[Sponge filtration questions?]

On 8/15/2022 at 6:22 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I'd recommend buying two single outlet pumps instead of a dual outlet. The dual outlets have a tendency for one outlet to break and one being fine, then the other is always on but not working well.  It's a bit easier longer term to have a backup pump.

The nice thing is that you can have the HOB on very low flow and it would be there to exclusively polish the water column or run chemical meds. You can still do this with sponges but not as effectively. When you're done with treatment you can just turn off and remove the HoB.  I have a little 10G nano HoB on my 29G for the time being to help run carbon only. But the actual main filtration is the sponges inside.

Do you recommend any single outlet air pumps(powerful enough for 40g)? I would prefer single outlet because I’ve heard many stories of one turning off really quick.

[Sponge filtration questions?]

On 8/15/2022 at 2:26 PM, Guppysnail said:

I corrected that sorry I would use 2 MEDIUM sponges as opposed to 2 large. I missed a word. Need more coffee 🤣

Aight thank you for the guidance. Your point was clear, but I guess you can never have enough coffee, I guess I’ll go with 2 mediums and the tetra whisper

[Sponge filtration questions?]

On 8/15/2022 at 2:22 PM, Guppysnail said:

My 2 cents. I like these because they have outflow connector and are relatively quiet and I don’t have to mess with gang valves though I use them for other things. 2 large coop sponges is way more than you need and takes up space and add less than stellar visuals.  Two sponges for a 40b is best in my experience.  This way you have less dead space with no circulation. Water moves about very well. The pump volume matters to still get enough movement though it’s not rated in gph.  Also using a pump to small they struggle to get air pushed the the bottom of tanks to power tge sponge and puts extra pressure on pumps. I find they tend to wear out sooner tge more pressure is placed on them. 
 

In my 40b I also like to run a coop nano tucked hidden in the center somewhere on a separate little pump I like the coop battery ones that way in power failures I still have some filtration and air circulation. I run the nano on a separate pump so I have a cycled QT sponge. I just unplug pump and take sponge pump and all to my tote qt. Then I can easily return it when I’m done. This also gives a little boost to circulation in the tank center. 
 

If I’m running sponge filtration that is my go to setup for anything 20+ gallons.  If the current is to strong in smaller setups I insert control valves or go with gang valves on smaller pumps. 

Aight I was considering this one already, I think ima go with it. However I’m a little confused by the part where you say 2 large sponges is too much then say you like to run 2 sponges. Do you mean 2 normal sized sponges? I think that would make more sense and look better

[Sponge filtration questions?]

On 8/15/2022 at 12:59 PM, Flumpweesel said:

Link strangeness then  - I just really didn't want you paying what it showed me. I must have looked really miserly. 

yeah I was wondering why 10 pounds was such a big deal; i thought you meant half of 20. It’s no biggie though, it did give me an optimistic expectation of the price of air pumps for a second though lol

On 8/15/2022 at 12:47 PM, Flumpweesel said:. 

I am sure I saw the nano pump being run on just about everything when they were testing but a quick email to customer service would probably be best. I can't get their products but this would be on my list if could. 

So the pump itself doesn’t matter much? And this $25 will work in the 40g? The main thing I’m worried about is lack of circulation, but I also don’t want to deal with both a hob and a sponge, In that case I’d rather just get a hob. I did see a guy running 2 medium sized sponge filters for a 100 gallon so it’s probably a lot more forgiving then I think, especially since my tank is gonna be kinda understocked 

[Sponge filtration questions?]

On 8/15/2022 at 12:47 PM, Flumpweesel said:

My main thought about the amazon one was wow thats £22 here how can they justify $50 which to me suggests you are being overcharged due to import costs rather than getting a better product. If the exchange rate was that good at the moment I'd be over on holiday. 

I am sure I saw the nano pump being run on just about everything when they were testing but a quick email to customer service would probably be best. I can't get their products but this would be on my list if could. 

Huh? It says 20 bucks for me… I am overseas right now, however I have my location set to my American address. Maybe it has the prices for where I am right now, which has terrible Amazon shipping and takes double the cost and months to ship. 

[Sponge filtration questions?]

