Sponge Filter for shrimp colony?

HI everyone!

I have an old 10G aquarium that I bought with the Tetra LED 10G kit. I want to house a colony of shrimp in the tank but I know that they need a sponge filter. I was wondering if anyone knew of a type of sponge that I could just slip over the filter that was already included with the tank instead of going out and buying a sponge filter with tubing and an airpump. If not, then I'll go ahead and buy the latter. But I'm just trying to be cost efficient.

This is the kind of tank I have (it was pretty cheap and budget-friendly at the time):


And this is basically the filtration system:




Thanks so much!

 

You could get a foam block (like aquaclear refill) and cut a hole to insert the filter intake into. I've read that if you freeze the block it's easier to drill into.
Or you can just buy some filter pad material, cut it, and tie over the intake with rubber bands or plastic ties.

 

Hi, technically, you can use any type of sponge you want just by slipping it over the intake pipe of your HOB filter. Just make sure it's not impregnated with some kind of chemicals.

The problem with most sponges they are much less porous than ones that are made for aquariums. Porous sponges are much better for filters because they have more space for beneficial bacteria and they do not limit water flow to your pump.

I completely understand why you are trying not to waste money (I do it myself all the time) but I seriously recommend buying air driven sponge filter to have a successful shrimp colony.

Good luck!

 

Look on eBay for sponge filters. You can find many for less than $4. I got one on eBay last month and it seems to be working great. Also look on eBay for your air line. Or check walmart(I got 25 feet the other day for $3. That only leaves the air pump which you can find cheap. I would expect you could probably get the sponge filter running for less than $20. Good luck!

Sponge filter:

Air Hose:

 

Perfect, thank you so much everyone! & thanks Mr. Salty for the links. I think I'm going to try and check out actual sponge pumps for the sake of my shrimp haha. Hopefully it all comes together! Thanks again!

 

Perfect, thank you so much everyone! & thanks Mr. Salty for the links. I think I'm going to try and check out actual sponge pumps for the sake of my shrimp haha. Hopefully it all comes together! Thanks again!

What is an actual shrimp pump? I haven't heard of those before.

 

Look on eBay for sponge filters. You can find many for less than $4. I got one on eBay last month and it seems to be working great. Also look on eBay for your air line. Or check walmart(I got 25 feet the other day for $3. That only leaves the air pump which you can find cheap. I would expect you could probably get the sponge filter running for less than $20. Good luck!

Sponge filter:

Air Hose:

Sorry to bother, but did you have any recommendations for air pumps? In the past the ones I've bought have gotten kind of noisy over time. Thanks again!

 

Sorry to bother, but did you have any recommendations for air pumps? In the past the ones I've bought have gotten kind of noisy over time. Thanks again!

I honestly do not have any recommendations. The only air pumps I've ever had were the 3 that came with a tank I bought on craigslist. I would say they're all at least 10 years old at least. I have heard good things about the tetra whisper pumps, though I have no experience with them.

 

I honestly do not have any recommendations. The only air pumps I've ever had were the 3 that came with a tank I bought on craigslist. I would say they're all at least 10 years old at least. I have heard good things about the tetra whisper pumps, though I have no experience with them.

Ok thanks for your help! I'll post a thread on the air pump page. Have a good day!

 

You too! Good luck with your shrimp and all your other aquatic adventures!

 

If you are in the States and have access to Amazon buy Fluval prefilters. They are about $5 for 3. You slip them on your intake tube and you are done.



If your esthetics allow it, you could also wrap some pantyhose around the intake tube and fasten it with rubber bands.

 

If you are in the States and have access to Amazon buy Fluval prefilters. They are about $5 for 3. You slip them on your intake tube and you are done.



If your esthetics allow it, you could also wrap some pantyhose around the intake tube and fasten it with rubber bands.

Man, I wish I had read this a bit earlier! I was thinking about doing something similar to pantyhose, but I didn't know whether or not it would have been a fish faux pas haha. In any case, I went ahead and bought an airline tube, air pump, and sponge filter. It was all under $20 so hopefully it was worth the purchase.

Thank you!

 

Man, I wish I had read this a bit earlier! I was thinking about doing something similar to pantyhose, but I didn't know whether or not it would have been a fish faux pas haha. In any case, I went ahead and bought an airline tube, air pump, and sponge filter. It was all under $20 so hopefully it was worth the purchase.

Thank you!

If you decide to just do the pantyhose then you can always stick the sponge filter in another tank for some added filtration. I use one in my 30 gallon. Or you could get an air stone and just use it as a bubbler.

 

You should use your sponge filter, so it is seeded and ready to go in case you need a QT or who knows, you will get an MTS attack and will buy another tank

 

If you decide to just do the pantyhose then you can always stick the sponge filter in another tank for some added filtration. I use one in my 30 gallon. Or you could get an air stone and just use it as a bubbler.

