Finally I found someone on here that is knowledgeable about having a fish tank.. 1st time watching your videos and you've helped alot with what I needed help with my tank!!. Thanks bro!🤙
and here i am ! lol...ive had 3 of these, lol...theyre great with the upgrades mister travis talks about. i actually prefer the aquarium coop brand because its not as fine and still filters just great imo.
Excellent! You answered my question. I am new to fish keeping. I just started cycling my first 5 gallon tank this week. It came with a small submersible filter. However, i accidenly damaged the cartridge. So i decided to put that same type of sponge inside. I was wondering if that would work as well and not have to buy future cartridges. Thanks for the info.
This is awesome. Been looking for the best way to do this. I wanted a coarse sponge in the back and then filter floss last to polish the water better but floss has to be replaced. So I might go with the coarse sponge on the intake filter and the fine sponges inside the filter and call it a day. I like this. Very easy. I hope water flow doesn't slow down too much.
Intake sponges also stop fry (baby fish) from going up your filters. I have actually used tull material and and a rubberband to keep the fry from going up the tube. But I think I like this idea better. Also,. If you use both it slows down the water flow so it doesn't come out of the middle of your filter. I plan on following your link and purchasing this. This is a really good deal. Thank you.
The intake round sponge also stops small new fish from getting stuck on the intake tube, which does happen, the power of the flow pulls them into the tube and they can’t swim away and die
Started my tank back up after 20 years. Emperor 400 filter. Will do this. No carbon means I'll finally get plants to grow!!! This represents MASSIVE financial savings. Rinsing in aquarium water means good chunk of the bacteria is still on there!
Great tips. Thanks so much from the aquarium beginner !!! I actually am going through a bacterial bloom. Learned from internet. Sorry PETCO but they are absolutely no help!!
Sorry but I don’t see the descriptions link?? are .I’m new to UA-cam so if you could tell me where to go I would. Appreciative it ?Your knowledge Extremely hard for even though I’ve been doing it for over 25 years I can’t believe I didn’t use a Python No more buckets for me no more backaches it’s been a lifesaver.Did you theGravel short hose For the substrate I can’t believe how simple it was and how much little money I spent on it to save so much work.Garden hose type homemade always cranked thank you for everything that you do including aquarium co-op and all our friends on u-tube you also make the hobby more enjoyable for me I die heart fan you have such a sweet friendly face it’s like I’ve ran into thousands of times you’re just one of the guys that look like you could do anything
How do you not lose bio when you squeeze out the sponge? I have Aqua Tech filters with a bio pad that fits in front of the cartridge. Does the sponge come in 1" thickness?
I have aquariums that are filtered with Tetra, Marineland and Top-Fin filters. I stopped buying their cartridges over two yrs ago and instead use poly-fil. Don’t use carbon in my filtration systems. However, the use of a sponge cut out might be better than the ploy-fil and less maintenance. I going to try it. Thxs for the video.
Your welcome, in my experience this sponge pad keeps the water just as clear as the polyfill and also helps with the biological filtration because it doesn't get replaced it just gets rinsed and reused
When you use this sponge and you say you can just rinse it out, you won’t lose any beneficial bacteria on the sponge? Also I do have the dual tetra whisper liked you first showed in the video. Do you recommend only rinsing one side out at a time to prevent a major loss of bacteria or do you rinse both at the same time? Lastly is carbon not really necessary?
Bacterial loss is minimal when rinsing, i usually do both at the same time but you can do one if youd prefer. And no its only needed if you need to remove a medication or known contaminate
@trafish aqatics I’m running 2 penguin 350s, can I add the coarse sponge along with filter floss behind the stock filter cartridges on both hobs and not crash my cycle ? If I can, what order should I go from the back of the filter to the front? Thank you and awesome video!
Your welcome, yes you can run both from back to front I would run sponge then the filter floss. That way the floss only has to catch the smaller particles, if it was first it would catch everything and would plug up very fast
Question: 3 water turtles 2 red eared slider 1 yellow belly. Largest 7” long shell 4” wide or so other two smaller. 75 gallon aquarium. Inside temporary set up till warm weather. How would you filter so it doesn’t wreak like on outhouse after four weeks? I bought a used aquarium hang over filters that have paddle wheels on them. Turtles are messy but they are mine. Basking tank on the top.
You can modify them with sponge the same way as this video, The issue of turtles is they have any enormous bio load so filter maintenance needs to be done quite often as well as very large water changes weekly or more
Hello I'm a newbie. I purchased a betta. I set up a 3gal tank with betta ready water and a 3gal ready tank. I'm looking to switch out the filter cartridge to sponge. The filter system is small with no intake piping, am I able to cut a sponge and achieve this?
I'm definitely going to do that with my penguin 350, the peds have gotten really expensive, I used to use AquaClear filters but, as you know they break very easily, so now I have a bunch of parts for those filters but no filter cases which incidentally cost the price of the filter
Both are good filters, if you have the money the aquaclear is hard to beat, but if your on a tight budget the 400 loaded with this sponge works just as well
Hey, so if I already have filters on a tank with bacteria do I just remove them and use these? Will that bacteria come back or when I buy them to I rinse them off with aquarium water? Also some ppl in the reviews said there is a chemical smell, are they just trolling or have u experienced that?
You can remove the old media and just add these sponges in thier place, it would be no different than adding new filter cartriges. Your water may get cloudy for a few days as the bacteria re colonizes the new sponges. There is a slight smell to the new sponge from the manufacturing process but I've never had any issues with using it in the aquarium.
Very informative! 👍 I'm currently running 2 Penguin 350's in my 55 gal. (2 oranda and a 1 moor) which one of the two sizes intake sponge should I purchase? Also, do you recommend leaving one cartridge in and then sponge on the other side? My wallet would prefer sponges all around and zero cartridges. Would that be possible?
