Sponge filters maximum bioload capacity?

Jighead

Jighead

Dwarf Cichlid Fanatic
Mar 5, 2006
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I know sponge filters are not that great at filtering tanks, but i am intrigued by the idea of having a cheap filter in some small snails,shrimp, and fry tanks.

Does anyone know what the maximum bioload of fish a sponge filter can handle?

Also what are the pros and cons of a sponge filter?

In my case all of the fish will be fairly slim bodied and around the 1 inch range with ramshorn snails, and ghost shrimp. The tank sizes are 2.5 gallon and 5 gallon.


EDIT: One last queston, is it safe and possible to use sponge filters for tanks up to 10 gallons with small adult fish as long as i check the tanks daily?




Thanks - Jighead
 
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I've used sponge filters for ages in a quite densly populated tank. They seem to work fine.
Having said that, I'm about to run an experiment using fine quartz sand in a filter designed for a foam cartridge. My therory is the greater surface area of the sand will give greater bacterial filtration. I'll post the results. It might work!!
 
I use sponge filters in my spawning and grow-out tanks: a 20g and two 10gs. They work fine and have fairly good mechanical filteration as well.

The bioload they will support would be the same as a regular filter for the same size tank -- IF you do not overstock.

I will also be setting up a 30g with dual sponges at either end in a couple of months.

Roan
 
Actually, sponge filters do a pretty good job for such a simple contraption. Just get one that is made for whatever size tank you have and it should be fine once it's seeded.....oh....make sure the airpump you use is rated for that size tank as well.
 
stuartmc18 said:
I've used sponge filters for ages in a quite densly populated tank. They seem to work fine.
Having said that, I'm about to run an experiment using fine quartz sand in a filter designed for a foam cartridge. My therory is the greater surface area of the sand will give greater bacterial filtration. I'll post the results. It might work!!
Click to expand...


stuart, please do post your results--I'm really interested in seeing how the
sand works!! Thanks. ~Renee
 
I use sponge filters as much as possible and love them! I have 2 sponge filters running in my 55 gal. angel tank and could not be happier with how well they work. I prefer them over HOB filters anyday!
 
I'm also a huge fan of sponge filters. For one thing, I can run multiple tanks off of a single airpump by splitting the line. I can put extras in my powerfilter so that they are seeded and ready to support a small bioload right away (no cycle). Finally, I have never had an ammonia, nitrite, or water clarity problem in any tank that i used them. In fact I will be setting up a 55g high light planted tank in a few months and plan on using a couple of hydrosponges hooked up to powerheads as the only filtration. No surface aggitation and great filtration at a fraction of the cost of a canister filter.

Just because something is old doesn't mean it won't work well. :)
 
I use sponge filters in breeder, frye and grow-out tanks. Never had a problem with them.

Mark
 
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