# Filter For Babies?



## Uncle Rico (Sep 4, 2005)

I have never used a sponge filter before and was wondering exactly what they were and how to use an airstone for the filtration. I have an empty 90 gallon and an empty 10 gallon. Would the 90 gallon be too big for babies? I don't know how to get enough filtration in the 90 gallon, since I assume sponge filters wouldn't be enough and a canister will just suck them all in. Perhaps I should start them off in the 10 gallon?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Uncle Rico said:


> I have never used a sponge filter before and was wondering exactly what they were and how to use an airstone for the filtration. I have an empty 90 gallon and an empty 10 gallon. Would the 90 gallon be too big for babies? I don't know how to get enough filtration in the 90 gallon, since I assume sponge filters wouldn't be enough and a canister will just suck them all in. Perhaps I should start them off in the 10 gallon?


 Start them in a 10g with a sponge filter. A sponge filter is pretty much just biological media that bacteria can grow on, but you need to have it established first. Start them in the 10g as i made the mistake with mine in trying a larger rubbermaid bin and it was much harder to feed. In a 10g you and feed live brine shrimp and have them actually get eaten where in a 90g they probably wont find most of them, Let them grow a but then you can move them to 90 with a cannister or hob, just put a sponge over it so they don't get sucked up.


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## bigd00d00 (May 20, 2007)

i agree with cluster one, start them in a 10 or 20 gallon with sponge filter (larger sponge = larger surface area for the bacteria to colonize therefore it can handle larger load in larger tanks). Make sure the sponge filters are established for some time. When the fry gets bigger, you can move them to a 90 with hob or canister with a sponge covering the intake tube. Make sure you clean/replace the sponge covering the intake tube so it doesnt get clogged up.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Uncle Rico said:


> I have never used a sponge filter before and was wondering exactly what they were and how to use an airstone for the filtration.


The air pump is used to draw water through the sponge. The sponge will populate with bacteria and become your biological filtration. It is the same basic principle as any filter...however they are great for fry tanks because they create minimal current in the tank.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Grosse Gurke said:


> I have never used a sponge filter before and was wondering exactly what they were and how to use an airstone for the filtration.


The air pump is used to draw water through the sponge. The sponge will populate with bacteria and become your biological filtration. It is the same basic principle as any filter...however they are great for fry tanks because they create minimal current in the tank.
[/quote]
totally overlooked this question, but like said air stones do somewhat of a siphoning action. when the bubbles go up the plastic tube, water goes up and water is pulled through the sponge to replace the water that goes up with the bubbles


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## Uncle Rico (Sep 4, 2005)

Thanks guys. Do you guys think that the sponge filter alone is enough biological filtration (I am going to do bare bottom in a 10 gallon). I am using the Seapora 60 sponge filter.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Sponge filters are great bio-filters. The only reason they are not more popular is they take up room in the tank...and they dont do a great job at mechanical filtration. Mechanical filtration has not bearing on a fry tank though so you will be fine.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Uncle Rico said:


> Thanks guys. Do you guys think that the sponge filter alone is enough biological filtration (I am going to do bare bottom in a 10 gallon). I am using the Seapora 60 sponge filter.


 Yes just a sponge is what you want. A sponge is so fry dont get sucked up in a hob filter so thats why you want a sponge for mayby the first month then when there larger you can upgrade to a tank with a hob filter. As fry they dont really create much waste


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## rhom15 (Dec 20, 2009)

once you have a breeding pair always keep a bare tank running with a sponge going i learned the hard way as i think we all have







and good luck


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## sapir (Jun 20, 2008)

if you already have the cansiter or hob, y dont you just get a pre filter for it?
check this out

http://jehmco.com/html/hydro-sponge_filters.html

scroll down a little bit to get to the Hydro-Sponge Pre-Filters section, they will fit on almost all filters you should give them a call to verify tho.
i used these on my tank and they work awesome, when i get some fry i will throw these back on.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

!


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Grosse Gurke said:


> The air pump is used to draw water through the sponge. The sponge will populate with bacteria and become your biological filtration. It is the same basic principle as any filter...however they are great for fry tanks because they create minimal current in the tank.


Sponge filters will have more benificial bacteria then a hob filter does. Mechanical filtration does nothing and just means you have to change the prefilter out daily to help while a sponge can actually break down toxins which a hob wont do if your killing the bacteria off daily. Water changes can get rid of debris that a sponge doesnt get.

I would also suggest a much larger sponge then what its rated for. In my 10g i have a 40g rated sponge so it has more surface area


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## sapir (Jun 20, 2008)

CLUSTER ONE said:


> The air pump is used to draw water through the sponge. The sponge will populate with bacteria and become your biological filtration. It is the same basic principle as any filter...however they are great for fry tanks because they create minimal current in the tank.


Sponge filters will have more benificial bacteria then a hob filter does. Mechanical filtration does nothing and just means you have to change the prefilter out daily to help while a sponge can actually break down toxins which a hob wont do if your killing the bacteria off daily. Water changes can get rid of debris that a sponge doesnt get.

I would also suggest a much larger sponge then what its rated for. In my 10g i have a 40g rated sponge so it has more surface area
[/quote]
i dont know who told you that it needs to be cleaned daily, once a week is more like it.
well you can fill up the filter youre using completely with ceramic rings for bio, and use the sponge itself for mechanical.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

sapir said:


> The air pump is used to draw water through the sponge. The sponge will populate with bacteria and become your biological filtration. It is the same basic principle as any filter...however they are great for fry tanks because they create minimal current in the tank.


Sponge filters will have more benificial bacteria then a hob filter does. Mechanical filtration does nothing and just means you have to change the prefilter out daily to help while a sponge can actually break down toxins which a hob wont do if your killing the bacteria off daily. Water changes can get rid of debris that a sponge doesnt get.

I would also suggest a much larger sponge then what its rated for. In my 10g i have a 40g rated sponge so it has more surface area
[/quote]
i dont know who told you that it needs to be cleaned daily, once a week is more like it.
well you can fill up the filter youre using completely with ceramic rings for bio, and use the sponge itself for mechanical.
[/quote]
Lol


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

I give up, but in closing (as im done responding)

Im not saying a sponge filter is the only possible method, but if it's as bad as you say why do thousands of breeders use it for different fish? Why do some old school lfs use them? Becasue, despite their simplicity they work and are easy to run especially on multiple tanks. Traping debris in a filter pad then removing it is no different then a water change. At the end of the day debris is removed. Its still rotting in a hob cartrige so it doesnt matter where its removed from. Breeder tanks are bare, so its not like its hard to siphone debris. If breeders use sponge filters on larger fish, i would think they could handle some small fry. Wouldnt you? Hob deffinitly after a couple weeks, but for there first couple weeks they make barely any waste so a sponge can easily hanndle what little ammonia is produced as a good size spogne has a much larger media surface area then some hob cartrige or even a small ac. Biological filtration is the most important filtration. The fish dont care if water changes remove debris or a prefilter collects debris before it can be removed.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

!


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