Great video! I used your link and I got in my big piece of sponge. It was too thick so I had to cut it in half. I love how it is working. How often do we need to clean out the actual HOB filter? I noticed that mine has white build up in it. I'm using a Top Fin Silentstream. I have a 5 gallon tank with 1 betta. Could the build up in my filter have been the cause of the ammonia spike and loss of my tank cycle?
Hi. I have an Interpet CF3 internal filter that moves water from bottom to top and then over the top and flows out. Do I still need to leave the gap at the back, or can I pack from bottom to top with sponge then media gravel?
For that style filter you would still want to leave some kind of gap in the back so that the water can flow up behind the media and then up through to the front to exit. otherwise all of the water is going to have to flow through the media from the bottom and will plug up faster because of the smaller surface area. That being said you can experiment with it and see if it works both ways.
Hi, I've had a 75 gallon with 2 Marineland filters in it,and I've always used cartridges so my question is how does carbon affect my fish, I have plastic plants and no lights, so how will the removal of Carbon affect my fish? Also what kind of upkeep is there in your experience once you have the sponges in.
Carbon doesn't affect the fish directly, it removes contaminants from the aquarium, if you don't have any known contaminant then you don't need to use carbon. As far as upkeep you just squeeze out the sponges in a bucket of tank water and put them back in the filter, this is done at the same interval when you would normally switch your cartridges.
Any advice on making the upgrade to sponge on a HOB with an already established tank? I have the media that came with the filter and designed for the filter but I want to upgrade. Great video
It's actually very easy, The next time you would normally change out the cartridge, You can just put a piece of sponge back instead of a cartridge. Easy as that. Or if you want to, cut a piece of sponge to size and let it soak in the tank for a week before switching it
@@TrafishAquatics great response. I’m subscribing. I have one more question if you don’t mind answering . When you use tank water to clean your media do you just refill your tank back up with treated water? Or do I need to have tank water aside at all times ?
I have a 7.6 gallon semi hex molded-acrylic tank that came w a small internal filter. I’d like to replace the filter w a HOB for more filtration (it’s my guppy fry tank but my fry are teenagers and getting bigger by the day!), but have an issue w the back wall of the aquarium. It has a bump-out that will require a filter w a larger-than-normal gap where it fits over the aquarium rim. Can you recommend a filter that would work for me? I need a min of 1.25” rim gap. The ones that have that large of a gap are for 70+ gallon tanks and are way too big. I looked into internal filters too but the one I was looking at (Whisper, maybe for 10-30 gallons?) was 4”x4”x8”. The 8” depth would be fine but a 4x4 inside the tank would take up a quarter of the internal space of the tank and I’d rather not remove my wood and plants to make room for that. The width restriction is anything less than 7”. Thank you for any suggestions!!
Unfortunately you don't ha e alot of option because those preformed acrylic tanks aren't made to be upgraded easily (This is how the fish industry makes more money). If you were considering internal filtration personally I would recommend a sponge filter, They have smaller ones that I'll sit on the bottom of the aquarium or that will suction cup to the wall of the tank so they're up out of the way, personally all I use is sponge filtration and I quite like it versus all the other kinds.
@@TrafishAquatics Thank you! Can you recommend a sponge filter that suction cups to the side? That sounds like my best option. I wanted to use bio rings w this tank, but it sounds like I really only need a sponge, huh?
Hi! I have a question. I want to switch to sponge filter in my h.o.b. but at present I'm using my coal filled filter to clean our medication residue. How long will it take after I've done 50% water change for the coal to absorb any residual meds. API General cure.
I've almost talked myself into buying this sponge several times but I think its to thick to go in my smaller hobs. What are your thoughts on the aquarium co-op sponge pad? Seems very coarse in comparison to what you are using but is also thinner
Aquarium coops is much coarser and allows more water flow but doesn't do a very good job with mechanical filtration where this one will do both mechanical and biological, this pad is 2 in thick so go ahead and check your hang on backs to see how it would fit You can also use a sharp kitchen knife to cut it down the middle to reduce it to 1 in
If you're cycling a tank you can just drop the sponge into the aquarium and the bacteria will colonize on the sponge, That way you don't lose any of the bacteria that may be on the cartridge during the cycling process. When your cycle establishes you can pull your cartridges and put the sponge in the filter and then check for any ammonia or nitrite spikes for a few days.
Carbon is used to remove medications or a known contaminant from the aquarium and isn't needed on a regular basis, zeolite is a form of chemical filtration is isn't needed either if proper maintenance is performed with routine water changes as well as allowing your beneficial bacterial colonies grow to handle the bio load in the aquarium properly
@@TrafishAquatics Thanks; I also have a media cardridge in which I put carbon and zeolite to remove any pollutants and ammonia, which i test for daily....also am adding sponge instead of a floss cartridge plus an intake sponge; You are great help; thanks; and also i have a 9 watt UV filter, sterilizer, in this 40 gallon well planted tank with breeding Bettas
Hi and thanks for this very informative video. I currently have an emergency going on in my tank... I bought three comets/feeder goldfish (to save them) 10 years ago. They grew beautifully & were happy, eventually they got a 10 gallon tank but I am not really great at the tank science. I lost one 2 years ago, but that was because my husband got killed & my world was in chaos. Thankfully the other 2 survived until last week. I lost one and it was really devastating to me after having him for 10 years. I cannot get the tank right. Lots of ammonia & I have done multiple water changes. Went to Petsmart & had them check the water. Ammonia is high (3), nitrate is the highest (200), nitrite is 0, alkalinity is 0, and pH is 6.2. Can you give me some advice or direction? My last fish is looking very bad today & I am scared. Btw my filter is the "weird" one shown at 9:17. You said you clean the sponge by squeezing it into the fish tank water? Is that right?
