Diy Sponge Filter!

I saw a video on YouTube about building a small sponge filter and decided to give it a go. I'm happy to say it was a success and very easy to put together.
Besides an air pump, tubing and air stone all I used was a small(ish) glass jar, ceramic pieces (Fluval brand), poly-fil an aquarium sponge and a 1 inch plastic tube.


I cut the tubing down so that about a 1/2 inch sticks up out of the jar. The other end should have little triangles cut all around the bottom. All assembled it looks like this:


Ceramic goes in first, then poly-fil and the sponge last (cutting it to fit, and the also the hole in the middle was the hardest part).
After it was all assembled I just placed my air stone into the plastic tubing and turned it on!


So far the guppies approve! I'm using it in their tank for some extra filtration. I want to build one for my Betta tank eventually.
Anyway, just wanted to share this little project!

 

Yours looks so much better than my bottle filter lol. Yours actually looks like you could've bought it at a store. It looks much better than the usually sponge filter eyesores.

 

Yours looks so much better than my bottle filter lol. Yours actually looks like you could've bought it at a store. It looks much better than the usually sponge filter eyesores.

Thanks I was really impressed with the end look. The original video can be found here:

Her filter is really lovely!

 

I think the lift tube should be longer. The air bubbles gain velocity as they rise (less water pressure higher up) and the bubbles expand the higher they go (less water pressure). If you keep the bubbles confined longer in the lift tube you will have better suction through the filter. IMO twice the length you have now should work well.

I tested this long ago during the heyday of UG filters. I used measured die and timed how long it took clearing a filter chamber of die, short tubes didn't fair well. There was a point where extra long tubes in deep tanks produced less flow because of the waters weight being drawn up the tube, this wouldn't apply in your case

I commend you on your work and experimentation.

 

Well done !

 

I think the lift tube should be longer. The air bubbles gain velocity as they rise (less water pressure higher up) and the bubbles expand the higher they go (less water pressure). If you keep the bubbles confined longer in the lift tube you will have better suction through the filter. IMO twice the length you have now should work well.

I tested this long ago during the heyday of UG filters. I used measured die and timed how long it took clearing a filter chamber of die, short tubes didn't fair well. There was a point where extra long tubes in deep tanks produced less flow because of the waters weight being drawn up the tube, this wouldn't apply in your case

I commend you on your work and experimentation.

Thanks for the feedback! I do have plenty of the tubing leftover so I will definitely cut a longer piece and give it a go!