You should use your sponge filter, so it is seeded and ready to go in case you need a QT or who knows, you will get an MTS attack and will buy another tank

Thank you for both of your helpful comments! I'll go ahead and use the sponge filter and keep the pantyhose idea in mind as a back-up. Thanks again!

 

This is probably a weird question...
Long before I got shrimp I remember hearing that any bubbler in the tank needed to be super coarse bubbles. I believe the rational was that fine bubbles would somehow become caught in the carapace and kill the shrimp. I have never heard this advice anywhere else and now cannot find the original source. I extremely doubt that this advice was accurate; however, I am thinking of adding a sponge filter to my shrimp tank and just want to make sure I get the correct bubbler. Does the bubble size matter? Or will any airstone be ok? Has anyone else heard this advice? The tank has RCS and various snails. I just want to make sure all the inhabitants will be A-ok.
Thanks all

 

I've never had any bubbles get caught under any of my shrimp's carapace. That's my experience, yours may vary.

 

This is probably a weird question...
Long before I got shrimp I remember hearing that any bubbler in the tank needed to be super coarse bubbles. I believe the rational was that fine bubbles would somehow become caught in the carapace and kill the shrimp. I have never heard this advice anywhere else and now cannot find the original source. I extremely doubt that this advice was accurate; however, I am thinking of adding a sponge filter to my shrimp tank and just want to make sure I get the correct bubbler. Does the bubble size matter? Or will any airstone be ok? Has anyone else heard this advice? The tank has RCS and various snails. I just want to make sure all the inhabitants will be A-ok.
Thanks all

I have heard this and dont know if myth or true? richiep ?? I use sponge filters so got coarse bubbles. I have never put airstone in shrimp tank.

 

I use sponge filters in all my tanks with air pumps and power heads, i also have airstones from fine to course bubbles the shrimp walk across one stone picking off food so dont worry what type you use.
As for trapped air under the carapace
dont think so

 

I have heard it said about brine shrimp hatcheries . As it turns out it’s not something everyone believes brine shrimp have a problem with.

In fact many commercial brine shrimp hatcheries have an air stone as standard.

 

I have heard it said about brine shrimp hatcheries . As it turns out it’s not something everyone believes brine shrimp have a problem with.

In fact many commercial brine shrimp hatcheries have an air stone as standard.

The problem there from what I'm aware of is that brine shrimp attach themselves to the airstone when they hatch and cant free themselves and this kills them, this only happens to newly hatched. Again its only what I've read

 

There is so much hot air around brine shrimp hatching it’s just ridiculous.
One story goes as soon as the brine shrimp hatch you must turn the air down or the air will get under the carapace and kill them . This is a common instruction with eggs. Cory makes a point of this not being something the fish hatchery worries about as they make kilos of baby brine each day .
I believe this video has a shot of the row of 12 foot tall brine shrimp towers with air almost boiling the water.

 

Thanks everyone. I don't feel so crazy for having heard this info now.

 

I have heard this and dont know if myth or true? richiep ?? I use sponge filters so got coarse bubbles. I have never put airstone in shrimp tank.

Did you just place the air hose directly into the sponge filter? I have seen some people use airstones inside the sponge filter. I've never had a sponge filter before so I want to be sure I get the correct one.

 

This is one setup the airline attaches to a small tube, what type are you thinking of getting

 

https://www.amazon.com/Lefunpets-Bi...&keywords=sponge+filter&qid=1597413103&sr=8-3

I'm pretty sure you drop an airstone into this one. I haven't looked too much at the design you have but its nice that it doesn't need an airstone

 

Did you just place the air hose directly into the sponge filter? I have seen some people use airstones inside the sponge filter. I've never had a sponge filter before so I want to be sure I get the correct one.

I have both kinds of sponge filters. Some of the newer ones have pipes built down center so airstone not nessasary anymore. First green one style needs airstone no pipe down middle. Black one is a style pipe goes to bottom. No airstone needed.
I am switching all to the black one for the no airstone needed but also with shrimp. Fine sponge is better as they can graze on biofilm easier than on coarse.
I use aquapappa brand from Amazon

 

https://www.amazon.com/Lefunpets-Bi...&keywords=sponge+filter&qid=1597413103&sr=8-3

I'm pretty sure you drop an airstone into this one. I haven't looked too much at the design you have but its nice that it doesn't need an airstone

That one does not need airstone. It's perfect but honestly I would get one ment for 20gal tank. Those nano ones are tiny. Its the one i just sent pic of. I removed after purchasing i realized too small. And got larger size

 

This is one setup the airline attaches to a small tube, what type are you thinking of getting

I see lots of people using this style. I also tried these and they FLOAT no weight on bottom. And if a suction cup came loose (algae on glass) it floated then pressure was off on air pump and all my airlines stopped pumping air, because all air went to line not under water. Just my 2 cents

 

Thanks so much! It makes way more sense after having seen one. I don't have any real great LFS to look at them in person! Thanks all!