So the first thing that needs to be done is a large water change, we need to reduce the ammonia and nitrate in the tank by doing that, second the ph is very low which can stall the bacteria from breaking down the ammonia into nitrate, the water change should raise this up but if not you can add a pinch of baking soda to raise it up to a higher level, third the tank is too small for goldfish and should be upgraded to a more suitable tank in the future. After the water change and ph adjustment give it about a week and as long as the ammonia isnt rising still we can clean the filter media, a bucket of tank water or just dechlorinated tap water to rinse/squeeze out the media and then put it back in the filter.
So the first thing that needs to be done is a large water change, we need to reduce the ammonia and nitrate in the tank by doing that, second the ph is very low which can stall the bacteria from breaking down the ammonia into nitrate, the water change should raise this up but if not you can add a pinch of baking soda to raise it up to a higher level, third the tank is too small for goldfish and should be upgraded to a more suitable tank in the future. After the water change and ph adjustment give it about a week and as long as the ammonia isnt rising still we can clean the filter media, a bucket of tank water or just dechlorinated tap water to rinse/squeeze out the media and then put it back in the filter.
Hello what's best HOB for a 10 gallon tank or a good filter that you recommend I think my aqueon filter is not doing good also how do you remove fine particles in water
For tanks that small I run the small sponge filter listed in the description of the video, they will also work for filtering particles, but for a HOB a fine polishing pad will work to get the particles out
@@TrafishAquatics in my aqueon 10 HOB I have the sponge that you are using on video but like I said I have particles in water so what u recomend to do ?
No this sponge does not have any carbon infused to it, I don't like running carbon in aquariums unless I'm removing a medication or a known contaminant
Well both my whisper 60's have been running almost 20 years now so that better be some sturdy foam. Lol. That filter is the og of using foam for bacteria. Pretty much the perfect filter and better than my tidal I just bought. I get 8 months to a year out of the biobags and you can put whatever you want inside them and bacteria grows on it all so not sure why this take everything out and then put it all back in but different things and act like you're doing something that's gonna change the world of aquariums. Lol
I agree I have whisper 60s that have lasted well over 15 years for myself as well, most people when they use the cartridge systems only run the provided carbon and follow the manufacturer's recommendations to change them every two weeks to every month, activated carbon only has a submerged efficacy of 2 to 4 weeks depending on how much they're collecting, after that it's not capable of absorbing/adsorbing anything else and should be replaced, This makes a great marketing scheme for the manufacturers as it provides a continual money flow on an already purchased product. That being said carbon isn't needed on a daily basis in the aquarium and is only really needed when removing a known contaminant or medication. Also the polyester material that the Bio bags are made of, even though you can rinse and reuse them, does clog up over time and reduce the flow through the bag. These sponges can be rinsed and reused almost indefinitely, I've been using these sponges in my filters for years and haven't had to replace a single one. I even compared one that's been running for 5 years next to a brand new one and the flow was the same. Anything you use in your filter as media is entirely your own personal preference as you can run a tank without a filter and still have it thrive.
What are some good model filters to do this with for like a 20 - 30 gallon tank? I'm looking at HOB filters and it looks like they are making them all use wheel cartridges now so you can't do this....
Nope this can still be done, as long as water can pass over the surface of the sponge it will work, I reccomend an aqua clear 30 or 50 if not the marineland penguin 350 with this modification is hard to beat
@@TrafishAquatics So with the Aquaclear 50 do you just remove the bioMAX and activated charcoal and replace that area with the sponge? Or also remove the foam it comes with or? Just want to make sure I understand, so I set it up correctly.
Ceramic rings would have a higher surface area but clogs up over time greatly reducing it, and the only way to effectively clean them is to boil them which kills all the bacterial colony. This is why I choose sponge, it still has a high surface area but is cleaned easily.
You dont need to run charcoal on a normal basis, only to remove medication or a known contaminate in your water, if you did need it you would remove 1 sponge and replace it with the carbon pack for 24-48 hours then put the sponge back in
@Trafish Aquatics im upgrading from a 38lt to a 100lt my old tank still has fish in my new isn't set up yet hopeing really soon but my question is is there anything I can do to cycle my new tank warter quicker with the old filter ? And old warter ?? My old filter isn't ovs big enough for the new tank..but can that go in the new tank with my new filter at the same time ? I Need a safe fish cycle
If you're able to use anything from the pre-established aquarium on the new aquarium it's going to help bring bacterial colonies that are already established into the new tank and will be able to handle a small bile load right away. So yes it would help.
It would have to be longer than 2 days, bacterial colonies are going to take about a week or two to fully establish coming from pre-seeded media, If you want to try and get fast results you could take the filter media out of the small filter and put it in the larger filter against that filters media to try and get direct transfer
@@TrafishAquatics 🤔🤔 yes i think I will give that ago tomorrow then I'm not keeping any old subs/gravel you see so just been sat ere racking my brain lol don't know why I had half the answer I surpose lol so I will use all the old warter fill up the new and top it up with fresh and add treatments as recommended by the bottle !
They last pretty much forever, just take them out and squeeze them out in a bucket of tank water tikl the water runs clear then put them back in and your good to go, no more need for cartriges
Hey I have been in an ongoing battle with keeping my betta fish’s fins healthy and finding a good routine for tank cleanliness as well. No one has been able to cure this once and for all and The more I research the more confused I get. I was wondering if you have a moment to talk about that and help me out please
Chemical filtration is not needed in a healthy aquarium and is only needed when removing a known contaminant or medication. I don't use any chemical filtration in any of my tanks.
Tell you what if they made a 110 version with a dual chamber like these they would sell like mad, The reason I think they don't is I think it would hurt their canister sales. But I would love a 220 gallon rated hang on back lol
@@TrafishAquatics Thanks! Also, I have a 10 Gal and my only filter media is a coarse sponge which I clean out with aquarium wastewater once a month or so, and filter floss which I replace once a month. Is that fine, or do I absolutely need fancy filtration. Im trying to keep it as cheap as possible. My tank seems to be doing well, I have 1 Platty, 3 Mollies, and 6 Neon Tetras. The filter is a Marineland product.
