Sponge filters

[Kelly Caldwell]

Does anyone have a video I could watch regarding sponge filters?  I have a 55 gallon tank and a carnival goldfish I've had for 9 years now, we call him zombie fish.  I want to do a sponge filter but not sure how to set them up or size I would need for that size tank.  Any help would be wonderful.  Thank you!

[GardenStateGoldfish]

Aquarium coop and prime time aquatics have good sponge filter videos, 

 

also your goldfish will be fine with a sponge filter it’s my favorite type of filtration for them, goldfish kinda handle the mechanical piece, the sponge provides the biological filtration they need and also oxygenates the water for them. You can do a large sponge filter from aquarium coop and they have a tutorial on how to set it up, I would also recommend the micro usb air pump because it’s so quiet and enough for the sponge filter. 

[Kelly Caldwell]

On 10/4/2021 at 3:23 PM, GardenStateGoldfish said:

Aquarium coop and prime time aquatics have good sponge filter videos, 

 

also your goldfish will be fine with a sponge filter it’s my favorite type of filtration for them, goldfish kinda handle the mechanical piece, the sponge provides the biological filtration they need and also oxygenates the water for them. You can do a large sponge filter from aquarium coop and they have a tutorial on how to set it up, I would also recommend the micro usb air pump because it’s so quiet and enough for the sponge filter. 

Thank you so much for the info.  I will look for the video.  I have an air stone in the tank now hooked to an air pump, could I splice that to the sponge filter up think or would I need two air pumps?

[Dwayne Brown]

On 10/4/2021 at 1:38 PM, Kelly Caldwell said:

Thank you so much for the info.  I will look for the video.  I have an air stone in the tank now hooked to an air pump, could I splice that to the sponge filter up think or would I need two air pumps?

I have used airline T connectors for smaller tanks. It really just depends on the power of the pump itself. I would just buy a cheap t connector rig it up so that there is line for the airstone and line for the would be sponge filter. than I would put both of those in the tank and see about how much air is getting pumped out and decide from there. 

You could also just go with one sponge filter and no airstone as the sponge filter essentially produces the same aeration as an airstone. 

[DwayneA]

This was a good one from Cory 

 

[Solstice_Lacer]

Agree with above, you could split your air to a sponge on one end of the tank and air stone on the other, or just go with a sponge filter. Depends on your air power and preference. Some sponge filters have a place to put an air stone inside the sponge for extra aeration. 

[Kelly Caldwell]

On 10/4/2021 at 4:01 PM, DwayneA said:

This was a good one from Cory 

 

So you just add the air line to the top of the sponge filter?  If I get one of these, I can use the stone on the inside and can get rid of the one I have on the bottom.  also if i did this sponge filter, I can get rid of the filter system that came with the tank, correct?

Thank you so much for all your help and the video.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Kelly CaldwellGoldfish have a high biological load, ie. They are super messy producing a ton of waster so most gf keepers use 2 types of filtration- something for mechanical and another for biological filtration- something to pull the poop out and something to host nitrifying bacteria. They also are prone to infection so a place to put some carbon after you use medication is nice. You may want to keep what you have and add the sponge filter, see how it goes and then decide if you need both or just the sponge. What’s on the tank now? 

Yes you just pull it apart, use a very small length of airline and attach the airstone to the top of the sponge filter. 

[Kelly Caldwell]

On 10/5/2021 at 10:25 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@Kelly CaldwellGoldfish have a high biological load, ie. They are super messy producing a ton of waster so most gf keepers use 2 types of filtration- something for mechanical and another for biological filtration- something to pull the poop out and something to host nitrifying bacteria. They also are prone to infection so a place to put some carbon after you use medication is nice. You may want to keep what you have and add the sponge filter, see how it goes and then decide if you need both or just the sponge. What’s on the tank now? 

Yes you just pull it apart, use a very small length of airline and attach the airstone to the top of the sponge filter. 

