I agree whole-heartedly and I was just about to add the exact same comment as you. Thanks, now I don't have to! ;-)

I commented this and then found your comment 😂 I think it's a great idea

I was thinking the same thing as I was watching the video.

I’m looking at buying my own sponge and making them

We need a DIY on this NOW

I'm going to try that tomorrow!

Hope it helped!

That's a nice combo! :-)

Appreciate you being here!

Thank you so much! Glad it helped.

Thank you! Glad you are here!

Thank you!

Try using a zip lock bag before you remove them from the tank. The dirt drops into the zip lock bag and not the tank

Nice idea!

Can be a nice mix.

They are a lot easier to maintain!

Thanks for being here. :-) Hope you have a great day!

ya :)

That can be a good idea! :-)

Thank you!

Good to hear!

Good point!

Sponge filters don't have pumps. They run on air.

Andrew Delashaw they use an air pump

Thank you!

I agree - we use way more fine sponges.

They are great fish! :-)

Sounds like a good setup!

Nice idea!

Ya, Aquarium Co-Op sells a nice coarse sponge filter.

I clean all filters every week. Once the cleaning is consistently every week the blooms go away. The filter placement isn't a huge deal since there will still be more than sufficient area exposed forward-facing. Sponge filters generally do a bad job of picking up stuff from the bottom of a tank - there just isn't enough flow-through for that (we get that with gravel vacuuming).

Good to hear!

Happy Birthday man! Hope you have a great day!

Prime Time Aquatics thank you

I generally don't, but might at some point in the future. :-)

Very cool!

Now that is an interesting idea!

Thank you! I have one canister filter that has a UV bulb, but other than that, no. They can be useful as a treatment option when fish a sick if the microbes are in the water column though.

Usually if I'm going to use coarse sponge filters Aquarium Co-op is a good source.

All great questions - they don't have to be round. I know a number of people who use sponge blocks. As far as replacements and material - it's all about the sponge quality. For fine sponge I use a lot of ATI hydros, for coarse Aquarium Co-Op sponges are good. With quality sponges I expect at least 4-5 years with weekly cleaning.

Prime Time Aquatics , Again a novice question, what are the clues that the sponge of a sponge filter is due for replacement?

I bought an aquarium 14 years ago. After a big interval of 7-8 yrs not running, I had to cycle & used new bacteria, from the same bottle (keptin the fridge) I added the old ones! For security reasons, I was patient, for bacts to be surely established. The answer is that they don't survive on dry sponge, an organism who does so, has to live in a spore form of life, these don't.

After 14yrs of use & storage (as mentioned), both sponges begun to collapse and fall apart w/ small particles leaving when treated by hand... a situation which normaly begun unnoticed much earlier (even 1-1.5 yrs), as I rarely mess w/ filtration to clean it. I use& clean tactically my mechanical filtration (2 sided filter wool, coarse white, fine green, w/ green as the first stage, I use the white part as a duct for water to push debris on the way from inside to the outside of the green layer). So: according to my experience, 12 yrs is toooo loooong!

I prefer fine sponges (much easier to clean and make less of a mess when cleaning). API sponge filters are a solid choice.

Good point!

That could work. Our 50 gallon low boy is heavily planted and really only has an airstone in it at this point.

You could try The Wet Spot. They have a big selection and their prices aren't too bad. If you are looking for shrimp and nano fish Flip Aquatics is a great option too.

Prime Time Aquatics Ah great! Yeah I've been stalking I mean emailing Rob at Flip Aquatics, got some nice plants, mystery snails, and neocaridinas from them! I will check out The Wet Spot. I've noticed most places I've visited, like Aquatic Arts, Aquarium Co-Op, and Twin Cities Guppies are super low if not completelty out of shrimp and guppies-even plants, wondering if it has to do with the pandemic? Also I'm intrigued by cichlids as I think the tap water parameters of where I live might align with what they need... going to do a lot more research and watch a lot more videos!! Thanks so much for replying and for your helpful videos!

Thank you!

I will add it to the list!

Not at all. That is a very appropriate mix. The canister is doing all the mechanical you need. The coarse is there more for biological filtration.

