Sponge filters

[Mugwump]

...on average, what kind of life are you getting from the sponges before they start really breaking down?.....more use out of course pore, or fine pore?

[BallAquatics]

My oldest poret "Cube Filters" are around 7 years old and I don't see any wear at all.  Ted says he has some 10 years old.....

https://youtu.be/YmA_UtsnEjY

Dennis

[Mugwump]

...what about your standard, run of the mill, gray type sponge units....Poret is more recent and I don't recall seeing them used as just round sponge filter units....

[BallAquatics]

...what about your standard, run of the mill, gray type sponge units....Poret is more recent and I don't recall seeing them used as just round sponge filter units....

That's what the cube filters are, replacements for your standard run of the mill round sponge filters.  I don't have any more of the old type in use.  I upgraded to the superior poret as they wore out.  Switching over to poret was probably the best thing to happen in my fish room over the last 10 years.

Dennis

[wsantia1]

I have mostly the ATI's and I've had some of them around for years. My biggest problem with then these days is the hair algae. Once it gets on it's pretty difficult to get off. It's my fault because I overfeed and don't squeeze my sponges out nearly enough. 

It's a good thing that I have Jehmco right up the road. The replacements are pretty cheap and I get them pretty quickly.

[wsantia1]

...what about your standard, run of the mill, gray type sponge units....Poret is more recent and I don't recall seeing them used as just round sponge filter units....

That's what the cube filters are, replacements for your standard run of the mill round sponge filters.  I don't have any more of the old type in use.  I upgraded to the superior poret as they wore out.  Switching over to poret was probably the best thing to happen in my fish room over the last 10 years.

Dennis

I want to try the porets. Do you get the long ones and cut them down?

[BallAquatics]

I want to try the porets. Do you get the long ones and cut them down?

I use the ready made 3x3 in my fry tanks with the 45ppi foam and the 4x4 ready made with 30ppi foam in larger tanks.  The lift tubes alone are worth the price of the filter.  No air stones, they never wear out, are easy to clean, and they move LOTS of water.



http://www.swisstropicals.com/filtration-shop/cubefilter-shop/

Dennis

[Mugwump]

....Poret sounds like a winner, I agree....but how long do your others usually last?....

I've found the smaller pore sponges not to last as long as the more course pore units....I've got some of the course sponges that have been done there for 10 years+....getting shaggy now and I'll need to order replacements now.....the finer pore sponges need much more squeezing, and work, to get them clean....I think that is what makes em break down first...??....

[BallAquatics]

....Poret sounds like a winner, I agree....but how long do your others usually last?....

I would typically get 4 or 5 years from the foam before it started to get hard and brittle.  I used lots of the Hagan Elite and the ATI Hydro filters.  Both of these are much more labor intensive when it comes to maintenance than the cube filters.





Dennis

[wsantia1]

I want to try the porets. Do you get the long ones and cut them down?

I use the ready made 3x3 in my fry tanks with the 45ppi foam and the 4x4 ready made with 30ppi foam in larger tanks.  The lift tubes alone are worth the price of the filter.  No air stones, they never wear out, are easy to clean, and they move LOTS of water.



http://www.swisstropicals.com/filtration-shop/cubefilter-shop/

Dennis

Thanks Dennis. I will order a few and give them a try. I have been considering their Matten filter setup for a while but so far I've been chicken to try it. lol

[Mugwump]

I might grab a couple too, too observe the difference...........Dennis are you using the lift tube poret fixture on your P sponges too....what really is the difference between that and a std tube?.....more flow?.....directional?...instead of just up?

[BallAquatics]

I will order a few and give them a try.

Be careful...  almost everyone I know that has tried them out, ended up switching their whole fish room over to them.   

I have been considering their Matten filter setup for a while but so far I've been chicken to try it. lol

On the bigger tanks the HMF is the way to go.  I have some 20 longs that have been running for about 7 years without any filter maintenance now.  Under the right setting I think they just keep getting better with age.  I must admit that I have started installing more "corner" type HMF rather than the standard type of late.

Dennis

[BallAquatics]

...........Dennis are you using the lift tube poret fixture on your P sponges too....what really is the difference between that and a std tube?.....more flow?.....directional?...instead of just up?

I'm using the JetLifters and CubeLifters on everything now.  They are basically the same lower units with the JetLifters having the curved top tube added.

They are designed where very fine air bubbles travel up the tubes right next to the inner wall of the tubing.  This leaves the center column of the tube free to carry nothing but water.  And they move lots of water!!!  It never ceases to amaze me how much flow they put out.  They look more like a pump than an air powered lift tube.  LOL

https://youtu.be/AJ7uFCKaxDo

They have almost NO back pressure so your air requirements are much less too.  One thing about them, and if you watch the Ted Judy video you can see this, they need to be straight up to achieve maximum flow.  When they are at an angle the air does not travel tight against the tubing wall so the flow is reduced.

Since there's NO air stone or bubbling device, they never wear out.  When they do clog, just pop off the collar that the air line attaches to and give the tube a quick scrub inside and out, pop the collar back on and they work just like new again.  In my softwater tanks, they seldom clog at all.  In my super hard Ohio well water, they need a scrub about every 3 months.



One of the things I really like about them is how quite they are.  In fry tanks I usually have the top of the tubes just about even with the surface of the water.  With the super fine bubbles they are practically silent set-up like this, but even if they are setting on the bottom, the fine bubble makes very little noise.

Dennis

[wsantia1]

On the bigger tanks the HMF is the way to go.  I have some 20 longs that have been running for about 7 years without any filter maintenance now.  Under the right setting I think they just keep getting better with age.  I must admit that I have started installing more "corner" type HMF rather than the standard type of late.

Dennis
[/quote]

When you say no filter maintenance, does that mean no sponge squeezing?

[BallAquatics]

When you say no filter maintenance, does that mean no sponge squeezing?

No, that's with a standard HMF set-up.  The cube filters will need cleaning more often than that.  LOL

Dennis