Chemical filtration using a sponge filter?

[CalmedByFish]

If you're only using sponge filters, is there some clever way to temporarily attach things like carbon or Seachem resin to them? At least after using meds, people must have some way to get the last bits of med out of the water.

I saw on one of Cory's videos that you can stick some bio rings into the middle of a sponge filter, so it got me wondering if there's a way to use chemical filtration on them.

I'm thinking a resin bag or a carbon-infused filter pad could be zip-tied to the sponge for semi-helpful use. But maybe you have better ideas? 

[Kirsten]

Oh wow! I've never gone that far. After treating for an illness in a main tank I'll usually just do my normal 30%-ish water changes weekly and consider it settled. Dilution is the solution to pollution and all that!

But if you really needed to get rid of some junk fast and a couple large water changes aren't in the cards, I suppose you could stick some chemical filtration substance in a bag and keep it near your filter, but I shy away from any chem filtration. Last time I tried even Purigen to help clear some tannins, my anubias all melted away and my java ferns cried for mercy.

[CalmedByFish]

6 minutes ago, Kirsten said:

Last time I tried even Purigen to help clear some tannins, my anubias all melted away and my java ferns cried for mercy.

Good to know! I thought it was totally safe for plants. 

[Kirsten]

3 minutes ago, CalmedByFish said:

Good to know! I thought it was totally safe for plants. 

That's what the pet store told me, too! But yeah it sucks all the the organic compounds out. So while it won't actively harm plants, if it's working, it's taking all their food out of the water.

[CalmedByFish]

@KirstenGlad to find this out now. I just ordered 6 new plant species from ACO last night, because my current species are living but not remotely thriving. (Except hornwort, which apparently is determined to take over the world.) I'll set aside the purigen and watch the parameters and plants. 

Edited May 5, 2021 by CalmedByFish

[H.K.Luterman]

Iiiiinteresting. Do you have a link to where Cory talks about putting bio rings inside a sponge filter? How does one do such a thing? I'd love to do something like that with crushed coral, since I don't use HOBs and finding a good spot to hide the little baggy and get proper flow through it is a challenge. 🙂 

[CalmedByFish]

6 minutes ago, H.K.Luterman said:

Iiiiinteresting. Do you have a link to where Cory talks about putting bio rings inside a sponge filter? How does one do such a thing? I'd love to do something like that with crushed coral, since I don't use HOBs and finding a good spot to hide the little baggy and get proper flow through it is a challenge. 🙂 

Just tried to find it for you, but I watched several ACO filtration-related vids yesterday, so I don't remember. My best guess is that it was the vid I'm linking below. 

Regardless, the idea was that you take off the tube that's above the sponge, and plop the rings into the part of the tube that's inside the sponge... uh, I think. 

 

Edited May 5, 2021 by CalmedByFish

[H.K.Luterman]

4 minutes ago, CalmedByFish said:

Just tried to find it for you, but I watched several ACO filtration-related vids yesterday, so I don't remember. My best guess is that it was the vid I'm linking below. 

Regardless, the idea was that you take off the tube that's above the sponge, and plop the rings into the part of the tube that's inside the sponge. 

 

Thanks! I poked around the vid and couldn't find it but I get what you're saying. Hmmmmm. Think I'm going to try doing that this weekend.