What Can Go Wrong With A Sponge Filter??

[dmurray407]

One of my large AC sponge filters will not suck anything into it. It worked perfectly for over a year and then stopped "sucking" after cleaning the sponge. I'm sure it's something I did....A strong stream of bubbles is coming out of it. It's in a 10 gal aquarium with shrimp, dwarf Cory's and 1 Celestial Pearl Danio. Any debris in the water just floats on by and the sponge appears to be perfectly clean. What should I do-any suggestions? They seem pretty foolproof so I'm not sure what that says about me..... (I'm ordering a new one today, but can use this one as a "back up" in the future) if I can get it to work. Thanks!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Is the top cap secure?  Meaning, can you pick up the sponge filter by the airline tubing and it stays together?

[dmurray407]

On 9/14/2022 at 12:18 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Is the top cap secure?  Meaning, can you pick up the sponge filter by the airline tubing and it stays together?

Yes, I just checked and the cap is secure-I can shake the filter using the airline tubing.....

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Hmm.  What about the plastic slats inside the sponge?  Are they clogged?

Let's see if @nabokovfan87 has any ideas.  He's very good with filtration issues.

Edited September 14, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[dmurray407]

On 9/14/2022 at 12:36 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

What about the plastic slats inside the sponge?  Are they clogged

I'll take it out and check everything. I ordered a new one so it should be here in a couple of days while I fiddle around with it. It just doesn't seem like there is anything that could go wrong with one.....

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 9/14/2022 at 1:53 PM, dmurray407 said:

I'll take it out and check everything. I ordered a new one so it should be here in a couple of days while I fiddle around with it. It just doesn't seem like there is anything that could go wrong with one.....

Clogging is the only problem I'm aware of.  Too high of a flow creating big bubbles that come out of the sponge instead of the lift tube is also something that can cause an issue, although I doubt that would result in no suction.

[JettsPapa]

I've occasionally had the little opening that the air goes through on the top plastic piece get clogged up, but since you said there's a good stream of bubbles that's unlikely to be the problem here.

[dmurray407]

I took it completely apart, rinsed everything and put it back together again. It seems to be sucking stuff in a little bit better. I have another filter (a small Fluval canister) in that tank so there is filtration even without the sponge so I have time to fiddle with it. It's just weird.....

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/14/2022 at 7:58 AM, dmurray407 said:

One of my large AC sponge filters will not suck anything into it. It worked perfectly for over a year and then stopped "sucking" after cleaning the sponge. I'm sure it's something I did....A strong stream of bubbles is coming out of it. It's in a 10 gal aquarium with shrimp, dwarf Cory's and 1 Celestial Pearl Danio. Any debris in the water just floats on by and the sponge appears to be perfectly clean. What should I do-any suggestions? They seem pretty foolproof so I'm not sure what that says about me..... (I'm ordering a new one today, but can use this one as a "back up" in the future) if I can get it to work. Thanks!

There is a lip on the cap itself. It might be backwards and not locking in properly.  The air escapes on the outside?  Can you take a video of the filter with only air and no sponge installed? 

The sponge will trap the air internally into the tube slightly... but verifying the mechanics are working is the place to start.  The airstones do get clogged and need to be disassembled and reassembled slightly when cleaning.  On some of the ziss airstones too, I have found these little plastic pieces (like a film, not the plastic washers) that does come off the felt eventually.  I'm not sure what it is, but it's worth checking that as well.

Second thing to verify is the pump and stone itself (without the sponge filter.  If you have a clogged bit in the air diffuser, line, stone, etc. then that would put back pressure on the pump, that damages the diaphragm, and then you end up with the pump on, but no air whatsoever (or very low air pressure).

From the sounds of it, you've lost some flow, so a video of what the setup is, how things are functioning, would help, especially to see what your flow looks like right now when it isn't working well enough for you.

Third.... VERY VERY likely....  you could have a piece of plastic that was a part of the molding process that broke off and clogged something.  The industry term escapes me right now, but it's just a mold imperfection where the plastic got where it shouldn't have and creates a little flake.

[dmurray407]

On 9/14/2022 at 5:47 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Can you take a video of the filter with only air and no sponge installed? 

I will work on this tomorrow-thank you for the ideas!