14 replies to this topic

[Cawdor]

So I was getting tired of my built-in corner filters because:

1. cleaning the filter media is a hassle, even with media bags
2. fry kept getting in there and of course go right to the bottom where they are inaccessible unless I take everything out

So I bought some sponge filters and today I did a conversion of one corner. The other corner I'll do in a few weeks when the sponges have bacteria. I don't have "before" photos, I was too eager and forgot to take a pic

After going to my local retic store I found the parts I needed:

The other parts were salvaged from the already existing piping of the filter and the sponge filter parts. There was no glue/silicon involved and the conversion took a few minutes.

Sealing the outgoing pipe so my bristlenoses can't go in (yes it has happened).


The end product, looking much better and now I have room in there to maybe put some plants in for nitrate reduction and also put fry in to grow up.



Altogether cost me about $25 bucks for parts. Water flow compared to before is about the same I'd say.

[cobby]

Tim you are a Legend

I have 4 of these Tanks so if i go this way which i will i will gain 8 fry tanks

Nice one Mate :wink:

Cheers Cobby

[Andrew]

Nice Sponges

[SynoAngel]

I'm fairly sceptical about what you have made Tim. I'm unsure as to whether the sponge filters will do anything at all, is it acting on a gravity concept?

Daniel

[Andrew]

I think they are conventionally air powered still?

[cobby]

What Are you saying Daniel 8O

Do you think they are just sitting there not hooked up to an air supply 8O

8O 8O 8O 8O

[Cawdor]

Daniel: it's not shown on the photo, but both filters are hooked up to a twin outlet airpump, one outlet for each filter. The airhose goes in right at the top and goes right down to the bottom of the sponge.

So water goes in through the sponge, up the pipes and out on the other side of the glass. The resulting negative pressure (not sure how else to describe it) makes sure that water from the main part of the tank gets sucked through the gap between the glass panels into the corner part, thus water is circulated - dirty water in -> clean water out.

The water volume going through is on par with a small canister, if not better. Plus that's only one side done - the same setup will be done on the other side of the tank.

I agree Daniel if they were just sitting in there they wouldn't do much, but then there would be no need for pipes would there?

[Andrew]

Does this setup yield better results than the sponge filters being used in the main body of the tank?

[Cawdor]

Andrew: the filter effectiveness would be the same as if it was used just in the main tank I believe. The advantage for me is that I can use the corners now to hold fry as well as filter the water. Plus cleaning is a lot easier for me now.

What one could do is put a coarse filter pad in right at the top with the pipes running through it, so you'd have meachical filtration as well.

A photo of the airhose, to clear things up:

[SynoAngel]

Tim,

That explains it, from the original picture and description there was no mention of air tubing or air supply hence my question. I understand the method behind the corner filter however was querying how the sponge filters actually did anything as they appeared not to be connected to an air source.

Daniel

[Blakey]

looks fairly neat and tidy... and i dig the idea of having a few plants in it.

How big is the tank exactly..

[Cawdor]

The tank is 6ftx2ftx18in. 18in is the height.

[Blakey]

do you have any additional filteration? or will it primarily be just the sponge filters?

[Cawdor]

I've got a Fluval 305 canister running on it as well.

[reuven]

Greetings

may i ask what is the distance between the two vertical glasses which act as a Water Channel ?

regard