When to replace Aquaclear sponges ?

[DLeung10]

How many months of use before one has to replace the sponge ?

I believe rinsing does not remove all of the junk....is there toxic stuff that accumulates over a period of several months ?

 

[jonah]

I've got sponges that are 7-8 years old. I just rinse them out once in awhile. You don't want them perfectly clean anyway since they contain good bacteria. Just clean them enough that the water can flow through them.

 

[TKOS]

Mine are 2 years old right now and still doing well. The bacteria will help break down the grunge that gets in the sponges and the rinsing will remove most of it.

 

[JSchmidt]

I agree. I don't throw any sponge away until it's falling apart. Rinsing is more than sufficient to clean it. No toxic stuff should build up.

HTH,
Jim

 

[jagarundi]

I'm with the others here. I rinse my sponge out at each water change or when the filter is especially clogged up. It turns a nice rose color but it's been going strong now for months. You do have to change your ammonia remover and charcoal inserts at least every 3-4 months or so.

 

[TKOS]

If your tank is established you shouldn't have to use an ammonia insert. That is for new tanks and if there are problems. And charcoal isn't needed either unless there is something specific you want to remove. I haven't had charcoal in my tanks at all.

 

[jagarundi]

you shouldn't have to use an ammonia insert. That is for new tanks and if there are problems. And charcoal isn't needed either unless there is something specific you want to remove

Talk about learning something NEW everyday!! I was under the impression that I needed to have these things in the tank! So you're saying the sponge is the only thing necessary?

 

[Raskolnikov]

I'd highly recommend that you get the biomax for your AC filters as well as the sponge. It will increase your capacity for biological filtration.

 

[JSchmidt]

Nothing wrong with having additional biofiltration capacity, but it's not always necessary. If a cycled tank is keeping up with oxydizing the ammonia and nitrites produced the inhabitants, you have enough biofiltration capacity.

On most tanks, I think additional mechanical filtration is preferable to biofiltration. Good mech filtration takes a load off biofiltration by removing organics before they can break down.

Jim

 

[TKOS]

Taking out the ammonia remover might actually lead to a small ammonia spike as the bacteria isn't used to the increased load. So I would wait until the ammonia remover is near the end of its life span until you remove it as the levels in the tank will slowly have increased. It will save a lot of money not having to buy it as well.

I run only sponges in my Aqua Clear filters. 2 in each. A sponge has a whole lot of surface area and as long as you rinse it every so often to remove buildup, it does an excellent job of biological filtration.