How To Run Multiple Sponge Filters

Home· Freshwater Aquarium Weblog· Sponge Filters: The Easiest Fish Tank Filter E'er

Sponge filters are one of the nigh popular filters used in fish stores, fish rooms, and breeding tanks because they're so reliable and easy to utilise. But beginners often have many questions on how they work, how to fix 1 up, and how to proceed them clean. Check out our step-by-step instructions to help you get started with your offset sponge filter.

Sponge filter setup installation

Sponge filter setup diagram

What is a Sponge Filter?

This most basic of all filters requires at least 3 components: a sponge filter (which sits inside the tank), air pump (which sits outside the tank), and airline tubing to connect them. The air pump pushes air through the tubing into the hollow crenel inside the sponge filter. Bubbles rise from the inside of the sponge, thus cartoon water through the sponge walls. This water suction procedure mechanically collects debris from the aquarium and gives beneficial bacteria identify to grow.

Sponge filters are a long-time favorite of both beginner and veteran fish keepers since they're inexpensive, piece of cake to clean, and hard to break since they accept very few mechanical parts. Because of the constant bubbling, it provides proficient water circulation and surface agitation, white being gentle enough to avert sucking upward fish fry, shrimp, and other slow-moving creatures. Plus, during power outages, the beneficial bacteria on the sponge stays in the oxygenated tank water (which gives information technology a longer run a risk of surviving), and you can even purchase a battery pack fill-in that works with our USB air pump in instance of emergencies.

For more than data on filtration options, read our article on fish tank filters and which one you should get.

Practise I Demand an Air Rock for Sponge Filters?

An air stone is a small weighted accessory that diffuses the air from your air pump into smaller bubbles in the water. Nosotros recommend adding an air stone to the inside of the sponge filter to lessen the bubbling dissonance and make the filtration more efficient. The air stone creates a steady stream of tiny bubbles (instead of big, intermittent bubbling) that produces constant lift in the sponge filter – much like a continuously running escalator (versus an elevator that starts and stops all the fourth dimension).

How to Set Upwardly a Sponge Filter

Have apart the sponge filter and remove the plastic strainer from the inside of the cream.

Aquarium Co-Op sponge filter components

Remove the bullseye from the meridian of the strainer, and put the air rock at the lesser of the strainer. Connect the air stone to the nipple or heart of the bullseye using a minor length of airline tubing. If the sponge filter is very pocket-size, you can simply connect the air stone directly to the bullseye.
Snap the bullseye onto the top of the strainer, put the strainer back within the foam, and and then connect the strainer to the weighted base of the sponge filter.
Slip the lift tube over 1 end of the airline tubing coil and connect the airline tubing to the nipple on the top of the bullseye. Then snap the lift tube onto the bullseye.
Place the sponge filter into the aquarium and squeeze out whatsoever bubbles from the foam if information technology's floating.
Place the air pump in its last location outside of the tank, and then cut the airline tubing roll (attached to the sponge filter) to the proper length so that it's long enough to accomplish the air pump. Connect the newly cut air tubing from the sponge filter to the air pump.
If the air pump is located below the elevation of the aquarium, you need to add a check valve to forbid h2o from flowing into the airline tubing whenever the air pump is turned off or the ability is out. Cutting the airline tubing (betwixt the sponge filter and air pump) a few inches outside of the aquarium, and then attach the check valve in betwixt and so that the end of the check valve with the flapper (looks like a colored or horizontal bar commonly) is facing the air pump. (If you lot install it backwards, no air volition flow when you turn on the air pump, and so just flip it around.)

How to connect an air pump

Create a drip loop with the power cable of the air pump (to ensure moisture will not make contact with the plug), then plug in the air pump. Within a few seconds, you should run into bubbles coming from your sponge filter.

Why Are Bubbling Coming out of the Side of the Sponge?

In that location are several reasons why this could be happening, and so effort checking the following:

Did y'all shorten or remove the lift tube? A shorter lift tube does non have as much suction pulling bubbling upward the centre cavalcade, and so some air may escape.
Is the air stone kleptomaniacal within the sponge filter? To make information technology hang straighter, yous may need to shorten the tubing attaching the air rock to the bullseye.
Is the air pressure level from the air pump too potent? If a bunch of air is forced into the sponge filter, excess bubbles may leak out the sides.

Which Sponge Filter Do Yous Recommend?

Sponge filters are a pretty bones piece of equipment, and so there'due south not a lot of deviation between brands. Yet, after a decade of using tons of sponge filters, we fabricated our ain with all the improvements and features that we've e'er wanted. We designed the base and elevator tube with a green color to alloy in with planted tanks and easily hide light-green algae growth, whereas the foam sponge is black to all-time muffle fish waste material and detritus that gets sucked in.

The sponge is made with a coarse cream of 20 ppi medium porosity to easily collect particulate from the water without bottleneck upwards too quickly. The surface surface area is platonic for shrimp and fish to graze on and clean. Plus, the coarse sponge doesn't trap as much air, allowing it to get dainty water menses and sink immediately. (Fine sponges ofttimes have bug with floating, which can cause lack of oxygen in your aquarium and potentially loss of life.)

All of the sponge filters we sell are hollow inside and tall enough so that y'all tin install an air stone within for more efficient filtration and quieter bubbles. Likewise, if you lot remove the elevator tube, you lot can connect another sponge filter on tiptop (without its base of operations) to increase filtration chapters. These sponges tin can be customized in multiple configurations, since 3 of the sponge sizes (all except for the nano sponge) can be mix and matched together. The reward of stacking multiple sponges (versus running them separately) is that they tin can run off a single air pump line. So, if you always need to set upwards a hospital tank, simply remove ane sponge from the stack and it's already seeded with beneficial bacteria to assist the quarantined fish.

How to Clean a Sponge Filter

Yep, a sponge filter helps to make clean your aquarium, but it'southward essentially like a trash tin can that collects waste and needs to be emptied out every one time in a while. We recommend cleaning your sponge filter once a month or whenever you see a subtract in bubbling (which is caused by the foam getting clogged upwards with detritus).

When taking the sponge filter autonomously, disconnect the bullseye from the strainer (i.e., take off the whole top part of the filter) and so you tin can easily remove the foam function for cleaning.
Use a plastic bag to scoop the foam out of the water so that the detritus won't spread and make a big mess in the aquarium.
Clasp and wring out the foam several times in old tank water.
Reassemble the sponge filter and put information technology back in the tank.
If at that place are lots of particles floating in the h2o, just expect an hour or so for the sponge filter to clean it upwardly.

Sponge filters are like shooting fish in a barrel to use, budget-friendly, and very reliable compared to other filter types. If you haven't tried one yet, check out our line of sponge filters and allow us know what yous recall!