Replacing sponge filters?

[Pitafish]

I have A LOT of filtration.  I rinse my pot scrubbers until they seem to be falling apart or just can’t seem to look clean.  I’ve noted recently to replace the sponge filters at 6-9 months.   
 

does everyone do this or just keep rinsing?   
 

just curious.  
 

thanks!

[Randall from Texas]

Filtration doesn't need to look clean. It just needs to not be full of gunk so it can keep taking more gunk out of your water. You should not need to replace sponge filters for years and years. 

 

I've never used pot scrubbers but it sounds like you have a good system. Once they start falling apart they won't hold very much, makes sense. Might be time to replace them if you are using them for water polish pads.

[Minanora]

I have the original sponge media in my canister, over a year old now. Except the polishing pads, I've added more as the old ones get thin.

Original sponge in my hob on my son's tank, almost two years now. I only clean my media when I can see the water isn't as polished as it usually is, or the flow decreases.

Same thing with my sponge filters.

I would probably replace the pot scrubbers if they are falling apart so they don't get all over in the tank or on the filters.

[Pitafish]

On 10/16/2022 at 2:12 PM, Minanora said:

I have the original sponge media in my canister, over a year old now. Except the polishing pads, I've added more as the old ones get thin.

Original sponge in my hob on my son's tank, almost two years now. I only clean my media when I can see the water isn't as polished as it usually is, or the flow decreases.

Same thing with my sponge filters.

I would probably replace the pot scrubbers if they are falling apart so they don't get all over in the tank or on the filters.

So the round sponge filters you have put in your external filters?    
I do rinse fairly frequently as I’m use to with my turtle tank as it gets cloudy.   
 

I suppose my question stems from all my neons recently dying and I can’t figure out why.   I’m worried they have that neon tetra disease and as I’ve only found two worried other fish are eating them and my entire tank will die.  
 

amyway.  Guess I won’t toss my sponge filters as they appear to be functional 

[AndEEss]

On 10/16/2022 at 1:20 PM, Pitafish said:

So the round sponge filters you have put in your external filters?    
I do rinse fairly frequently as I’m use to with my turtle tank as it gets cloudy.   
 

I suppose my question stems from all my neons recently dying and I can’t figure out why.   I’m worried they have that neon tetra disease and as I’ve only found two worried other fish are eating them and my entire tank will die.  
 

amyway.  Guess I won’t toss my sponge filters as they appear to be functional 

Maybe it has to do with your tank likely re-cycling when you rinse off all of the BB?

Because what you do is NOT what I would consider best practice for maintaining BB.

[Pitafish]

The ONLY reason I started doing this was the fish were dying so I thought maybe unclean.   Honestly the sponges in the tank maybe get the siphon stuck on them but have not been out and squeezed.   The fluval got changed as the impeller got clogged.  
 

So now I’m wondering if changing the sponges is necessary as my plan wasn’t to change them as my tank is clear.   I don’t know why the neons are dying—maybe just neons but they were all doing great and then just bam….

[Flumpweesel]

So what filters do you have?(sorry if already mentioned I've got confused in this thread).

If you test your water and the parameters are in order and the water isn't full of floaty bits then your filters are most likely fine. I've had the same sponges in my canisters for over 10 years I only replace them when they don't bounce back correctly anymore.

If you have multiple sponge filters remember to clean them alternately (as one this week the other next week) as that helps keep things stable.

Sorry if this isn't helping you find the answer to your lost neons sometimes we don't find the answer.

[Stef]

On 10/16/2022 at 3:29 PM, Flumpweesel said:

I only replace them when they don't bounce back correctly anymore.

@Flumpweesel I’m piggybacking on this post as I have a small Hikari sponge filter (fine sponge) that I squeezed out recently and it had a clay-like feel. It stayed in a clumped ball almost. Is this what you mean by “bounce back”?  All my other sponge filters are the Co-Op and haven’t seen/felt this yet. 

[Pitafish]

On 10/16/2022 at 3:29 PM, Flumpweesel said:

So what filters do you have?(sorry if already mentioned I've got confused in this thread).

If you test your water and the parameters are in order and the water isn't full of floaty bits then your filters are most likely fine. I've had the same sponges in my canisters for over 10 years I only replace them when they don't bounce back correctly anymore.

If you have multiple sponge filters remember to clean them alternately (as one this week the other next week) as that helps keep things stable.

Sorry if this isn't helping you find the answer to your lost neons sometimes we don't find the answer.

I have two large co-op sponge filters, fluval C4 and top fin with pot scrubbers and bio balls.   
 

it’s a 55 gallon planted with six (likely soon to be five) tetras, 2 neons, 5 Cory’s, six large amanos and three platys (with one tiny baby).     Been going since April-ish.

I noted an ammonia spike after adding amanos or maybe all the fish eating all the fry    I thought she was pregnant but never saw any fry so thought she was fat until I finally saw a baby recently.   Plus saw a tetra eat a fry that had been hiding.   
 

here’s a pic

[Flumpweesel]

@Stef yes pretty much fine sponges don't last as long as coarse ones.

@Pitafish wow that is a lot of filtration, it's very unlikely that old media is behind your tetra issues I would work out a cleaning rota so only one filter is cleaned each water change and just monitor the water parameters. 

Yes tetras will hunt down shrimp let and anything else they can fit in there mouths although there are plenty of hiding places so nature might surprise you. Seems like you're tank is taking its time settling (ammonia spike) so maybe letting the filters build up a bit more bacteria will help in the long run.

Sadly sometimes we lose fish and we can't find the answer it might be something they came with or something we can't see. Hopefully what you have left are the strong ones and will make it through.

Nice tank though hope it brings more joy then worry soon

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/16/2022 at 10:18 AM, Pitafish said:

I have A LOT of filtration.  I rinse my pot scrubbers until they seem to be falling apart or just can’t seem to look clean.  I’ve noted recently to replace the sponge filters at 6-9 months.   
 

does everyone do this or just keep rinsing?

Once things start falling apart, I replace it.  If sponge gets all cut up and falling in half it leads to bypass and that's not the goal when using the sponge as mechanical filtration.  If you're purely using it for biological, it's not going to matter much.

[Minanora]

I don't think your filtration is the cause for the tetras dying. Ammonia spike sounds like the root there. Tetras are a fish that I quarantine for a long time before I put them in their forever tank. I had issues with every batch I brought in last year. My water is really hard with a high pH so that's part of the problem but dang they are sensitive. Every group I got had some kind of illness or disease pop up in the first 4 weeks.

My co-op sponges hardly ever get cleaned. I use them for air, biological filtration and shrimplett hiding. I just swish them out maybe once a year unless it's the only filtration, then once every few months. I don't use their media in my other filters. I just use factory media and off brand replacements.

What's the temperature of your tank and current parameters? 

 

Love the plants btw. Filling in nicely!