sponge filter ignorance

C

CrazedAce

New Member
So I picked up a sponge filter about a week ago, and put it in my 5gal for my bettas. It is constantly pushing air out through the top of the device. I'm not sure if it is even circulating through the sponge or not, and I am worried that I may have bought a crappy looking ornament for my tank.

the brand was all in Asian lettering, and I do not have the box anymore. I will try to post a video later today to show you.
 
pbmax

pbmax

Active Member
When air bubbles are released at the bottom of a sponge filter lifter tube they create a vacuum as they rise, pulling water through the sponge. They don't give you a ton of flow, but they do work. I have many cheap sponge filters and they all work as they're supposed to - the design is pretty hard to screw up.

Lately I buy Swiss Tropicals 4" cube filters for my tanks with curved "jet lifters". These point the exiting water and bubbles horizontally so you can actually see the water pushing things around. It's not as easy to see the circulation when they're pointed straight up, but it's there.

8 of my 12 tanks are sponge-filtered and of those 8 7 of them are air-driven and 1 is power-head driven. They're great for shrimp, fry, and filtration en-masse.
 
Gizmo

Gizmo

Active Member
+1

The rising bubbles create a "convection current" in the tube and entrain and pull water through the sponge and up the tube with the bubbles.
 
pbmax

pbmax

Active Member
Not exactly... convection currents occur due to heat differences. In this case there are mass and pressure differentials at work.
 
C

CrazedAce

New Member
So is it wise to have the water line ABOVE the tube at the top, or below it?

I know its too early for the thing to work, but I already have my betta male and female divided in the tank, so they can breed in 2-4 weeks. But I'd rather make sure that the sponge filter was working properly so that it can be ready for the fry when they come. The hardest part to keeping the fry alive is water quality. The tank usually gets filthy with just two bettas in there, and by the time the eggs are laid, I find it close to impossible to change the water in the tank.

On a side note, and related to the paragraph above, does anyone know where to buy a good low-impact siphon, preferably a hand pump one, none of the "shake it up and down and stress the hell out of your fish" types. Lol
 
Madness

Madness

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Water level above the intake on your sponge filter.

Shake it up and down? Why are you doing this? All you have to do is stick the siphon end into the tank, submerse it in the tank, turn it upward so that the siphon tube fills up with water, once the water starts flowing down the tube and the level of water in the siphon part starts lowering, then stick the siphon tube back into the water, and your done, water should be flowing.
 
C

CrazedAce

New Member
I have watched that method done before as well, it still not ideal for what I need. The siphon part is just as big as the tank, meaning I would still disturb the water dramatically, and still suck up fry by just submerging it. It may work on 10gal tank, but not quite what I need. Also, my tank, as stated, is divided in half, which means I wouldn't even be able to fit the siphon length wise in the tank. Granted, I can remove it fairly easily.
 
Madness

Madness

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Petsmart has a nice small one with a siphon squeeze thing to do just what your asking.
 
pbmax

pbmax

Active Member
CrazedAce said:
So is it wise to have the water line ABOVE the tube at the top, or below it?

I know its too early for the thing to work, but I already have my betta male and female divided in the tank, so they can breed in 2-4 weeks. But I'd rather make sure that the sponge filter was working properly so that it can be ready for the fry when they come. The hardest part to keeping the fry alive is water quality. The tank usually gets filthy with just two bettas in there, and by the time the eggs are laid, I find it close to impossible to change the water in the tank.

On a side note, and related to the paragraph above, does anyone know where to buy a good low-impact siphon, preferably a hand pump one, none of the "shake it up and down and stress the hell out of your fish" types. Lol
Click to expand...
I've heard of folks running their sponge filters both ways - with the lifter tube top above the water line and below it. You have to be careful with it above the water line because if the water level drops too much then the air won't be powerful enough to clear the top of the tube. Personally, I run mine with the water above the top of the outlet most of the time.

Seed the tank with gunk from an active filter and it should "work" just fine.

If you're changing water on a small tank you could always use an airline with a syringe to prime it. I do this with some of my tanks from time to time. It'll take a bigger syringe for a bigger siphon tube of course :) Maybe something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50ml-Plastic-Syringe-Large-Thumb-Grip-Syringe-50cc-NEW-/261119076907?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccbe8ea2b
 
A

Anthraxx

New Member
hey there, when i was breeding bettas back in the day, water changes became VERY difficult. unfortunately the babies are soooooooooo super tiny that theyd just end up lost. as for the water change issue id suggest doing like 5-6 tiny water changes. drain an inch fill an inch etc. if your serious about keep the fry you really ought to consider some kind of tumbler like device to make sure you get good survival rates. within a matter of days my old pair would always lose most if not all the fry.
 
C

CrazedAce

New Member
A tumbler device? Please explain.

I've had a few spawns occur, but have only been able to keep 2 of the fry alive. The only way I was able to do so, was by moving the fry into a 10gal heavily planted tank that had about 2 dozen gold gourami fry that hatched maybe a couple days before. One of the hardest fish I've ever tried to breed, but I love how docile they are. I can usually pet them when I'm messing around in the tanks.
 
C

CrazedAce

New Member
That is ingenious! I'm assuming that this does not effect the health of the fish in a negative way. Looks pretty safe, but thought I'd ask. Will be looking into it for sure. :D
 
Madness

Madness

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Anthraxx said:
hey there, when i was breeding bettas back in the day, water changes became VERY difficult. unfortunately the babies are soooooooooo super tiny that theyd just end up lost. as for the water change issue id suggest doing like 5-6 tiny water changes. drain an inch fill an inch etc. if your serious about keep the fry you really ought to consider some kind of tumbler like device to make sure you get good survival rates. within a matter of days my old pair would always lose most if not all the fry.
Click to expand...
great idea. :spoton:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top