Issues with Sponge Filter ***Help***

navneetsanand · 11-15-2011, 06:04 PM

Hi All,

I have a 10G tank - 4 tiger barbs, pair of swordtails, pair of shark catfish and a sucker fish. No live plant. My tank is about 2 weeks old. I am using the sponge filter but I am facing huge troubles with it. When I got the tank, the filter worked fine for a week and after that the sponge kept getting blocked, resulting in the overflow of water from all wrong places. I changed the sponge and it worked fine for a day and after that even the new sponge keeps getting blocked. I have to clean the sponge and it works fine for a day and gets clogged again.

I am not overfeeding my fish - only feed TetraBits flake food and that too what my fish eat in 30 secs or so. Feed only once a day at the same time.

I need help on how should I get rid of this issue since I know that cleaning the sponge that often will not help the cycle.

Thanks for any help that you can provide!

susankat · 11-15-2011, 08:46 PM

Well your filter isn't handling your bioload that is the reason your having problems with it. You have to many fish for the tank and a lot of waste.

Kev1jm2 · 11-16-2011, 01:22 AM

The way I see it, you have three options. One, get a bigger tank. Two, lower the number of fish in your tank. Three, get a significantly larger filter and do large water changes very often.

navneetsanand · 11-16-2011, 07:08 AM

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. I will buy a bigger tank but that will be in a month or so. As far as the number of fishes are concerned, I attached my little ones and do not want to reduce. I do PWC often - 3 times a week, 40% PWC each time.

So, I checked on my filter size, I found out that it is big enough for the tank. Then I tried to understand the issue and got my answer.

Here is the solution I found - I checked on the filter sponge and took it out and explored that there is no blockage. So, what could be the problem? Put the sponge back in and observed the waterflow. Discovered that the length of the sponge was too big - it was blocking the hole from where the water flows back to the tank. Cut the sponge to a size where it does not cover the hole any longer and there I was...problem solved.

Wanted to post this first, to check if I did the right thing and second, if it is the right thing than keep on AF so that others can get help too.

Thanks!

11-15-2011, 06:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
navneetsanand Neo navneetsanand's Photo Gallery Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 12 Location: India Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Issues with Sponge Filter *Help* Hi All, I have a 10G tank - 4 tiger barbs, pair of swordtails, pair of shark catfish and a sucker fish. No live plant. My tank is about 2 weeks old. I am using the sponge filter but I am facing huge troubles with it. When I got the tank, the filter worked fine for a week and after that the sponge kept getting blocked, resulting in the overflow of water from all wrong places. I changed the sponge and it worked fine for a day and after that even the new sponge keeps getting blocked. I have to clean the sponge and it works fine for a day and gets clogged again. I am not overfeeding my fish - only feed TetraBits flake food and that too what my fish eat in 30 secs or so. Feed only once a day at the same time. I need help on how should I get rid of this issue since I know that cleaning the sponge that often will not help the cycle. Thanks for any help that you can provide!

11-15-2011, 08:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
susankat Pleco n bn breeder n BOSS susankat's Photo Gallery Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 5,417 Name: Susan Location: Tulsa, Ok Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 2,082 Times Said "Thanks" 1,610 Times Was Thanked 1,808 Times in 1,549 Posts	Re: Issues with Sponge Filter *Help* Well your filter isn't handling your bioload that is the reason your having problems with it. You have to many fish for the tank and a lot of waste. __________________ SUCCESS IS MEASURED BY YEARS, NOT MONTHS!!! 220 Tank build http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/sta...late-3253.html

11-16-2011, 01:22 AM	#3 (permalink)
Kev1jm2 Kev1jm2's Photo Gallery Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 148 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 8 Times Said "Thanks" 3 Times Was Thanked 31 Times in 30 Posts	Re: Issues with Sponge Filter *Help* The way I see it, you have three options. One, get a bigger tank. Two, lower the number of fish in your tank. Three, get a significantly larger filter and do large water changes very often. __________________ 55 Gallon Planted Freshwater. Beaslbob Build. Java Moss, Amazon Sword, Anubias Congensis, Anacharis, Wisteria. 80w T12, 34w T8. 13 Buenos Aires Tetra. 2 Indian Glass Fish. 3 Albino Corys. 3 Oto Cats. Red Cherry and Ghost Shrimp. Nerites and MTS. 20 gallon long RCS only tank. Beaslbob with Naja Grass, Anacharis, Crypts, Micro Swords.

11-16-2011, 07:08 AM	#4 (permalink)
navneetsanand Neo navneetsanand's Photo Gallery Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 12 Location: India Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Issues with Sponge Filter *Help* Thanks for your suggestions everyone. I will buy a bigger tank but that will be in a month or so. As far as the number of fishes are concerned, I attached my little ones and do not want to reduce. I do PWC often - 3 times a week, 40% PWC each time. So, I checked on my filter size, I found out that it is big enough for the tank. Then I tried to understand the issue and got my answer. Here is the solution I found - I checked on the filter sponge and took it out and explored that there is no blockage. So, what could be the problem? Put the sponge back in and observed the waterflow. Discovered that the length of the sponge was too big - it was blocking the hole from where the water flows back to the tank. Cut the sponge to a size where it does not cover the hole any longer and there I was...problem solved. Wanted to post this first, to check if I did the right thing and second, if it is the right thing than keep on AF so that others can get help too. Thanks!

Members currently in the chatroom: 0
	The most chatters online in one day was 16, 03-02-2012. No one is currently using the chat.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)