Couple Of Newbie Aquarium Filter Questions

Good day,

I have a 40 gallon aquarium with two tyle of filtration. Sponge and Overhead filter.

My question is:

-does the airpump capacity matter with sponge filters?

- can I change my floss with something better?

- do I have sufficient filtration?

Thank you.

 

Hello! Welcome to Fishlore!

I don't know much about sponge filters but I believe it does matter.

You mean the floss in your Overhead/HOB filter? If so, yes you can change it. I would get some sort of a sponge, possibly AquaClear, they are a few dollars on Amazon for a pack of 3. But make sure you put it in with the floss to allow the beneficial bacteria to transfer to it.

It depends, can you tell me the exact model of sponge filter and HOB filter?

 

Your filtration sufficiency will depend somewhat on your stock as well. What do you have/plan to have living in the tank? Welcome!

 

A bigger air pump will just push more air and cause more bubbles. You will not see an appreciable change in filtration capacity with raising pressure.

If you are talking HOB filter then yes you can ditch the floss carbon cartrige and replace it with lava rock and polyfill and never pay for cartridges again. This also increases the capability (bio load capacity) of your filter.

With that modification you should be fine.

 

Get an airpump enough to power the filter. If not enough it won't suck enough. I use the little knob thing on my airline hosing to change the flow ( Why do I keep forgetting the name...?:facepalm this alows me to get a bigger pump if I need to turn it up. Like my bettas have it low flow but I changed the tank for other fish so now its back up to a higher flow of bubbles,

 

I would add sponge to your overhead filter. But keep some floss in too, its great for filtering! With the sponge filter, increasing the air flow won't do much, it will only increase surface agitition which is beneficial over all. How many gph is your pump for the overhead filter? It can let us know if there is enough water circulation in your tank.

 

Hello, thanks for the replies.

I'm not sure if this counts as an HOB filter,

Venus Aqua LED 900T 8W (800L/H) 3 in 1 Color LED, Water-Circulaton and Water Filter For Fish Tank Aquarium, Marine Tank, Planted tank

it's similar to what I use. If I add a sponge as media, should I place it on top of the floss? or under it?

 

that's snazzy, like an overhead sump. sponge would replace the floss

 

Yes, that's not an HOB, its and overhead sump. I figured you were talking about that. The sponge should go BESIDE the floss. Floss will be your water polisher, and the sponge will count as your mechanical media. THere should be more sponge than floss, since you should be replacing the floss every week or so. This filter is good, you can add all kinds of media into it.

So far you have around 1000 liters per hour of filtration. That gives you a turnover rate of around 6, almost 7. I would say that is decent. . . . depending on your stock. Most people try to get around 10x their tank volume in filtration. However, if you stock lightly to moderately, you will find no problems with your current amount of filtration.

 

Yes, that's not an HOB, its and overhead sump. I figured you were talking about that. The sponge should go BESIDE the floss. Floss will be your water polisher, and the sponge will count as your mechanical media. THere should be more sponge than floss, since you should be replacing the floss every week or so. This filter is good, you can add all kinds of media into it.

So far you have around 1000 liters per hour of filtration. That gives you a turnover rate of around 6, almost 7. I would say that is decent. . . . depending on your stock. Most people try to get around 10x their tank volume in filtration. However, if you stock lightly to moderately, you will find no problems with your current amount of filtration.

Thank you. So far everything has been okay after I added sponge. I might add another filter in the future.