct.

As for the 45 degree bend at the top, honestly, that's the way I saw it when I spotted the original post (I can't claim credit for the invention). I do happen to think the bend makes for an aesthetic appeal, as well as direct the stream of bubbles into a tighter group. More likely, though, it's use is to hold the airline tubing in place firmly as you suggest.

-Don