Im going to be setting up a 100 gallon soon, and i was wondering if the same method of filtration would work for that (nothing but a coarse sponge and filter floss just at a larger scale) Or would I need something more sophisticated for a tank of that size
I used a price of the sponge sheet and cut a slit in it, the I removed the filters pickup strainer and slid the sponge over the main pickup pipe, worked well for me for years
It would fit, the issue you would run into is the hole on the large pre-filter sponge goes all the way through so you would have to use another piece of sponge to plug the hole on the bottom to stop water bypassing the sponge
Finally I found someone on here that is knowledgeable about having a fish tank.. 1st time watching your videos and you've helped alot with what I needed help with my tank!!. Thanks bro!🤙
Your very welcome!
Lol.. "If you're the ONE person that owns this filter" ... :) Thanks for laugh and the great information/ideas. So happy to have found your channel. ❤
and here i am ! lol...ive had 3 of these, lol...theyre great with the upgrades mister travis talks about. i actually prefer the aquarium coop brand because its not as fine and still filters just great imo.
I’m so happy I reviewed this video. Time to buy me some sponges Thanks
Your channel is the most useful channel I have come across over the years. Your tips are actually useful!
Thank you
Excellent! You answered my question. I am new to fish keeping. I just started cycling my first 5 gallon tank this week. It came with a small submersible filter. However, i accidenly damaged the cartridge. So i decided to put that same type of sponge inside. I was wondering if that would work as well and not have to buy future cartridges. Thanks for the info.
You're very welcome
This is awesome. Been looking for the best way to do this. I wanted a coarse sponge in the back and then filter floss last to polish the water better but floss has to be replaced. So I might go with the coarse sponge on the intake filter and the fine sponges inside the filter and call it a day. I like this. Very easy. I hope water flow doesn't slow down too much.
Saves time and money and works better good video mate 👍🏻
Thank you
Good job informing us about this!
Your welcome.
I use that sponge in my tidal 75 brilliant sponge 👍 keeps my goldfish tank clean 👍
Yesssss thank you I needed this for my new tank today
Right on ! Going to buy the sponge- thanks so much !
Intake sponges also stop fry (baby fish) from going up your filters. I have actually used tull material and and a rubberband to keep the fry from going up the tube. But I think I like this idea better.
Also,. If you use both it slows down the water flow so it doesn't come out of the middle of your filter.
I plan on following your link and purchasing this. This is a really good deal. Thank you.
Agreed, thank you!
The intake round sponge also stops small new fish from getting stuck on the intake tube, which does happen, the power of the flow pulls them into the tube and they can’t swim away and die
I love that he is like “oh ur cartridge doesn’t fit well that sucks, oh wait what’s this, a Sponge”:)
Right lol
Update. I finally did this swt up. 40ppi in hob with a course sponge on pre intake tube. 2 weeks in. So far so good. Thank you.
I'm new to fish breathing and I just want to say thank you
Your welcome
Started my tank back up after 20 years. Emperor 400 filter. Will do this. No carbon means I'll finally get plants to grow!!! This represents MASSIVE financial savings. Rinsing in aquarium water means good chunk of the bacteria is still on there!
Absolutely!
Great tips. Thanks so much from the aquarium beginner !!! I actually am going through a bacterial bloom. Learned from internet. Sorry PETCO but they are absolutely no help!!
I liked this very ideo very much, keep on posting such nice videos whereby you share your personal experiences and tips.
Your welcome
Great info, many thanks !!
Your welcome! Glad you enjoyed.
its also better for planted tanks to not use carbon because it can fliter out your added fertilizers as well...great vid again bro...
Thanks man!! For everyone asking use matten filter cut it into the size you need then use safe start plus you will never need anything else 👍
Yep good for matten filters too!
Just installed this on my marineland pro 450 i will make small video and share it to you 👍
How about the good bacteria that stays on the old cartridge if we replace with the sponge! Is it still safe for the fishes?
Sorry but I don’t see the descriptions link?? are .I’m new to UA-cam so if you could tell me where to go I would. Appreciative it ?Your knowledge Extremely hard for even though I’ve been doing it for over 25 years I can’t believe I didn’t use a Python No more buckets for me no more backaches it’s been a lifesaver.Did you theGravel short hose For the substrate I can’t believe how simple it was and how much little money I spent on it to save so much work.Garden hose type homemade always cranked thank you for everything that you do including aquarium co-op and all our friends on u-tube you also make the hobby more enjoyable for me I die heart fan you have such a sweet friendly face it’s like I’ve ran into thousands of times you’re just one of the guys that look like you could do anything
How do you not lose bio when you squeeze out the sponge? I have Aqua Tech filters with a bio pad that fits in front of the cartridge. Does the sponge come in 1" thickness?
hi is the sponge coarse or fine ? i read most pepole use coarse please reply before i buy. Thankyou and God Bless
I have aquariums that are filtered with Tetra, Marineland and Top-Fin filters. I stopped buying their cartridges over two yrs ago and instead use poly-fil. Don’t use carbon in my filtration systems. However, the use of a sponge cut out might be better than the ploy-fil and less maintenance. I going to try it. Thxs for the video.
Your welcome, in my experience this sponge pad keeps the water just as clear as the polyfill and also helps with the biological filtration because it doesn't get replaced it just gets rinsed and reused
When you use this sponge and you say you can just rinse it out, you won’t lose any beneficial bacteria on the sponge? Also I do have the dual tetra whisper liked you first showed in the video. Do you recommend only rinsing one side out at a time to prevent a major loss of bacteria or do you rinse both at the same time? Lastly is carbon not really necessary?
