Fish Folk Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 I’d like to hear from anyone who makes their own DIY sponge filters. Where do you get your sponges from? What building process works best for you? Do you follow a step-by-step build? We’ve made a few, but have never felt really satisfied with them long haul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Well before I became desensitized to spending money on fish, I just took some large pre-filter sponges from Amazon that I’d bought for something else, cut them in half, zip-tied the bottom end shut, and stuck an air stone in the middle. The air stone was heavy enough to sink the sponge. I have no idea how well they worked compared to the coop’s sponge filters, but it worked at least a little bit! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 I have taken pre-filter sponges and shove tubing (leftover Eheim green tube) into them with an airstone at the bottom and it works. I’ve also taken the mini-pumps that come with those jokey aquaponics aquarium combos and used those same prefilter sponges or made them as @Hobbit mentions above using zip ties. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyGenusCaps Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 So, I have done sponge prefilters and filters from the long rectangle Cubematerial pieces of Poret foam in the Cubefilter section of Swiss Tropicals. I cut the foam to the general size I need with a razor, and then use a hole saw to create the spot for the tube to the depth I need. Make sure the drill is set on reverse so the hole saw won't bind and tear the foam. Cut the hole slightly smaller than the tube diameter and you should be set. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockMongler Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 An easier DIY filter would probably be a box filter. You could take a tupperware container and add holes where necessary, and fill the inside with sponges, filter floss, etc. Add a bit of tubing for a lift tube in the top, punch a bunch of holes in the side/bottom for intakes, and presto magic, you have a DIY filter. I think a standard sponge filter relies too much on specifically shaped bits to work effectively, and the box filter design allows you to more easily control the path of the water through it. I know growing up, we kind of built our own box filter for a pond instead of going with a purchased one because it is easy to get it to be doing its thing right. Otherwise, if I were married to the sponge filter design, I might just go for intake sponge off amazon -> pvc pipe from hardware store -> seal bottom of tube with cap or silicone -> cut long vertical holes with dremel or something to match size of sponge, leaving length above to act as a lift tube. But, that's just hypothetical, and I'm sure I'd run into issues I'd have to work out. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 23, 2021 Author Share Posted April 23, 2021 Question came up as a Rachel O’Leary video came up on our YouTube recommendations. Looks like a DIY sponge she pulled from a little outdoor pond. Weve always admired the DIY sponges featured in the fishroom videos from @WhitecloudDynasty We tried building them, following suggestions from Joey (King of DIY), but didn’t find the correct sponge material. They eventually disintegrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitecloudDynasty Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 10 minutes ago, Fish Folk said: Question came up as a Rachel O’Leary video came up on our YouTube recommendations. Looks like a DIY sponge she pulled from a little outdoor pond. Weve always admired the DIY sponges featured in the fishroom videos from @WhitecloudDynasty We tried building them, following suggestions from Joey (King of DIY), but didn’t find the correct sponge material. They eventually disintegrated. I buy all of mine, not sure if I can say where I bought them on here but the beautiful thing about these sponge are their jetlifter...they move more water than any airstone can 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyGenusCaps Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 21 minutes ago, WhitecloudDynasty said: their jetlifter...they move more water than any airstone can Agreed. I have a jetlifter on some matten filters. Never go back to airstones again. So much flow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitecloudDynasty Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 39 minutes ago, OnlyGenusCaps said: Agreed. I have a jetlifter on some matten filters. Never go back to airstones again. So much flow! I do hate cleaning their little holes tho lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyGenusCaps Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 2 minutes ago, WhitecloudDynasty said: I do hate cleaning their little holes tho lol Maybe ours are different. Mine comes apart easily and is pretty quick to clean with a scrub from an old toothbrush. Or, I'm just doing a terrible job of it. That seems possible too. 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GardenStateGoldfish Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 I was thinking about making my own with small PVC and some aqua clear 110 sponges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhitecloudDynasty Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 1 hour ago, OnlyGenusCaps said: Maybe ours are different. Mine comes apart easily and is pretty quick to clean with a scrub from an old toothbrush. Or, I'm just doing a terrible job of it. That seems possible too. 😂 I never thought about using a toothbrush lol!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric R Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 I keep so many old toothbrushes, just so I have something to clean aquarium parts with! More than I need probably... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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