On 8/15/2022 at 11:28 AM, Flumpweesel said:

I'd looked at that one recently, but I wanted a dual  outlets so I can split it between two tanks so I picked something up at a LFS .  Also that is really expensive ( it is half that price in the UK) 

I have a large Marina air pump on my main tank and that is quietest one I own if I seat it properly. Why not try the either of CO-OP ones they are much better value and people seem to like them, you can get everything you need for less than that pump especially as I believe the nano pump will be enough for you 

There’s 2 co op ones? I only see one. Also, funds aren’t really a problem for me and I don’t like them limiting my aquariums, but I also won’t spend like 200 bucks on a super controllable pump if you get what I mean. Is a nano pump really enough for a 40gb?

 

On 8/15/2022 at 11:48 AM, DaveO said:

I am running two medium size sponge filters in my 40b. I chose the medium because like you pointed out, the 40b is just 16 inches tall and I like that proportion better. I use one USB nano pump per sponge which provides plenty of air. This combo of filtration will work well for biological filtration, but as I have found, it will not polish the water. You may want to add a hang on back filter with floss to keep the water more clear. 

Hmmm hobs with filter floss also have to be cleaned very often, more trouble than they’re worth imo, I don’t want super polished water just clean water. I don’t know, I guess I’ll try the aquarium co op one. 

[Sponge filtration questions?]

Do you think this one looks good?https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08HMZSH9J/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams

it is dual outlet, but it’s also pretty powerful and has good reviews. The other one I saw was the tetra whisper but many people had problems with the noise on that one.

 

[Sponge filtration questions?]

On 8/15/2022 at 10:16 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I would completely ignore for the most part what GPH you need based on whatever the air pump manufacturers have on the box. 

Your tank in question is a 40B and you're likely going to have 2 sponges or 2-3 air driven devices at once. What really matters is the height of the tank, what you're driving, and just generally how will things hold up over time.

Let's say you have a pump rated for 20G. Will it push air? Yep. Will it last? Hard to say. Let's say you get the pump rated for 50+ gallons. Is it the same as duck taping two 20G pumps together and having two outputs with similar power and design? Very likely.

What I would suggest is finding something that is strong, is a single output, and works well enough that you feel like you're going to have something that lasts a while. I've used tetra, aqueon, top fin, ACO nano, fluval, and probably a few others but what I have found that works best for my tanks is a good strong pump with a single outlet and a metal gang valve. I go from the pump to a check valve into the gang valve and then into the devices. I've had one pump rated for 150G that runs my 29G with 3-4 devices.  I've since "scaled back" : 😂 and gone ahead and purchased a basic 20-40G airpump and I'm just using an air stone on that tank.  I added pressurized CO2 and so I didn't want to have that many bubbles in this tank specifically. Right now, that same AP150 filter is running my 29G flawlessly with 2 filters and it had enough to run 3 without issues. 

Part of the equation here is what you're running. So if you're running a ziss adjustable airstone that's tightened really hard for fine bubbles or something like the cheaper stone air stones, etc. Whatever the force/pressure/load you're needing to supply is going to determine just what kind of pump you need. 

In my case, I had issues over many years with pumps failing after 3-6 months and I just use airstones and sponges. It happened for a variety of reasons and I'd go and get those valve replacement kits and never got them to work well or at all. I use the ACO sponges and the ziss airstones with 3 felt washers in them. It's not ridiculously tight, but I do enjoy a good amount of flow on my sponges and airsrtones.

Hopefully that helps! Please feel free to ask for anything specific, but that should get you towards where you're needing.

Keep in mind ACO has their air pump, one per sponge would be awesome for that tank!

Thank you so much, helps a lot. I’m running a low tech tank so I do want a really high amount of fine bubbles. So I should get 2 large sponge filters with a one output air pump for both with a gang valve? Also my tank isn’t very tall, 16 inches, so how would that play into effect? Do you have any specific recommendations for my situation?

 

also I checked out the aquarium co op pump, it seems pretty weak for my setup, seems more like a backup for a nano tank, I definitely gotta keep it in mind for my upcoming 10g though 

[Sponge filtration questions?]

Hey all, I plan on running a 40g breeder, under-mildly stocked. I’ve never ran sponge filters before but due to the fact I’m gonna have floating plants,shrimp, and fry Id like the gentler flow and extra biological filtration. 
 

I plan on buying the large aquarium co op one(with the airstone inside), but I’m a little confused. How powerful of an air pump should I get? It’s not like a HOB where the GPH is clearly there. I just have to guess? I mean I don’t doubt it’ll be strong enough but still. Some people also recommended 2 large sponge filters for a 40g, even though the filter itself is rated for 40g and up. What do you guys recommend? Ive got no idea as to what air pump to get, and whether I should get 1 or 2. Thank you for any help in advance.