Thoughts on changing to sponge filter in 100 gallon

Hi! So I was given a 100 gallon tank with a huge pleco, tetras, angel fish, red tailed black shark, and two rope fish. Along with a couple of plants. A friend couldn't keep it anymore so I took it however she has a canister filter which I have never used before all my other tanks have sponge filters. I worked with this canister filter for a four months but let me tell you I hate it so much. It is such a pain to deal with water changes. I break my back trying to pump and every time it overflows like three times. Maybe it's me not having the best knowledge on canister filters or that the canister filter is almost the cheapest filter you can get. But my next water change will not be dealing with that filter. Either I go out and buy a new better canister filter?? Or I stick with my sponge filters that I never had a problem with. Except my only worry is will the sponge filter be enough for the 100 gallon. This is my first 100 gallon tank. I have a 50 gallon with a sponge filter which it does perfectly fine in there just thinking if I should get two sponge filters for the 100 gallon??

 

I would run 4 60-gallon sponge filters myself, but thay's just how i do things.

 

I do not have a 100 gallon tank.

I do find multiple sponge filters work in my any tanks.
If you particularly want to use just two with a sponge at each end there are some jumbo sizes available.

This is not the biggest sponge filter I have seen and is rated for 210 gallons but I would still use a minimum of two . And I might/would get bigger than this .
XY-2838 Jumbo HI-FLOW Biological Aquarium Sponge Filter 12 Pack

 

Personally for a tank that size and with quite large fish I would keep the canister, maybe with a sponge prefilter. I don’t really understand what the problem is that you are having with water changes? I just leave mine running for most water changes and only turn it off when I am going to clean it (not very often).

 

+1 vote for sponges. Half of my 100+ gallon tanks run sponges, the rest run mattens (kind sponge filter like), or internal sumps (sponge/media)

 

The problem you are having is when you do a wc you are not closing the valves on the intake side, hence you lose prime every time you do one.
Which canister filter is it? Almost every can I have seen has a quick stop valve, all you need to do is turn the can off, shut the valve off and go about your water change. Fill the tank back up, open the valve and turn it on, shouldn’t give you any problems at all.
I hope that helps

 

DinoGhost , welcome to the forum.

It would help us if we knew the brand and model of your canister filter, or at least posted a pic of it.

While all canisters basically work the same, water goes in and water goes out, the have different types of valves and ways to prime them.

Changing the water on a large tank like yours shouldn't be such a chore, so maybe you can try a different technique.

I do large 50%-75% WC's on a 55g. 65g and 75g and I keep it simple and easy.

Each of our tanks has a canister, HOB and sponge filter. During a WC, I only unplug the HOB and leave the canister running.

I use a pump and long length of 1/2" ID vinyl hose to pump out water from the tank, making sure the water line doesn't go below the intake strainer of the canister.

To refill, I remove the aerator off our kitchen sink faucwt and screw on an adapter that lets me screw on a garden hose.

I can use the garden hose to directly fill the tanks. I use a drinking water safe Camco brand white garden hose used for RV's amd travel trailers. They are $20 online and at WalMart.

I pour dechlorinator directly into the tank and then start refilling from the faucet. The canister is left running the entire time.

This way the canister never loses prime and I don't have issues of getting air into the system.

I use a Marineland Maxi-Jet 1200 to pump the water out. Amazon has them, and I saw that PetsMart online has them on sale for $20.