Bacterial loss is minimal when rinsing, i usually do both at the same time but you can do one if youd prefer. And no its only needed if you need to remove a medication or known contaminate
@@TrafishAquatics thank you so much! This was very helpful
Good stuff. Thanks!!
this info is gold, ty so much!
Dumb question- when you clean the sponge do you need to worry that you might crash your cycle?
Great video and information. Thanks.
Your welcome
Amazing footage 🛸
Thank you
@trafish aqatics I’m running 2 penguin 350s, can I add the coarse sponge along with filter floss behind the stock filter cartridges on both hobs and not crash my cycle ? If I can, what order should I go from the back of the filter to the front? Thank you and awesome video!
Your welcome, yes you can run both from back to front I would run sponge then the filter floss. That way the floss only has to catch the smaller particles, if it was first it would catch everything and would plug up very fast
Question: 3 water turtles 2 red eared slider 1 yellow belly. Largest 7” long shell 4” wide or so other two smaller. 75 gallon aquarium. Inside temporary set up till warm weather. How would you filter so it doesn’t wreak like on outhouse after four weeks? I bought a used aquarium hang over filters that have paddle wheels on them. Turtles are messy but they are mine. Basking tank on the top.
You can modify them with sponge the same way as this video, The issue of turtles is they have any enormous bio load so filter maintenance needs to be done quite often as well as very large water changes weekly or more
Thanks this was very helpful
Your welcome
Hello I'm a newbie. I purchased a betta. I set up a 3gal tank with betta ready water and a 3gal ready tank. I'm looking to switch out the filter cartridge to sponge. The filter system is small with no intake piping, am I able to cut a sponge and achieve this?
Cool. Humorous. Informative. Very helpful. Thx.
You're welcome, glad it was helpful!
Awesome video. Thank you 😁
Your welcome
I'm definitely going to do that with my penguin 350, the peds have gotten really expensive, I used to use AquaClear filters but, as you know they break very easily, so now I have a bunch of parts for those filters but no filter cases which incidentally cost the price of the filter
So you don’t really need the bio media in the Hob filters? Great videos by the way.
Yes you do, the sponges would act as the biological media, if your talking about the cartridges and bio wheels then no you don't need those at all.
How do you know which sponge is good and safe to use? Are there any labels on the packaging or can you tell by the texture and look of the sponge?
These specific sponges are manufactured by companies that make aquarium equipment
Would the sponge on the intake tube would on a canister filter??
Which filter would you go with Aquaclear 110 or marine land emperor 400?
Both are good filters, if you have the money the aquaclear is hard to beat, but if your on a tight budget the 400 loaded with this sponge works just as well
Thank you for the video. I have a fluval c3. I was told I needed the rocks that goes with the filter. Do I? Can't I just keep the sponge?
Just the sponge will work just fine
penguin 350 with the sponge 2in thickness is that too thick if i put the stock blue in back spot and put the sponge you recommended in front of it?
Should be fine, You can always take a sharp knife and cut down through the top of the sponge to make it thinner if you need to
Where do you get Your spongefilters from what kind can I use?
2years late to this video but would you also have to put filter fiber and maybe ceramic rings?
Nope its not needed
Hey, so if I already have filters on a tank with bacteria do I just remove them and use these? Will that bacteria come back or when I buy them to I rinse them off with aquarium water? Also some ppl in the reviews said there is a chemical smell, are they just trolling or have u experienced that?
You can remove the old media and just add these sponges in thier place, it would be no different than adding new filter cartriges. Your water may get cloudy for a few days as the bacteria re colonizes the new sponges. There is a slight smell to the new sponge from the manufacturing process but I've never had any issues with using it in the aquarium.
If changing to the sponge from a cartridge do u need to compensate for the carbon that your loosing in your cartridge?
Nope
Very informative! 👍 I'm currently running 2 Penguin 350's in my 55 gal. (2 oranda and a 1 moor) which one of the two sizes intake sponge should I purchase? Also, do you recommend leaving one cartridge in and then sponge on the other side? My wallet would prefer sponges all around and zero cartridges. Would that be possible?
Yep you can run sponges all around and you would want the large prefilter sponges
Thanks so much.
Your welcome
I run sponge then pinky floss. All 23 tank. Also turtle tanks
Yep that works!
I have a fluval 25 gallon tank is Ben sit up for 2 weeks now the water is still cloudy want do I need to do
Have patience, the water is the bacterial colony growing, are you adding ammonia to the tank or do you have fish in it?
Great video! I used your link and I got in my big piece of sponge. It was too thick so I had to cut it in half. I love how it is working. How often do we need to clean out the actual HOB filter? I noticed that mine has white build up in it. I'm using a Top Fin Silentstream. I have a 5 gallon tank with 1 betta. Could the build up in my filter have been the cause of the ammonia spike and loss of my tank cycle?
You don't normally clean the actual filter at all, the white buildup is likely mineral deposits from hard water, nothing to worry about
@@TrafishAquatics oh, that makes sense. Thank you for amazing videos. Your knowledge is a blessing to everyone. I appreciate you responding.
Your welcome
Hi. I have an Interpet CF3 internal filter that moves water from bottom to top and then over the top and flows out. Do I still need to leave the gap at the back, or can I pack from bottom to top with sponge then media gravel?
For that style filter you would still want to leave some kind of gap in the back so that the water can flow up behind the media and then up through to the front to exit. otherwise all of the water is going to have to flow through the media from the bottom and will plug up faster because of the smaller surface area. That being said you can experiment with it and see if it works both ways.
Excellent! Thank you so much!
whats you thoughts keep those annoying 350 bio wheels out completely?
I don't use them at all
Lol the nano filter pads looks like tea bags 😂
GREAT advice
Did this to ALL of my HOBFs
CRYSTAL CLEAR WATER
THANKS
peace ✌
Your welcome!
