Just bought a Sponge filter, need help setting it up?

I bought check valves, tubing the filter itself and the air pump! Now what? Which way do I put the check valve? Do I rinse everything off first before putting it in the tank? How will I know things are established with the new filter so I can take the other one out? How long does the tubing have to be so it works well?

 

You can blow into either end of the check valve to see which way the air flows, yes it is a good idea to rinse any new product before adding it to your aquarium. The length of the tubing really relies on what air pump you have, I tend to keep length minimal as it is easier to organize and is less messy

 

Okay, so the way the air comes out is towards or away from the pump? Will the valves completely stop the water? Could I set up multiple ones or will that effect the effectiveness of the filter?

 

The direction you can blow through the check valve is the same way the air pump needs to blow through it. Check valves should stop water going back through the air line.

Usually people recommend leaving a new filter running with the old one for at least a month to get the bacteria established on it.

 

m he said something about cutting the netting or something around my filter from my HOB and putting it around the sponges? Will that work to insta cycle the sponges?

 

I really need to cycle these sponges guys... My HOB filter is so clogged the overflow place is almost bursting with water. No amount of rinsing will help either...

 

m he said something about cutting the netting or something around my filter from my HOB and putting it around the sponges? Will that work to insta cycle the sponges?

There's really no way to instantly cycle anything unfortunately but you can just start it. If there any way you could put filter media from the HOB in the intake area of your sponge filter until you can get new media in your HOB? Not seeing what you're working with I'm not sure exactly how you'd do it. Also, do you have an undergravel filter?