To sponge or not to sponge

[LittlestMermaid]

In setting up my 24 gallon JBL Nanotank, I removed the bioballs and ceramic bits but left the sponge, my question..is the sponge going to cause more problems than it helps. Should I remove the sponge and put live rock rubble in its place or leave well enough alone--and leave the sponge in??

 

[dragon79]

not sure if I understand you completely, but from the area where you would have the ceramic rings, bio balls and the carbon, would all be in compartment 2. Compartment 1 has the 3 sponges, and three just the pump. This is going off how it is in the 12 gallon nanocube dx. But if it's a filter sponge (the black sponge) it's fine as long you clean it with your weekly water changes. In compartment 1 of my girlfriends cube, the chemi-pure is at the bottom, and on top of that are two sponges. On top of that when I have some are some polyfilter which helps tremendously.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

I agree with dragon. As long as the sponges are cleaned on a weekly basis, and if possible replaced periodically, they are an asset to the tank. It will trap alot of gunk, so cleaning them frequently will keep the nitrates down.

 

[LittlestMermaid]

Da sponge issue

The 24 gallon Nanocube has 1 very large sponge in the first compartment, I have the carbon in the second compartment, pump in the third. I do rinse out the sponge once a week to keep it clean. I have read that the sponges harbour nitrates, is this true? I was hoping I could get by with a water change once every two weeks, but once a week is probably better (I was told I only needed to do a water change once a month by the owner of the store where I bought the tank, but I knew better). I use RO water only. I want to keep the tank healthy, the 15 mins the water change takes is worth it in the long run. If the sponge causes no problems if it is kept clean, I will leave it in. THANKS!!!

 

[dragon79]

Re: Da sponge issue

The 24 gallon Nanocube has 1 very large sponge in the first compartment, I have the carbon in the second compartment, pump in the third. I do rinse out the sponge once a week to keep it clean. I have read that the sponges harbour nitrates, is this true? I was hoping I could get by with a water change once every two weeks, but once a week is probably better (I was told I only needed to do a water change once a month by the owner of the store where I bought the tank, but I knew better). I use RO water only. I want to keep the tank healthy, the 15 mins the water change takes is worth it in the long run. If the sponge causes no problems if it is kept clean, I will leave it in. THANKS!!!

I bet the owner takes a bath once a month too....will he survive??? Yes... Has he maintained himself and cared for himself? Not really...
Would he be more cleaner and sanitary if he bathed more frequently? Hell yeah!

The same would apply to a tank. Suprisingly a lot accumulates in a week, and if you waited a month, it could drastically change your water quality from great to poor. By doing weekly water changes you are safeguarding yourself from potential future disaster. If you wanted to stretch a week, you can probably use the polyfilter which traps a lot of that gunk before it even hits the sponge, so the only thing you need to change at the end of the week is just that. You could try it, and monitor your water after two weeks, but I dont think many people would support you on that, it would be just one of those things you did but really didn't tell anybody you were doing it, you know what I mean???

Again about the sponge, sponges in general dirty will trap nitrates, sure, but cleaning them or replacing them will greatly reduce that problem from even arising.

 

[mikeguerrero]

Well said Dragon,

You hit the nail on the coffin. I really like your analogy. And it's a lot of talk about sponges as nitrate factories, only the ones that are neglected. They do more good than bad, if you monitor them.

I have just like dragon 2 in chamber one. I removed the other and got a bad of chemipure in it's place. I have two other sponges that remain clean and ready to swap when I do the water change.

In a 24 gallon you want to keep that sponge clean, it prevents any build up of deutris from becomming potential nitrate traps.

Mike

 

[LittlestMermaid]

Sponge Issue

My original plan was to do weekly water changes, and if you think about it, that only amounts to about a couple of gallons for me, maybe half an hours work every sunday morning before anyone else is up!! I can get it done before my coffee is cold!! I have a blow up kiddie pool (5ft dia. x 12" water depth) in the basement for my goldfish and Koi which I bring in every fall, I do a quick water change about every 10 days or so, take me about 10 mins.