Soothing Shrimp Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 These are some of the things I've learned over the years taking care of my sponge filters and thought it may come in handy for some people. If you have any additional tricks, feel free to share! We all need to help each other. Most of my experience has been with the XY 2831, however most of the models are pretty similar. The pieces are like legos. Pop them off, put them together. Double to Single So you can make a double a single if needed, by rearranging the pieces. Pop off the air lift, pop off the side arm, pop them together and voila. Nice to know if you have an extra filter around and a small tank. Even Flow After buying a sponge filter, take off the sponge and look at the sponge arm. Looks kinda like a silencer on a gun. Sometimes all the holes are not open due to plastic pooling during manufacturing. The plastic is soft, so just use a pair of scissors and put the point in the hole and twist. By opening all the holes, you have a nice even draw across the sponge. Bubbles Have Slowed or Stopped So you say you are losing that air power? Your air pump must not be working right? Are you sure? Pop off your air hose, and drop it in the water. Still good power bubbles? Then it's your air lift. Let's fix it. There's three fixes that can be done. Just depends where your blockage is. I'll list in order of most likely to least likely, however having said that all three have happened to me at one point or another. Pop off your air lift tube, and take the 2nd inner tube out as well. Take a new small dollar store toothbrush and scrub the inside of the lift where the clear meets the black inside. Sometimes some crud or a snail is lodged there. Still not clear? This is what the hole looks like inside the black air lift seat. Sometimes the clear plastic lift tube gets pushed down too far and blocks the hole partly or totally. It shouldn't do that, but sponge filters sometimes don't read their own instruction manuals. Take some pliers or hemostats and pull that tube upward to expose more of the hole. On some filters it is easy, on some it can be a struggle. On the easy ones, sometimes you can wiggle them with your hands and pull up. On the harder ones if you use your tool to move it back and forth like a wrench on a nut, it helps. Still not working? There is one more fix. See the air hose hole? A coffee straw is the perfect size for plunging. Sometimes a tiny snail gets stuck in there. By plunging that hole, you break up that snail shell and it gets expelled once the air hose is reattached. Air Pressure Air pressure to the sponge filter is actually a complicated relation of how long the air hose is, and how high or low the filter is placed. In short, if the filter is on your bottom rack, and your air pump is high, it has to work harder to push down the air down there. The same is true in your tank. If your filter is located deeper in your aquarium, it is harder to push the air there than it is if it is located near the top of your aquarium. Soooo, if you have more than one filter on an air pump, and you move one to clean it or for another reason, when you place it back in, you may find the ratio of air going to your tank connections is off. That's just because the placement of your filter is either higher or lower than it was before. Cleaning the Sponges Provided you are using a double sponge filter, clean one one week, and then give at least a week for that to recolonize before cleaning the other one. If you don't, your bacteria colonies may crash and you'll start losing shrimp. To clean, squeeze the removed sponge in either removed tank water or RO, then replace. Don't worry about shrimp getting into the sponge arm holes. The tubes are hollow, nothing dangerous inside, and they'll find their way our with the current from the bubbles. My Sponge Feels Like Clay, or It's Now Hourglass Shaped You are either using a sponge as a prefilter, or it's been a super long time since you've cleaned your sponge. Basically the pores are clogged. Clean the sponge and you'll be surprised how much crud/black water comes out. I hope this has helped some. Feel free to add more tips and tricks. h4n, aquariumlover10, maylee and 21 others 24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maylee Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Thank you Soothing. Very informative. I didn't realize you can clean and squeeze the sponges in RO water instead of just removed tank water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Just for fun, I've found you can make a mini rainbar by using a sidearm and inverting it on the outer airlift tube with the black ring. Never tried it though. If you do, let me know how it works! rfaquaculture, Mr. F, BigXor and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Thank you Soothing. Very informative. I didn't realize you can clean and squeeze the sponges in RO water instead of just removed tank water. That's a tip someone gave in another post. Before that, I didn't realize it either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigXor Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 When they are trashed on the outside and your ready to clean it put a ziplock or sandwich bag over it before removing. The trash stays in the bag and doesn't scatter back into the tank. newellcr, rfaquaculture, cyris krow and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wygglz Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Great tips! Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 And don't forget to use check valves on your airlines! cyris krow, Soothing Shrimp and svetilda 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d0pey Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Very informative! Surely helped me! Thank you!! Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokeshrimp Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 They really do fit like lego pieces. The spongeinator 8000. Has anyone tried different sponges on these? I have two with no sponges and was looking for a cheap sponge to use. The replacement sponges cost as much as a new unit. I know they're only a few bucks but I'm cheap and enjoy doing DIYs with household items. cyris krow, High5's, Soothing Shrimp and 7 others 8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibikaie Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 LOL what's the flow like on one of those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokeshrimp Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 LOL what's the flow like on one of those?Probably pretty terrible haha. I just tried the "spray bar" setup and it does not work well. Holes are too big and too many just bubbles out big bubbles out of the first hole or so. