Sponges suck!!

[Krish]

I'll go against the grain a bit here to say that I think sponges, filter floss, filter pads, filter socks etc all kinda suck! :rockon:. Many people use them in one way or the other, but unless you are prepared to stay on top of changing them or cleaning them every few days, you are looking for trouble IMO. I took it so far as I didn't even use the prefilter sponges on any of my pumps that used them (ran them raw) nor did I use them on my hang-on CPR overflow. On my 38 gal with the coast to coast overflow, I didn't use it there either seen in the picture below. I just ran a plastic strainer. I feel they are little disasters waiting to happen. Anyone else feel this way or is it just me?

 

[MGDMIRAGE]

I don't use filter socks or anything on my 40 breeder. I just have my sump bare bottom and most of the detritus gathers there for easy siphoning.

 

[Cherae]

I agree they suck. But I use filter socks at water change time to get the big waste stuff out of the water that I have stirred up, but take them off the next day.

 

[mojoreef]

Using any of the things you are listing shouldnt be used as a full time thing. Youll end up building up to much nitrifing bacteria. Personally I use filter socks. 200 microns and use them when stirring things up or blowing off the rocks and such, invaluable actually.


Mojo

 

[Peppie]

I use one. It is placed after the return pump, but before the carbon media. I clean it during water changes, Every two weeks. Hardly any thing gathers in it.

 

[Myteemouse]

Personally I use filter socks. 200 microns and use them when stirring things up or blowing off the rocks and such, invaluable actually.


Mojo

+10000000

 

[Krish]

I use to use a hang on canister filter (H.O.T Magnum) with a polishing cartridge in it to either vacuum the tank/sump or if I stirred up the tank I'd hang it on the tank for a bit then remove it after it cleared up. When I went to the 38 gal cube with all of the flow and great placement, I never neeeded anything like that again. Taking a powerhead in my hand and blasting the rocks didn't do anything different than what the flow did on it's own so it was just a case of the skimmer picking up whatever was floating around in the water column or the corals.

 

[Sasquatch]

any type of mechanical filtration is only as good as the diligence of its owner, I used to LOVE the sock, now the only use is for a day or two after cleaning the tank, would love to try a turf scrubber but that weekly scraping would not happen and the mess would start for sure

 

[Krish]

Here's what a new polishing cartridge looked like next to one after a cleaning. I had my sump designed with a little fuge section where I made conditions more favorable for algae to grow there than in the tank. I had hair algae and cyno growing in there, but not in the tank. I accomplished this with more watts per gal over the fuge than the tank, I ran the lighting for more hours a day than the main tank and also used freshwater lights over the fuge to promote the growth. I didn't seed it with anything, but rather it just grew on it's own.

Anyways, here's what I removed on one 20 minute sump cleaning I did every week. I'd let the algae grow for a week and they suck it all out at the end of the week.

 

[Frankie]

I hear ya Krish, I agree that other then filter socks (because I use them) the rest are trouble waiting to happen. Sponges are the worse of the lot because of detritus trapping.

I like the filter socks but when going away I remove them for safety issues. They are the best manual way of removing particulates from the water.