sponge filters

[Dragisha]

Hello everyone, my name is Dragisha and I have been a customer Aquarium Co-Op since this last spring.  That is when I got back into the hobby.  I purchased many things from Aquarium Co-Op, including sponge filters.  As my fish started breeding successfully and the number of fish increased in my fish tanks, I started noticing that on occasion my fish would get certain type of illnesses, which appeared fungal, possibly.  I tried various water changing frequencies and regularly tested my water for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, and ph fluctuations, because I knew it had something to do with the water quality.  Finally, I figured out it was the sponge filters that I purchased at Aquarium Co-Op.  First, let me just say that I am not complaining about the filters nor am I trying to tell anyone that these filters are not a good option.  I am simply sharing my experience in case it can help anyone else on  these forums and in case it's useful to the Aquarium Co-Op team.  As I tested different options, it appears to me that the sponge filters are pretty good at biological filtration, but they are too coarse for mechanical filtration.  I purchased some dense sponge filters from Jehmco, which are about the same size and I replaced the coarse sponge filters.  I cleaned the filters on the same weekly schedule.  I had three sponge filters that I alternate the weekly cleaning on.  Since I made the sponge filter change, I haven't had any diseases in my tanks.  It's been almost two months.

[GardenStateGoldfish]

This doesn’t sound like it has anything to do with the sponge filters, glad you were able to put a stop to it however I run many tanks with almost zero mechanical filtration outside of goldfish, snails and clams they break everything down for plants, and I do not experience any types of ill effects. 
 

you mention ph fluctuations, was your ph fluctuating? If so that could be the culprit, I’d recommend adding some crushed coral to help buffer your KH to prevent the ph swings if that’s what was happening. 

[Dragisha]

The PH was not fluctuating.  I am pointing to the sponge filters because in the entire equation, the only thing I changed were the sponge filters.

Thank you for your input.

[Jeff]

We're you maintaining the Co-Op sponge filters regularly? 

Edited September 26, 2021 by Jeff

[Dragisha]

Yes.  As I mentioned in my post, I have three filters in each tank and I clean one filter once a week.  After I replaced the filters I kept the same cleaning schedule.

[DaveO]

There are so many different ways to run an aquarium. I'm glad you were able to find what works for your tank. As for me, I like the co-op sponge filters because I don't have to service them often. I like my low maintenance style tanks.

[Dragisha]

Yes, I believe most of us, if not all, prefer low maintenance tanks.  I like the co-op sponge filters as well.  They worked great when my fish population was smaller.  I do recognize that I need to decrease the number of fish in my tanks.  I am currently building a fish room where I will add more tanks and distribute the population across multiple tanks.  When I had less fish, I didn't feel that I had to service my sponge filters often.  Once again, I am not creating a debate on what type of sponge filters are better.  I am simply bringing some facts up to all of you, co-op sponge filter users, co-op sponge filter sellers and designers, in case the information I have can be useful to any of you.  Feedback is usually what helps people make a better product.

From my experience, having around 150 to 200 xiphophorus helleri in 75 gallon tanks with three large sponges, the filters were not keeping the water quality where it needed to be, even though I cleaned one filter every week.  When I replaced the sponge filters with a dense sponge filters, the water quality improved and my fish stayed healthy.  

The other difference I noticed is that when I would pick up the co-op sponge filter to take it out of the water, stuff started floating out of it.  Yes, I did watch Corey's video on how to properly clean the filter by using a bag to put under the filter as you lift it up.  However, in a heavily planted tank that is a bit difficult.  The dense sponge filters hold that stuff in much better, but it does take a bit more effort to clean the dense sponges.

 

[H.K.Luterman]

It sounds like you had a water quality issue due to heavy stocking, thus fungal outbreaks. Mechanical filtration is mostly aesthetic, to keep the water clear of debris, it's the biological filtration that keeps ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in check. Aquarium Co-Op sponge filters can be stacked into towers, providing even more biological filtration in a small footprint, so in such heavy stocking I personally would have made two towers of 3 larger sponges (totaling 6 in all); but even that might not have kept up depending on how heavy is heavy in this case. I'm glad you found a solution for your situation, everyone's tanks are different, and in your case the Co-Op sponges didn't work for you. 

[Dragisha]

Yes, I agree with you that my issue is due to heavy stocking and I am building a fish room so that I can resolve that issue.  The ammonia, nitrite and nitrates were all at acceptable levels, so that was the thing that was throwing me off.  I am not convinced that mechanical filtration is mostly aesthetic, because when I replaced the coarse sponges with the dense sponges, the situation in my tanks improved.  

It seems like the people who are responding to my post might be misunderstanding the information I am sharing.  Once again, I am not bashing on co-op sponges.  I am sharing the data that I collected in my over populated tanks.  First, it seems that water quality is not just ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.  Second, it appears that biological filtration is not enough to keep good water quality in extreme conditions.  Thirdly, dense sponges seem to filter better, as long as they are cleaned regularly.  The fourth thing I found is that when I lift the dense sponges out of the water, they hold all of the stuff they captured better than the coarse sponges.

[Odd Duck]

On 9/27/2021 at 11:48 AM, Dragisha said:

Yes, I agree with you that my issue is due to heavy stocking and I am building a fish room so that I can resolve that issue.  The ammonia, nitrite and nitrates were all at acceptable levels, so that was the thing that was throwing me off.  I am not convinced that mechanical filtration is mostly aesthetic, because when I replaced the coarse sponges with the dense sponges, the situation in my tanks improved.  

It seems like the people who are responding to my post might be misunderstanding the information I am sharing.  Once again, I am not bashing on co-op sponges.  I am sharing the data that I collected in my over populated tanks.  First, it seems that water quality is not just ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.  Second, it appears that biological filtration is not enough to keep good water quality in extreme conditions.  Thirdly, dense sponges seem to filter better, as long as they are cleaned regularly.  The fourth thing I found is that when I lift the dense sponges out of the water, they hold all of the stuff they captured better than the coarse sponges.

I think people are responding this way because you are blaming the ACO sponge filters when it’s really an overstocking problem.  Sponge filters are not really meant for significant mechanical filtration so much but they do some.  Sponge prefilters will do more mechanical filtration.

I’m guessing your issue resolved because a finer sponge has more surface area, thus more room for beneficial bacterial colonies to establish.  They obviously require more diligent cleaning as you’ve noticed.  I do love the ACO sponge filters because I don’t want to have to clean my sponge filters every week.  I clean my sponge filters about every 2-6 months depending on the tank.  Prefilters usually monthly.

I’ve had (and still have) some very fine sponge filters and they need frequent cleaning unless there is a very low bioload.  I’m too old and lazy for weekly filter cleanings on 24 tanks.

The ACO sponge is specifically selected as a compromise between more mechanical filtration and more biofiltration with the least amount of maintenance and I think they achieve that balance very well.

[Drenon88]

Interesting topic and I learned some things that I didn't know from all the responses. Thanks all!

[GameCzar]

Every filter isn't right for everyone.   I have 2 of the Co-op sponge filters, one does a stand alone job in a 5 gallon, the other works in combo with a HOB filter in our 10 gallon.   I love them, but I also like the more fine sponges in some tanks.    Regardless, I'm glad you found your solution.