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk cyris krow and Soothing Shrimp 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newellcr Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Love the post Soothing. Here's a tip I learned in my aquarium club. If you have a lot of sponges to clean, you can use your clothes washing maching. Wait until your spouse is out of the house. Run an empty load to clear out any left over soap. Then use 1/4 cup of vinegar and run the sponges thru a cold cycle. Run another empty cycle. Let the sponges dry fully. Then they are ready to use. We have a front loader now and i won't do this. They seem to hold soap even after an empty run. I take mine to the laundrymat and use their top loading machines. Aquatic Athlete, Soothing Shrimp and Fishnshrimp 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wygglz Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Wait until your spouse is out of the house. Now, now, I think you might be asking for coal in your stockings! Aquatic Athlete and newellcr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newellcr Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 Now, now, I think you might be asking for coal in your stockings! In my defense, she said she'd rather not know... Wygglz and Soothing Shrimp 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citycode01 Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Another trick, you can attach a water pump to the top of the filter and close that air tubing hole and it will be much better water flow. I've made a test and it takes 29 sec to fill 1L bottle with water, my other sponge filter operated by ait pump (150L/h) do it for 45 sec. This pump is only 5V and completely silent (very cheap on eBay), I also found 8mm silicone hose which fit perfect fit into the filter tube. The only disadvantage is that it doesn't have an air bubbles for better gas exchange and it's good to have the second filter operated by air pump or an airstone. Soothing Shrimp, jem_xxiii, Purplelizard9 and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jem_xxiii Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 geniuses, geniuses! Citycode01 and Soothing Shrimp 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citycode01 Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 geniuses, geniuses! The link for pump: http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-6V-12V-Mini-Micro-Brushless-Submersible-Motor-Water-Pump-200L-H-1-8M-/171513468065?hash=item27eeffd4a1:g:qC0AAOSwR0JUSgdP Almost any charger from mobile phone is 5V and do the job, i'm sure you can find it in your cupboard. newellcr and Soothing Shrimp 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted November 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Thanks, citycode. I just bought it for one of my baby fish tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citycode01 Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Thanks, citycode. I just bought it for one of my baby fish tanks. Glad you like my idea Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citycode01 Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Just had a second thought - are those screws on the pump safe for shrimps? Because it's cheap Chinese product they might not be made of SS. To be extra safe I'm going to cover them with thin lair of aquarium silicone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted November 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 I don't think rust harms shrimp. It's just unsightly. jessaweeshrimp and Citycode01 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalaimethic Posted April 6, 2016 Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 A good DIY improvement anyone can do with these biological filtration air pump filters is by buying giant sponge bob shaped sponges sold at most hardware stores. The dimensions are 7-1/2 in.x5-1/2in.x2in each and they work pretty well. They're 6 for $10. I don't know the prices everywhere else, I just know they're relatively cheap for the extremely massive increase in surface area for bio filtration compared to the original sponges. They take a lot longer before they need to be cleaned, and the pore size is a bit smaller but it is a definitely good indicator that the inside has a much larger surface area for bacteria to colonize. Just cut one in half and then cut out a hollow in each so it snugly fits over both tubes that the regular black sponges fit over and voilà! You have an improved sponge filter! In my experience they're inert (don't change the pH or anything), there's no leaching of chemicals into the water from them, and they don't break down not even after months of wringing out, rinsing and reusing the things. They're regular sponges, just a lot lot lot bigger, and more efficient. cyris krow 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted April 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 Do you have a pic of it on your filter? jessaweeshrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted March 16, 2018 Report Share Posted March 16, 2018 I used one of the big sponges for Aquaclear (biggest one) $10 and cut it in half and used that to pop over the end of the tubing...it has bigger holes and you can cut it to fit any way you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickAus Posted March 16, 2018 Report Share Posted March 16, 2018 When buying sponges from hardware shops, supermarkets Etc be aware that these sponges are not always aquarium safe, Just yesterday ( as of date of this post ) on another forum a member used non aquarium safe sponges and wiped out all his fish, turns out the sponges were treated with Lysol. Spend the few extra dollars and buy aquarium safe products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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