We clean ours once a week.

Aquarium Co-op probably has the best

Sometimes that happens as the sponge clogs?

Check Aquarium Co-Op? I thought theirs might be coarse?

@@PrimeTimeAquatics Thanks

Great question - I would say about a month or so (if the tank is already cycled). A little longer if not.

Yes, I have seen them. I think ATI has different types of sponge options.

I use an intake sponge in my hob filter. It is just a spare.

I do in a marineland 450 and 350 and 2 topfin 75s been using 1 inch thick 20ppi sponges at incoming filter water and 3/4 inch thick white sheets of filter floss before it's pumped back in to tank last filtering my reason is l like to get 3 weeks to month between cleaning the filters and l agree the finer sponge filters are better but when dealing with a HOB filter is it must flow without it backing up in the filter making it not pass the filter or flowing back in to the tank before the filter the reason l use 20ppi is it doesn't backup and with 40ppi or higher is to fine of a filter sponge at least while using HOB that's why the filler floss is used last it catches smaller particles without backing up pump that a 40ppi filters will do on HOB filter in a week also 2 inch is to thick of a sponge to use on HOB in my experience 1 inch sponge 3/4 filter floss waters last pass get 3 week to a month before cleaning l have the marineland 450 and a topfin 75 and a 350 gph powerhead connected to sponge filter on 75 gallon over stocked with cichlids and a marineland 350 with a topfin 75 on a over stocked mixed breeds 60 gallon and do 30 percent water changes once a week on both it's working well water is very clear and seems to be better than filter cartridges don't clean 2 filters at once alway switch back and fourth clean one not both at same time during cleaning split rotation every 2 weeks with monthly gravel vacuuming to much to often is also not good at least with mine weekly gravel vacuuming was to much better to go a month at least 3 weeks it's works on both tanks water is crystal clear other than after water change it takes 5 to 6 hours after water change to get back that super clear look again you want things clean in your filter and it may seem strange but for me my water looks clearer when it has small amounts of dirt not clogged or filthy filters just some dirt than one that has no dirt or is completely clean in my experience don't know why but I'm assuming it's got to do with the good bacteria which the more you have the better with 2 airstones in each tank slight to fairly strong surface movement at surface is a must no movement at surface is not good not like a whirlpool but it needs movement cichlids don't mind a decent current or water flow in tank while Angels need less but still need some a good airpump with airstones works good and the 350 powerhead with a sponge filter moves a decent amount of water for surface movement it has a airstone on it to pumping a lot of air or oxygen is also a good thing always clean your sponge filters in clean tank water of course that has been siphoned in a bucket never tap water if you do it will take a week after cleaning running it on pump to get this good bacteria back on filter that's a week your filter is not doing the kind of job it needs for healthy water and fish l feed my fish on Tuesdays Thursdays Saturdays and Sundays once a day usually at 6:00 pm small guppy feeders and bloodworms once a week bug bites tropical and omega one super color cichlid sinking pellets mostly but they get fed well on these days they do not eat Monday's or Wednesdays or Fridays

Fish Are Friends to double stack them do you take the bottoms off and fit them together or do you have to modify them

Double stack may be more efficient but I font want a filter that's gonna stand out in my tank

Depends on stocking level and type of fish. You probably aren't going to go wrong doing that though. :-)

It's an interesting idea. I'm not sure in practice if it would show a noticeable difference?

@@PrimeTimeAquatics wasn't sure if it'd help to not clog as fast but I guess nothing works as good as maintenance lol

Ya it is. They both have their uses!

What brand have you used?

Watch just the first 15 minutes of this: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nNWnatyj3d3bgXk.html It's the same for a canister filter

It depends on what I am looking for. If I want coarse sponges - Aquarium Co-Op would be the place to go. If I want the fine pore sponges I usually buy ATI hydro sponges off amazon or from Jehmco.com.

I've actually done multiple videos on how to build double and even triple stands. I have two dedicated videos, plus almost every video where we added more tanks I share how we built the stands. :-)

I don't because 1) That depends on the fish you are keeping and 2) there are variables regarding flow rate, mechanical filtration and biological filtration.

Definitely fine.