Can you just cut a small hole or slit in the sponge & put it on the end of the intake valve & use that as the intake filter?
Hi, I've had a 75 gallon with 2 Marineland filters in it,and I've always used cartridges so my question is how does carbon affect my fish, I have plastic plants and no lights, so how will the removal of Carbon affect my fish? Also what kind of upkeep is there in your experience once you have the sponges in.
Carbon doesn't affect the fish directly, it removes contaminants from the aquarium, if you don't have any known contaminant then you don't need to use carbon. As far as upkeep you just squeeze out the sponges in a bucket of tank water and put them back in the filter, this is done at the same interval when you would normally switch your cartridges.
@@TrafishAquatics Ok, thank you for the information I've been using cartridges for too long now, it'll be a nice change.
Did you remove the links for the products?
No they should still be there in the description
Any advice on making the upgrade to sponge on a HOB with an already established tank? I have the media that came with the filter and designed for the filter but I want to upgrade. Great video
It's actually very easy, The next time you would normally change out the cartridge, You can just put a piece of sponge back instead of a cartridge. Easy as that.
Or if you want to, cut a piece of sponge to size and let it soak in the tank for a week before switching it
@@TrafishAquatics great response. I’m subscribing. I have one more question if you don’t mind answering .
When you use tank water to clean your media do you just refill your tank back up with treated water? Or do I need to have tank water aside at all times ?
Thank you! You can just refill with treated water, that should pose no issue at all.
I’m using sponges in my hob, but I’m wondering if adding an intake sponge will significantly decrease the flow rate into the filter?
No unless you dont clean the intake sponge when you clean the spomge pads then it could clog up
Great video!
Thank you
I have a 7.6 gallon semi hex molded-acrylic tank that came w a small internal filter. I’d like to replace the filter w a HOB for more filtration (it’s my guppy fry tank but my fry are teenagers and getting bigger by the day!), but have an issue w the back wall of the aquarium. It has a bump-out that will require a filter w a larger-than-normal gap where it fits over the aquarium rim. Can you recommend a filter that would work for me? I need a min of 1.25” rim gap. The ones that have that large of a gap are for 70+ gallon tanks and are way too big. I looked into internal filters too but the one I was looking at (Whisper, maybe for 10-30 gallons?) was 4”x4”x8”. The 8” depth would be fine but a 4x4 inside the tank would take up a quarter of the internal space of the tank and I’d rather not remove my wood and plants to make room for that. The width restriction is anything less than 7”. Thank you for any suggestions!!
Unfortunately you don't ha e alot of option because those preformed acrylic tanks aren't made to be upgraded easily (This is how the fish industry makes more money). If you were considering internal filtration personally I would recommend a sponge filter, They have smaller ones that I'll sit on the bottom of the aquarium or that will suction cup to the wall of the tank so they're up out of the way, personally all I use is sponge filtration and I quite like it versus all the other kinds.
@@TrafishAquatics Thank you! Can you recommend a sponge filter that suction cups to the side? That sounds like my best option. I wanted to use bio rings w this tank, but it sounds like I really only need a sponge, huh?
@@BeGreene72 yep let me find one for you, rings are just bio media like sponge so they're really isn't much difference.
@@BeGreene72 www.amazon.com/Aquaneat-Sponge-Filter-Aquarium-Gallons/dp/B07DPKDYQ2/ref=mp_s_a_1_7_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=sponge+filter&qid=1619362064&sr=8-7-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExN0Q5M1JDWTE3TVE3JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUExMDI1NjQ2M0cyWjlLWUlBNzNYMiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTkxNTM5MzhQM0ZWWVBMQjBUSiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9tdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
@@TrafishAquatics Thank you very much!
Where do I get the sponge I don’t know where the link is I’m pretty new, I never order online
No problem, here you go!
Sponge Pad - amzn.to/2Y5EdMZ
large intake sponge - amzn.to/2zxsFrL
small intake sponge - amzn.to/2ScpzzY
Hi! I have a question. I want to switch to sponge filter in my h.o.b. but at present I'm using my coal filled filter to clean our medication residue. How long will it take after I've done 50% water change for the coal to absorb any residual meds. API General cure.
Generally speaking anything that you want to remove will be removed in 24-48 hours.
I've almost talked myself into buying this sponge several times but I think its to thick to go in my smaller hobs. What are your thoughts on the aquarium co-op sponge pad? Seems very coarse in comparison to what you are using but is also thinner
Aquarium coops is much coarser and allows more water flow but doesn't do a very good job with mechanical filtration where this one will do both mechanical and biological, this pad is 2 in thick so go ahead and check your hang on backs to see how it would fit You can also use a sharp kitchen knife to cut it down the middle to reduce it to 1 in
@@TrafishAquatics thanks for the info as always
Any time!
What are these sponges called ??? New subscriber here
These are just filter sponge pads, theres a link in the description and can be found on amazon
Thank you very much.
Greetings from México.
Your welcome! And greetings!
how many days to put a fish in a new tank?
Where's the Link to buy this on Amazon
Should you place the filter in the tank after replacing it with a sponge while cycling a tank?
If you're cycling a tank you can just drop the sponge into the aquarium and the bacteria will colonize on the sponge, That way you don't lose any of the bacteria that may be on the cartridge during the cycling process. When your cycle establishes you can pull your cartridges and put the sponge in the filter and then check for any ammonia or nitrite spikes for a few days.
Can you show using a outside prefilter for a canister filter like the one sunsun makes.
I'm not sure which one sun sun makes, could you drop a link for it?
