Sponge Filters?

[Bear]

Hi everyone!
I have quickly been consumed by the puffer addiction again.... and it's effecting my children. Just kidding; well sort of, my 10 year old son had expressed that he would like his own tank with Dwarf Puffers. I have convinced him though the library here, that he needs at least a 10 gal tank, not a lil tiny one that's for betta (1-5gal). So now on to my question.... I have been looking into filters and came across the sponge filters that I have used in the past. They seem to be gaining more popularity than I remember them having. Am I missing something or are they really as good as any other HOB type? Does anyone here use them other than for fry or shrimp type tanks? I am particularity interested in for the DP because of their size and would hate to have my son experience the devastation of a beloved puffy stuck to an intake grate of a filter.

[DMD123]

The only thing I dont like about sponge filter is that they take up a good amount of tank space. I would use a HOB like the Aquaclear which to me is a glorified sponge filter that hangs on the back of a tank. (The sponge is pretty big on these)

[bertie 83]

I would always use a large filter on puffer tanks, preferably a canister.

[Bear]

Normally I would agree more with the more filtration the better. I have also been considering this: Rapids Mini Canister
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 16742&s=lh

I was just a little concerned about flow rate and the little dwarfs. I assume I could always use a piece of stocking or even small sponge at the tip of the intake of the canister too. I also dislike that the sponges are air-pump driven because the sound of the pump vibrating. I know some are very quite,just none of the ones I ever have had were. I guess I am just picky. I'll run the air pump for bubbles now and then in my other tank but it usually drives me nuts after a few hrs and I end up turning it off.

[Iliveinazoo]

Normally I would agree more with the more filtration the better. I have also been considering this: Rapids Mini Canister
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 16742&s=lh

I was just a little concerned about flow rate and the little dwarfs. I assume I could always use a piece of stocking or even small sponge at the tip of the intake of the canister too. I also dislike that the sponges are air-pump driven because the sound of the pump vibrating. I know some are very quite,just none of the ones I ever have had were. I guess I am just picky. I'll run the air pump for bubbles now and then in my other tank but it usually drives me nuts after a few hrs and I end up turning it off.

Looks like the Eden 501 that I used to have that didn't have a manual or auto prime system and was therefore a real pain to maintain but it will run quiter than a HOB or air powered filter.

[DMD123]

That rapids Mini canister is pretty cool but only 80gph turnover. This is not even the equivalent of an AquaClear 20 (100gph). I generally shoot for a 10x turnover rate with my messy fish. I like the Aquaclear because they are dependable and hold a ton or media. I also like to do multiple filters on tanks in the event of failure, you always have a back up running. I am overkill on filtration but I never have had problems.

[Bear]

Guess I stick to good old aquaclear then. I was just curious about all the new fangled things that have come out since I last had fish several years ago.

[RTR]

Arbitrary turnover rates can be misleading when you are comparing different filter formats. Basic HOB filters can do a good job, but generally need relatively high turnover rates as they tend to suffer a bit from potential bypass as pads become loaded, so need relatively high turnovers. Well set/designed canisters can do the same work with fewer turnovers due to more efficient design (most bypass is blocked).

But do remember that efficiency alone is not a solid selling point. Relatively inefficient filters can give overall excellent results on tank water quality due to the ease of access for much more frequent rinsing of filter mechanical media. There are always trade-offs for each type of filter format.