Is it time to clean my sponge filter?

[Whitecloud09]

Hey there fellow fish hobbyists. 
I have another question, (it’s a hobby so I always get em 😉) how to know when I should clean the sponge. Not how but when. Ik how. Cory has a good way of showing it. This is my first time cleaning one, had it set up since oh maybe 4-5 months back, is that a really long time? Now this is a thing where people have their own opinions and suggestions but I would like a general idea if possible 🙂.

My 20g long is home to (for now) 5 panda corys.

I have a filter sponge from AC that is suited for 20-30 gallons if my memory serves me right. So pic below is it. Does it look dirty enough to clean? I have to say it is more dirty IRL then in pic. First time sponge guy here, used to be the HOB guy but not anymore.

TIA

-Whitecloud09 🙂

maybe a simple Q for you but first time sponger like mentioned.

Video I watched. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qImy1PXdkvU&list=LL&index=1

 

[Tlindsey]

On 8/17/2024 at 3:56 PM, Whitecloud09 said:

Hey there fellow fish hobbyists. 
I have another question, (it’s a hobby so I always get em 😉) how to know when I should clean the sponge. Not how but when. Ik how. Cory has a good way of showing it. This is my first time cleaning one, had it set up since oh maybe 4-5 months back, is that a really long time? Now this is a thing where people have their own opinions and suggestions but I would like a general idea if possible 🙂.

My 20g long is home to (for now) 5 panda corys.

I have a filter sponge from AC that is suited for 20-30 gallons if my memory serves me right. So pic below is it. Does it look dirty enough to clean? I have to say it is more dirty IRL then in pic. First time sponge guy here, used to be the HOB guy but not anymore.

TIA

-Whitecloud09 🙂

maybe a simple Q for you but first time sponger like mentioned.

Video I watched. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qImy1PXdkvU&list=LL&index=1

 

I personally go the out put of air or appearance of the sponge itself. @Whitecloud09

Edited August 17 by Tlindsey

[mynameisnobody]

If your water parameters are fine then you’re good for now. The only thing I’d keep on eye on is when I’ve left a sponge filter without maintenance, it seems like BBA would eventually start growing. When I began squeezing them out, the BBA stopped. 

[Whitecloud09]

On 8/17/2024 at 4:24 PM, Tlindsey said:

I personally go the out put of air or appearance of the sponge itself. @Whitecloud09

Thank you.

 

On 8/17/2024 at 4:25 PM, mynameisnobody said:

If your water parameters are fine then you’re good for now. The only thing I’d keep on eye on is when I’ve left a sponge filter without maintenance, it seems like BBA would eventually start growing. When I began squeezing them out, the BBA stopped. 

Yes parameters good. But just have been noticing, Water is more cloudy in past 3 weeks. Even tho I do at least one wc per week. Maybe more for other reasons.

@mynameisnobody

[TOtrees]

Agree with @Tlindsey, go by rate of bubbles, compared to when it’s new or clean. For me, if I look at the bubble column and think “seems like less bubbles than how I have it normally set up”, that’s when I clean. 

Or if I see signs that water circulation/movement is reduced.  

Edited August 17 by TOtrees

[Tony s]

I actually had a fine pored one, not the coops coarser one, get sealed up from inside. Couldn’t tell the difference. Except it was a new tank and wasn’t cycling like it should have. Was getting ammonia with a seeded sponge. Until I grabbed it and the surface was a bit hard. Took a bit to get it clean. The fine pores wouldn’t let go of the gunk easily. Once cleaned the ammonia disappeared relatively quickly. 
 

so, if you think you need to clean it. Go ahead. It only takes a couple of minutes in the sink. And you’ll feel better about it. 

[mynameisnobody]

Yea I would definitely give that a good squeeze in a few different buckets. 

[Whitecloud09]

On 8/17/2024 at 4:33 PM, TOtrees said:

Agree with @Tlindsey, go by rate of bubbles, compared to when it’s new or clean. For me, if I look at the bubble column and think “seems like less bubbles than how I have it normally set up”, that’s when I clean. 

Or if I see signs that water circulation/movement is reduced.  

Yeah still good flow as of now! Thank you, @TOtrees.

 

On 8/17/2024 at 4:41 PM, Tony s said:

I actually had a fine pored one, not the coops coarser one, get sealed up from inside. Couldn’t tell the difference. Except it was a new tank and wasn’t cycling like it should have. Was getting ammonia with a seeded sponge. Until I grabbed it and the surface was a bit hard. Took a bit to get it clean. The fine pores wouldn’t let go of the gunk easily. Once cleaned the ammonia disappeared relatively quickly. 
 

so, if you think you need to clean it. Go ahead. It only takes a couple of minutes in the sink. And you’ll feel better about it. 