Thank you 😊🙏
Your welcome
Only how is it you don't seem to need carbon and zeolite? Thanks for a reply -Bob
Carbon is used to remove medications or a known contaminant from the aquarium and isn't needed on a regular basis, zeolite is a form of chemical filtration is isn't needed either if proper maintenance is performed with routine water changes as well as allowing your beneficial bacterial colonies grow to handle the bio load in the aquarium properly
ALSO adding an intake sponge too! Also have a 9 watt UV sterilizer,; it's a 40 gallon high with breeding bettas
@@TrafishAquatics Thanks; I also have a media cardridge in which I put carbon and zeolite to remove any pollutants and ammonia, which i test for daily....also am adding sponge instead of a floss cartridge plus an intake sponge; You are great help; thanks; and also i have a 9 watt UV filter, sterilizer, in this 40 gallon well planted tank with breeding Bettas
Sounds like a good setup!
Hi and thanks for this very informative video. I currently have an emergency going on in my tank... I bought three comets/feeder goldfish (to save them) 10 years ago. They grew beautifully & were happy, eventually they got a 10 gallon tank but I am not really great at the tank science. I lost one 2 years ago, but that was because my husband got killed & my world was in chaos. Thankfully the other 2 survived until last week. I lost one and it was really devastating to me after having him for 10 years.
I cannot get the tank right. Lots of ammonia & I have done multiple water changes. Went to Petsmart & had them check the water. Ammonia is high (3), nitrate is the highest (200), nitrite is 0, alkalinity is 0, and pH is 6.2. Can you give me some advice or direction? My last fish is looking very bad today & I am scared.
Btw my filter is the "weird" one shown at 9:17. You said you clean the sponge by squeezing it into the fish tank water? Is that right?
So the first thing that needs to be done is a large water change, we need to reduce the ammonia and nitrate in the tank by doing that, second the ph is very low which can stall the bacteria from breaking down the ammonia into nitrate, the water change should raise this up but if not you can add a pinch of baking soda to raise it up to a higher level, third the tank is too small for goldfish and should be upgraded to a more suitable tank in the future.
After the water change and ph adjustment give it about a week and as long as the ammonia isnt rising still we can clean the filter media, a bucket of tank water or just dechlorinated tap water to rinse/squeeze out the media and then put it back in the filter.
So the first thing that needs to be done is a large water change, we need to reduce the ammonia and nitrate in the tank by doing that, second the ph is very low which can stall the bacteria from breaking down the ammonia into nitrate, the water change should raise this up but if not you can add a pinch of baking soda to raise it up to a higher level, third the tank is too small for goldfish and should be upgraded to a more suitable tank in the future.
After the water change and ph adjustment give it about a week and as long as the ammonia isnt rising still we can clean the filter media, a bucket of tank water or just dechlorinated tap water to rinse/squeeze out the media and then put it back in the filter.
Does it restrict water flow or make filter motor work harder when adding sponge to tube?
Not if it's maintained, you have to clean it when you do your normal filter maintenance
@@TrafishAquatics thank you! Im learning a new hobby
Your welcome
Good info thx
Your welcome
I'd like to switch from the carbon filter to sponge, but how do I do that without losing a bunch of good bacteria?
Remove the cartrige and put it in your tank for a week or 2 and put your sponge in its place, after a week or 2 take the cartrige out
Remove the cartrige and put it in your tank for a week or 2 and put your sponge in its place, after a week or 2 take the cartrige out
Hello what's best HOB for a 10 gallon tank or a good filter that you recommend I think my aqueon filter is not doing good also how do you remove fine particles in water
For tanks that small I run the small sponge filter listed in the description of the video, they will also work for filtering particles, but for a HOB a fine polishing pad will work to get the particles out
@@TrafishAquatics in my aqueon 10 HOB I have the sponge that you are using on video but like I said I have particles in water so what u recomend to do ?
You can add some filter floss, either the one in the description or polyfil from a craft store and that will get the particles out
@@TrafishAquatics ok thank you
Where would you reccommend for buying decent price but quality filter sponge sheets and intake sponges?
If you look in the description of the video I have some listed there that I recommend, pretty good prices and quality products
@@TrafishAquatics thank you so much! I will check that out right now 😁
Amazing info thank you so much!!! good bye expensive filters!!
Thank you and your welcome!
@@TrafishAquatics only question i have left is regarding the carbon....does this sponge have any carbon in it?
No this sponge does not have any carbon infused to it, I don't like running carbon in aquariums unless I'm removing a medication or a known contaminant
thank you very much
Well both my whisper 60's have been running almost 20 years now so that better be some sturdy foam. Lol.
That filter is the og of using foam for bacteria. Pretty much the perfect filter and better than my tidal I just bought. I get 8 months to a year out of the biobags and you can put whatever you want inside them and bacteria grows on it all so not sure why this take everything out and then put it all back in but different things and act like you're doing something that's gonna change the world of aquariums. Lol
I agree I have whisper 60s that have lasted well over 15 years for myself as well, most people when they use the cartridge systems only run the provided carbon and follow the manufacturer's recommendations to change them every two weeks to every month, activated carbon only has a submerged efficacy of 2 to 4 weeks depending on how much they're collecting, after that it's not capable of absorbing/adsorbing anything else and should be replaced, This makes a great marketing scheme for the manufacturers as it provides a continual money flow on an already purchased product. That being said carbon isn't needed on a daily basis in the aquarium and is only really needed when removing a known contaminant or medication. Also the polyester material that the Bio bags are made of, even though you can rinse and reuse them, does clog up over time and reduce the flow through the bag. These sponges can be rinsed and reused almost indefinitely, I've been using these sponges in my filters for years and haven't had to replace a single one. I even compared one that's been running for 5 years next to a brand new one and the flow was the same. Anything you use in your filter as media is entirely your own personal preference as you can run a tank without a filter and still have it thrive.
Where did you get the big sheets of sponge?
The link is in the description of the video!
What are some good model filters to do this with for like a 20 - 30 gallon tank? I'm looking at HOB filters and it looks like they are making them all use wheel cartridges now so you can't do this....
