Sponge filter noob

[Renegade Aquatics]

I got some questions since I plan on getting sponge filters for my tanks. However I only one air pump as I don't want to buy 3 or 4 that are just enough to power each tank.
How big of sponge filters should I use to thoroughly filtrate each tank? (2 40Bs and either a 29 or another 40B)
Should I buy sponges that are rated for a bigger tank than the one they are filtrating, like you would a normal canister or H.o.B.? For instance I currently run two H.o.B.s that are rated for 70 gallons.
How big of a air pump should I buy to power each of the sponge filters? Specifically GPH wise
Thanks in advance.

 

[FishBeast]

The rating really is an arbitrary value. The bigger you go typically the longer you can go without declogging and cleaning... downside is volume taken up by the sponge...

Water flow is generated by an airstone in the center column. more PSI equals faster flow and improved filtration of particulates. I like the Hikari Bacto-Surge filters. I use the XL size mostly. But be warned, they are huge.

Also, for air pump, I use these. They are rebranded Danner Supreme AP-8s.
They're called TopFin AIR-8000 at PetSmart:
https://www.petsmart.com/fish/suppl...pump-16855.html?cgid=300002&bvstate=pg:2/ct:r

I have one powering 9 different sponge filters.

 

[Renegade Aquatics]

Thank you very much

 

[FishBeast]

you are welcome

 

[sir_keith]

I got some questions since I plan on getting sponge filters for my tanks. However I only one air pump as I don't want to buy 3 or 4 that are just enough to power each tank.
How big of sponge filters should I use to thoroughly filtrate each tank? (2 40Bs and either a 29 or another 40B)
Should I buy sponges that are rated for a bigger tank than the one they are filtrating, like you would a normal canister or H.o.B.? For instance I currently run two H.o.B.s that are rated for 70 gallons.
How big of a air pump should I buy to power each of the sponge filters? Specifically GPH wise
Thanks in advance.

The bigger the better, both for filters and pumps. Except for really small and/or lightly stocked tanks (20g or less), I wouldn't trust sponge filters alone unless you are super compulsive about cleaning them. That said, sponge filters are only effective when there is significant water flow through them, and for that, I would use powerheads (even small ones) rather than air stones. Put a small power head on a Hydro-Sponge filter (make sure you get the 'Pro' version) and you will have an effective filtration device. You can never have too much filtration, but for sure you can have too little.