Thank you Tony!

 

On 8/17/2024 at 4:43 PM, mynameisnobody said:

Yea I would definitely give that a good squeeze in a few different buckets. 

Yep will do, thank you guys 

Edited August 17 by Whitecloud09

[EricksonAquatics]

When in doubt, I usually give it a good squeeze because mine gets full of hair algae (which yours seems to have a bit of too!). I also go off of filter output - if it seems less powerful than usual, time for a clean. You’ll be surprised at how much the easy flow sucks in!!

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Agreed with all the other homies. I go by filter output. In my experience with lots of ACO sponge filters and most of them on the Easy Flow kits, the flow will be noticeably different. Both coming out of the air collar and out of the nozzle. 
 

In my opinion and experience, the flow kits pull so much more, resulting in filters that clog faster. But, if you just clean it more often (both the air collar and the sponge) it should operate like new for basically forever. 
 

Definitely doesn’t hurt to clean that bad boy! The only thing that can happen is you have better flow and more air in your tank. I always recommend cleaning the air collar whenever you pull it off the sponge. Oftentimes I’ll pull the collar off abd clean it out a just to pop it back on the sponge without actually cleaning the sponge. That alone should increase flow. 
 

I will say that if and when the sponge actually becomes clogged it is pretty noticeable. In my experience, the easy flow kit will chug like the air pump is turning off for a split second and then immediately back on. It drove me nuts the first time it happened as I thought my pump was messed up, or there was a clog in the airline tubing somewhere, etc. I went down the rabbit hole of what could be wrong until I finally cleaned the sponge and then it was working like new again. 
 

All that is to say, it can’t hurt to squeeze out the sponge! Keep the air collar clean and squeeze the sponge when you think it needs it and you’ll be set. 

[Whitecloud09]

On 8/17/2024 at 10:11 PM, EricksonAquatics said:

When in doubt, I usually give it a good squeeze because mine gets full of hair algae (which yours seems to have a bit of too!). I also go off of filter output - if it seems less powerful than usual, time for a clean. You’ll be surprised at how much the easy flow sucks in!!

Thanks so much! Yes there is some hair algae! 

 

On 8/17/2024 at 11:19 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Agreed with all the other homies. I go by filter output. In my experience with lots of ACO sponge filters and most of them on the Easy Flow kits, the flow will be noticeably different. Both coming out of the air collar and out of the nozzle. 
 

In my opinion and experience, the flow kits pull so much more, resulting in filters that clog faster. But, if you just clean it more often (both the air collar and the sponge) it should operate like new for basically forever. 
 

Definitely doesn’t hurt to clean that bad boy! The only thing that can happen is you have better flow and more air in your tank. I always recommend cleaning the air collar whenever you pull it off the sponge. Oftentimes I’ll pull the collar off abd clean it out a just to pop it back on the sponge without actually cleaning the sponge. That alone should increase flow. 
 

I will say that if and when the sponge actually becomes clogged it is pretty noticeable. In my experience, the easy flow kit will chug like the air pump is turning off for a split second and then immediately back on. It drove me nuts the first time it happened as I thought my pump was messed up, or there was a clog in the airline tubing somewhere, etc. I went down the rabbit hole of what could be wrong until I finally cleaned the sponge and then it was working like new again. 
 

All that is to say, it can’t hurt to squeeze out the sponge! Keep the air collar clean and squeeze the sponge when you think it needs it and you’ll be set. 

Extremely helpful here thank you @AllFishNoBrakes

[TOtrees]

On 8/17/2024 at 11:19 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

In my opinion and experience, the flow kits pull so much more, resulting in filters that clog faster.

I'm kind of getting farther from the original question here, but this is an interesting observation, that's nice to hear from someone other than the seller. I've often opined that the ACO sponges are too open/coarse, and that as a result a lot of physical debris (detritus, mulm) passes right through, and I wonder if changing to the easy flow would address that. Ie in my case, and based on my preferences, I think causing them to clog faster would be in improvement. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 8/19/2024 at 5:11 AM, TOtrees said:

but this is an interesting observation, that's nice to hear from someone other than the seller.

For sure! In my experience running a lot of these, they absolutely have more flow around the tank, and “pull” things in from further away. I also think that doing so causes the coarse pores to actually clog up, or get close to clogging, meaning that it actually pulls finer particles from the water column. 
 

I’ve been running ACO sponges for years and never had one physically clog until I had the easy flow kits on it.