Nope this can still be done, as long as water can pass over the surface of the sponge it will work, I reccomend an aqua clear 30 or 50 if not the marineland penguin 350 with this modification is hard to beat
@@TrafishAquatics Awesome, thank you.
@@TrafishAquatics So with the Aquaclear 50 do you just remove the bioMAX and activated charcoal and replace that area with the sponge? Or also remove the foam it comes with or? Just want to make sure I understand, so I set it up correctly.
With the aquaclears it's very easy, you would remove the carbon and biomax and just buy a second AC50 sponge and add it right on top of the other one
@@TrafishAquatics Sweet. Thanks a lot man.
Is using just sponge as efficient as using just ceramic rings or some other bio filter media?
Ceramic rings would have a higher surface area but clogs up over time greatly reducing it, and the only way to effectively clean them is to boil them which kills all the bacterial colony. This is why I choose sponge, it still has a high surface area but is cleaned easily.
@@TrafishAquatics thanks for the reply, I greatly appreciate it! I'd love to see more general aquarium advise or species spotlights ♥
Absoloutley, I have videos scheduled for every Saturday for the rest of the year and I'm still making more!
Where the Charcoal go in this Powerhouse Filter idea You got???
You dont need to run charcoal on a normal basis, only to remove medication or a known contaminate in your water, if you did need it you would remove 1 sponge and replace it with the carbon pack for 24-48 hours then put the sponge back in
@@TrafishAquatics Thank-you Sooooooooo Much..! I think you Saved me Money.. I want that Fluval Hangon Back Filter Pump.! The Big one…😀
@Trafish Aquatics im upgrading from a 38lt to a 100lt my old tank still has fish in my new isn't set up yet hopeing really soon but my question is is there anything I can do to cycle my new tank warter quicker with the old filter ? And old warter ?? My old filter isn't ovs big enough for the new tank..but can that go in the new tank with my new filter at the same time ? I Need a safe fish cycle
If you're able to use anything from the pre-established aquarium on the new aquarium it's going to help bring bacterial colonies that are already established into the new tank and will be able to handle a small bile load right away. So yes it would help.
@@TrafishAquatics if I run the 2 filters at the same time old with new in my new tank for roughly 2 days thats fine isit you reckon
It would have to be longer than 2 days, bacterial colonies are going to take about a week or two to fully establish coming from pre-seeded media, If you want to try and get fast results you could take the filter media out of the small filter and put it in the larger filter against that filters media to try and get direct transfer
@@TrafishAquatics 🤔🤔 yes i think I will give that ago tomorrow then I'm not keeping any old subs/gravel you see so just been sat ere racking my brain lol don't know why I had half the answer I surpose lol so I will use all the old warter fill up the new and top it up with fresh and add treatments as recommended by the bottle !
what sponge do you use fine,med or coarse
The one I use is a medium to fine pored sponge
How many times you have to change its or how long they last
They last pretty much forever, just take them out and squeeze them out in a bucket of tank water tikl the water runs clear then put them back in and your good to go, no more need for cartriges
You are amazing! Great advice! We can definitely save a lot of money! Thank you for sharing your video!
Your quite welcome!
Hey I have been in an ongoing battle with keeping my betta fish’s fins healthy and finding a good routine for tank cleanliness as well. No one has been able to cure this once and for all and The more I research the more confused I get. I was wondering if you have a moment to talk about that and help me out please
Sure thing did you want to talk here or on Facebook messenger or Instagram?
Facebook messenger would be easier. Thank you 😁
Look for Travis Stevens, profile pic is the same as here.
there is charcoal in the filter cartridges for the chemical part of the filtration system you loose that when you just use the sponge Why
Chemical filtration is not needed in a healthy aquarium and is only needed when removing a known contaminant or medication. I don't use any chemical filtration in any of my tanks.
It would be nice if Fluval/Aqua Clear made a filter of this twin chamber design using their cartridges for the 70/300 and 110/500.
Tell you what if they made a 110 version with a dual chamber like these they would sell like mad, The reason I think they don't is I think it would hurt their canister sales. But I would love a 220 gallon rated hang on back lol
@@TrafishAquatics so would I
Once we are on the other side of the Pandemic, I want to try building such out of acrylic.
That would be cool, it wouldn't be very hard to do
Could you add some filter floss as well behind the sponge?
Absolutely!
@@TrafishAquatics Thanks! Also, I have a 10 Gal and my only filter media is a coarse sponge which I clean out with aquarium wastewater once a month or so, and filter floss which I replace once a month. Is that fine, or do I absolutely need fancy filtration. Im trying to keep it as cheap as possible.
My tank seems to be doing well, I have 1 Platty, 3 Mollies, and 6 Neon Tetras. The filter is a Marineland product.
Im going to be setting up a 100 gallon soon, and i was wondering if the same method of filtration would work for that (nothing but a coarse sponge and filter floss just at a larger scale) Or would I need something more sophisticated for a tank of that size
With what your running what you have is likley good
@@AliKhan-cj3ee nope that would work, I run my 150 off of just sponge filters
Any suggestions on a intake sponge for the penguin 350? It’s kinda odd square looking
I used a price of the sponge sheet and cut a slit in it, the I removed the filters pickup strainer and slid the sponge over the main pickup pipe, worked well for me for years
@@TrafishAquatics would the large intake sponge fit if I take out the strainer altogether?
Reason being is I got the 350 on order and it comes on Saturday so I wanna get all my parts now so I can get it ready to run when it does come in
It would fit, the issue you would run into is the hole on the large pre-filter sponge goes all the way through so you would have to use another piece of sponge to plug the hole on the bottom to stop water bypassing the sponge
@@TrafishAquatics if I’m not mistaken, the intake sponge I ordered has no hole on bottom
Where can i get the sponge from
Amazon there's a link in the description of the video for it