FishForums.com - View Single Post - How do you know if your sponge filter is working?

JamesB · 09-06-2006, 10:59 PM

I just decided to convert a 5 gallon aquarium to a quarantine/hospital tank after one of my other aquariums developed a case of Ich after adding a new fish. Since there were no hanging power filters (the easiest, IMHO) that provided adequate flow for the aquarium without overpowering it I decided to give these sponge things I hear so much about a go.

I purchased a Dirt Magnet Junior, their smallest sponge but that they say will handle a 10 gallon aquarium, connected it via the instructions (let's face it, it's not that complicated...) and placed it in the aquarium. What concerns me is that it doesn't seem to generate any suction whatsoever. There are bubbles rising from the tube, and when you disconnect the tube the rate at which the bubbles rise decreases drastically, a sign that the fluid dynamics should be working correctly... but placing a single flake of food on the otherwise bare aquarium bottom a half an inch away from the sponge and leaving it for half an hour results in coming back to find the flake still exactly where it was placed... just wetter.

Are the sponges not supposed to be able to move objects the mass of a flake of food or what? Everything I've read indicates that they serve as excellent biological filtration and also perform a mechanical role suitably, but I can't see it working as a mechanical filter if it's not even capable of harvesting the basic debris that needs to be collected...

Is this normal for a sponge or does it sound like I"ve hooked something up incorrectly or that there's not enough air flow?

09-06-2006, 10:59 PM	#1
JamesB Fishy Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Fairfax, VA USA Age: 31 Posts: 13	How do you know if your sponge filter is working? I just decided to convert a 5 gallon aquarium to a quarantine/hospital tank after one of my other aquariums developed a case of Ich after adding a new fish. Since there were no hanging power filters (the easiest, IMHO) that provided adequate flow for the aquarium without overpowering it I decided to give these sponge things I hear so much about a go. I purchased a Dirt Magnet Junior, their smallest sponge but that they say will handle a 10 gallon aquarium, connected it via the instructions (let's face it, it's not that complicated...) and placed it in the aquarium. What concerns me is that it doesn't seem to generate any suction whatsoever. There are bubbles rising from the tube, and when you disconnect the tube the rate at which the bubbles rise decreases drastically, a sign that the fluid dynamics should be working correctly... but placing a single flake of food on the otherwise bare aquarium bottom a half an inch away from the sponge and leaving it for half an hour results in coming back to find the flake still exactly where it was placed... just wetter. Are the sponges not supposed to be able to move objects the mass of a flake of food or what? Everything I've read indicates that they serve as excellent biological filtration and also perform a mechanical role suitably, but I can't see it working as a mechanical filter if it's not even capable of harvesting the basic debris that needs to be collected... Is this normal for a sponge or does it sound like I"ve hooked something up incorrectly or that there's not enough air flow? __________________ Platies for the win!