Largest size of tank with only sponge filters?

[LillyBlomqvist]

I would live to get a big tank, but I would like to avoid a canister filter. I want to keep it really simple, like a couole of sponge filters/airstones. How big can the tank be for that to work?

There will be a lot of live plants, but I don't know what type of fish I'll keep. I guess it depends on the size of the tank 😁

What do you think? Liters/gallons? What is the largest tank you've had or have with only sponge filters? If I try this, is there something special I need to think about? I've always just had canister filters or internal filters.

Thank you in advance! 😁🙏

[lefty o]

 how many shrimp fish etc, and any plants. these will affect how much filtration will be needed. im not a sponge filter person, but i would imagine 1 large sponge filter in each back corner, would handle a moderately stocked 75gal

[LillyBlomqvist]

9 minutes ago, lefty o said:

 how many shrimp fish etc, and any plants. these will affect how much filtration will be needed. im not a sponge filter person, but i would imagine 1 large sponge filter in each back corner, would handle a moderately stocked 75gal

I don't really know, I would love a two or three fancy goldfish but they'll destroy the plants so I guess that's a no 😂 I don't like to overstock aquariums so whatever I choose, it won't be a high bio load 😁

75gal sounds nice! 😀 Have you any experience with hang on back? I've never tried those either, but they seems to be popular in the US 🤔

[OceanTruth]

I ran 2 sponge filters in a 90 gallon with 3 ranchu goldfish back in the day. Depending on how you stock a tank and the amount of plants, I honestly think you can get away with sponge filters on any sized tank. That’s just my opinion, though.

[Brian]

I haven’t used Aquarium Co Op sponge filters, and I don’t want to break any rules here.  So I will put this in a form of a question...  Can the filters from the Co Op be stacked?  Can you keep adding the inserts to one another and make the filter as tall as you need? And stack the sponges on top of each other....   

Good Luck 

[Trish]

I recently bought the largest sponge filter I could find, it will do up to 60 gallons.  You could run 2 in a 75 gallon.  

[H.K.Luterman]

I use a stack of three Co-op sponge filters in my 75. It's probably overkill, considering how lightly my tank is stocked atm; but stacking them like that, I can't imagine why they wouldn't work in even larger tanks. 

[Eric R]

Hang on backs work great, there's the aquaclear 110 and tidal 110 for larger tanks. And like sponges you can always run 2 instead of 1. You can also add a powerhead if you want more circulation. Sponge filters are simple and effective, they take up tank space but are very reliable. HOBs take up less tank space. The tidal has a pump in the tank, so it will self prime if the power is interrupted, unlike the aquaclear.

 

[Brandy]

Large tank with lots of plants can do no filter, just airstones or a recirculating pump. @Daniel has pretty much proved it, and he has just hardscape now, not even a jungle of plants anymore. I think it just depends on what you want the filter to do. Fish need circulation. Most of our filters do that. Some of them also polish the water so it looks pretty to us. Sponges are usually less good at that, but my tanks are clear enough for me.

[Daniel]

As per @Brandy above, it could be the larger the tank, the less important having a filter is.

[ChefConfit]

You can go as big as you want the only catch is you need good flow. Adequate plant load and flow will keep water prestine in most cases even without a filter. Most tank especially planted ones will benefit from an air stone or two though and if your running an airstone you might as well put it inside a sponge filter. 

Look at @Cory and his indoor ponds. They all run off one sponge filter each (I think he uses mediums) and they have never had a water change. 

[FishyJames]

I had a 110 gallon i filtered with one large sponge filter.  I had live plants and it was medium stocked.  I used a powerhead on the sponge filter.

[MJV Aquatics]

Sponge filters are great and I use them in a couple of grow out tanks. However, although they are great at bio-filtration, they fall short on mechanical filtration. And they're not well suited to a display tank. Now, and this is just me, I wouldn't even consider a canister filter on anything less than 100g. If it's a display tank, and anywhere from a 20g to 100g, I'd consider an Aquaclear or a Tidal HOB. My HOB's are totally filled with sponge material, so they are effectively HOB sponge filters, with mechanical filtration capability.

[Elise]

I have two large sponge filters from the Co-op in my 75 gal. It’s heavily planted with maybe 30 tetras, some cory’s, a pleco, some Amano shrimp and 3 SAE’s. I had a canister filter that I felt was a pain to clean. It sprung a leak and I never fixed it. Then I tried a HOB and it was too noisy. The sponge filters are the best choice for me. Low tech, low maintenance and quiet! My water is clear and plants and fish are happy.