This is interesting? (An article on filtration)

In my search for a new filter, whether it be sponge, HOB, or cannister, I came across this article:



Granted it is for angelfish, it was still interesting. The spark notes version of this is Basically that the guy is saying that mechanical and chemical filtration isn't as important as biological filtration (which I agree with).

Though he never said to use a purely sponge filter set up, I wonder how it would work if you just kept up on water changes? They'd have to be a lot more frequent though. Or I wonder what would happen if you used 1 sponge filter per 10 gallons (just pulling these numbers out of nowhere, I don't have any evidence or reasoning for it. Other than the fact that I am running one sponge filter in my 10 gallon betta tank, and I have never had any real problem without mechanical filtration), and then adding a small hob to take care of some mechanical filtration? This may be helpful for fish that don't necessarily like current, but still produce a fair amount of waste.

In my case, I have a 40 gallon breeder (which is more along the lines of 45 gallons according to most measurements I've seen). I wonder what would happen if I ran 4 sponge filters, and a hang on back filter meant for, say, a 20 gallon tank? My guppies HATE the current that my Aqueon QuietFlow 55 makes. (It actually isn't quiet at all, it sounds like a semI truck at times)

Do you guys have any experience or opinions on this? I have ~3 sponge filters laying around that may come in handy. The only thing is that I would lose a lot of BB from replacing my current HOB wouldn't i?

 

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing. I am sorry he did not discus prefilters on HOBs, because prefilters prevent accumulation of those odious particles in the filter media. I wander what he says about canisters.

 

I'm not sure exactly. I feel like they would be the best bet though. I wonder how the out put flow of a cannister compares to traditional HOBs? I know that you can get by with half of the gph rate, like my quietflow is a 400gph (10x the amount of gallons in my tank), but if I had a cannister I could get by with something close to 200gph? Would that mean that the flow of water coming out would also be half of what the Aqueon HOB does? I'd also be interested in seeing how traditional sponge filters do on the gph specs. I've never really seen any data on it, so it'd be interesting. If I knew how to test it, I probably would lol.



Or maybe even if using two smaller filters would be more effective than using one larger one? I know it's suggested that you use multiple filters, but would having multiple small ones cause more water disturbance than having one massive one? I feel like it'd be more evenly distributed with more than one filter though.

 

I will have to think about this in the morning. This is way past my bed time.

I am wondering whether the author is a scientist studying fish or if he is in business selling sponge filters or foam products.

I will google tomorrow.

 

Let me know what you find out. I'm curious as well! I think he may just be a hobbiest

 

I think one would probably have to do very thorough gravel vacuuming without good mechanical filtration (and current).

 

Let me know what you find out. I'm curious as well! I think he may just be a hobbiest

Steve at Angels Plus is one of the biggest & most well known angel breeders in the US. Business, not a hobby, most hobbyists start up a new tank, he opens up a new room. If anyone is into angels he's a huge resource.

Flow rate on a sponge filter depends on how much air you put through it. How many to run on a tank depends on the stocking. Most of mine are 4"-5" cubes, I can stock a 40b beyond anything normally seen with two of them. They're best for bio filtration, box filters with floss at a higher flow rate are better for mechanical filtration. 1/2 - 1 lpm is good for sponge filters, box filters at 2-3 lpm keep a tank nice & clean.

Flow rate is easy enough to figure out. Get an empty 1 l bottle, submerge it in the tank, time out how long it takes for the 1 l of water to be displaced by air. I've got an 80 lpm pump running in the fishroom ATM, not going to try counting sponge & box filters running,

 

If I'm using a cannister filter (let's go with one from about 150-300gph, I haven't decided yet) how many sponge filters would you suggest? My tank will end up being fairly heavily stocked. Also, you seem like you have more experience with sponge filters than me, what kind do you use?

 

How many you need depends on the stocking & tank size. Your heavy stocking may be different from my heavy stocking. I'll take a 40b, have 10 nickel body size angels in it, and add another 100 running 2 sponges & a box filter;





Most of my sponge filters are home made, from quite some time back;





The ones from Angels Plus are about the same, he glues on a slate bottom, I pour a bit of gravel down the uplift tube. Sponge quality is the big thing, I've had a couple of his running for years, good quality item. I've seen countless squished out Hydro sponges over the years, while I've got a few for hatching/growout tanks they don't last like the cubes, which I believe are made from the poret sponge, higher quality. I got my sponge in trade long ago from a shop, they had the sponge sitting there in big blocks, I cut each one into 3 filters.