Okay I'll do that.  but I could get rid of the air stone I have in there now right?  It's just the regular filtration system that came with the tank.  It's a 55 gallon tank that I bought at PetSmart 7 years ago.  Here's the thing, this gold fish was won at a carnival 9 years maybe even 10 years ago.  I had a 1 1/2 gallon tank with a snail in it and just put him in there cause normally they don't live that long, then I ended up with a 10 gallon and now a 55 gallon.  I know nothing about fish tanks but I really love them and would like to continue, but I have no idea what I'm doing. lol  This poor fish has been through all kinds of illnesses, parasites and has survived, now I'm trying to keep some type of mold from growing in the tank and I'm just frustrated.  But I would like a different type of filter in it.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Ok as you transition filters keep the old one so your biological filter doesn’t crash. You’ve had enough trouble. 
Yes you can stop the airstone with the addition of the sponge filter. As for replacing your old filter if it works keep it but if there are issues with it - too loud, not working well there may be options to fix it or it may just have reached its end. If you’ve had it for 7 years that’s a good run. 
Can you post a picture of the “mold” you’re seeing? We can help you ID the stuff and how to deal with it if it is even something bad which it may not be. 
A 55 g is a nice home for a couple of gold fish. That water volume is helpful in keeping water parameters in line so you’ve done something very good For your fish. 

[Kelly Caldwell]

On 10/5/2021 at 1:03 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

Ok as you transition filters keep the old one so your biological filter doesn’t crash. You’ve had enough trouble. 
Yes you can stop the airstone with the addition of the sponge filter. As for replacing your old filter if it works keep it but if there are issues with it - too loud, not working well there may be options to fix it or it may just have reached its end. If you’ve had it for 7 years that’s a good run. 
Can you post a picture of the “mold” you’re seeing? We can help you ID the stuff and how to deal with it if it is even something bad which it may not be. 
A 55 g is a nice home for a couple of gold fish. That water volume is helpful in keeping water parameters in line so you’ve done something very good For your fish. 

The old filter does okay.   Would like to get another one in the tank.  For the mold I have tried limiting the light it gets, and when the GF ended up sick with ick (thanks to my daughter throwing a fish in there without quarantining it first) I put a heater in there while I was treating it for ick and then turned it back down, so it's not warm in there.  Since I have limited the light the mold has lightened up but now my plants have died.  Since the ick and cleaning the entire tank and throwing everything out and buying new, this is the problem I'm having now.  I've never had this in the 9 years having a tank.  I take it out scrub it, vacuum the floor and do a 25% water change every week.  I bought some erythromycin cause I was told it looked like Cyanobacteria.  Thank you for letting me know I've done something good for him! lol  It's only one gold fish and I've never had so many problems.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

It’s algae, Blackbeard algae I think, and the purple color usually means it’s dying off but sometimes it can go that color due to something in its environment - probably the erythromycin killed it. It usually responds to hydrogen peroxide or “liquid carbon “ glutaraldehyde can kill it but it usually comes back unless you deal with the source - typically too much light, too many unused nutrients- too much food and therefore poop, and not enough plants to suck up all the nutrients which can be difficult in a goldfish tank. Usually a soak of the decor in some h2o2 and then dealing with issues can help. 
I would consider a bigger water change each week 50% instead of 25% to start - that would reduce the excess nutrients the most. Goldfish are messy. Over filtering is encouraged in gf tanks because of this. As they get bigger gf eat more poop more and that leaves higher levels of badness that stresses them out and can cause things like ich to be problematic- as well as kids throwing in unqt’d fish! 
The other thing with kids is they over feed the tank - he’s hungry yadda yadda yadda. I put my food high enough for them to not be able to reach it! 
Try one change at a time , give things weeks not days to make change, and don’t change anything drastically. Did you dose any beneficial bacteria after the erythromycin? If not you may want to seed the new filter with some good bacteria I like Fritz 7. 
I hope this becomes fun again soon! 

[Streetwise]

That looks like the color of Cyanobacteria that you see in marine tanks.