RE: DIY Sponge Filters

["David Lains" <david at zfin_org>]

Open celled foam is cheap a 4 x 4 x 48 piece is around $5 to $10 depending
on the foam.  They cut any shape and size and have many densities available.
I bought cylinder foam from them for fruit fly cultures.
http://www.allaboutfoam.com/products.cgi?cart=b2X0s0n32M261M322M821n2C3b1Y&i
tem=conventional

I've switched over to box filters, you can get the little lee's economy for
$1.30 mail-order and I just fill them up with small lava rock or gravel and
top off with some java moss.  They work great.

Best Fishes
David


><{{{>-----Original Message-----
><{{{>From: owner-killietalk at aka_org [mailto:owner-killietalk at aka_org]On
><{{{>Behalf Of Roger Hawthorne
><{{{>Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2002 11:54 AM
><{{{>To: killietalk at aka_org
><{{{>Subject: DIY Sponge Filters
><{{{>
><{{{>
><{{{>Beavan:
><{{{>
><{{{>Open celled sponge will last a lot longer. 'Hydro Sponge'
><{{{>makes filters
><{{{>widely sold on the net. They are also known as the 'Lustar'
><{{{>filter. The
><{{{>ones designed for pond use are open celled. I also reccomend those
><{{{>for powerhead use. They are harder and compress less. If they are
><{{{>innoculated with proper freeze-dried bacteria they can do about five
><{{{>times the cleaning. Sitting atop an established tanks gravel
><{{{>overmight
><{{{>during the dark hours can get one started, but only half as
><{{{>well at best.
><{{{>Otherwise they are simply a good mechanical filter. We also use them
><{{{>when siphoning water (to keep little fishes in the tank). If
><{{{>used on an
><{{{>outside filter, they keep food from being blended by the motors
><{{{>impellar and turning water into thin gravy. They also protect that
><{{{>impellar. Fry actually feed off of the sponge as so much food and
><{{{>subsequent  little creatures live on the sponge. My greatest loss of
><{{{>sponge is from fry actually eating it. The opencelled don't
><{{{>get consumed.
><{{{>I actually developed one put out by 'Catalina' that fits
><{{{>nearly all power
><{{{>heads and is great fir 'reverse-flo'. But we don't yet have
><{{{>the molds for
><{{{>the 'air' hookup. If constructing your own, the opencelled is
><{{{>not easy to
><{{{>find. It cuts best with an old fashioned cordless steak knife with
><{{{>reciprocating blades. You should be able to get complete filters with
><{{{>the good sponge for $5 or less. The sponges alone about 2/3
><{{{>that price.
><{{{>The holes in the center are not that easy to cut. And if there is much
><{{{>tearing of the material, the filtration will suffer greatly.
><{{{>If you use an
><{{{>airstone, use the white styrofoam like plastic ones. They are thin and
><{{{>allow much easier water flow past. Large diameter carborundem block
><{{{>a lot of the flow. The white 'disposable' or 'digust-a-stone'
><{{{>as we call
><{{{>them normally allows triple the water past the stone therebye tripling
><{{{>the overall filtration. AquaBid has had a lot of ads for the
><{{{>Hydro Sponge.
><{{{>Ask one of those dealers the prices of the open-celled sponges. I will
><{{{>not have more til the next container comes in. Maybe two months. They
><{{{>have been one to three dollars depending on size. For
><{{{>outlets, the soft
><{{{>sponge does fine and is a fraction of the cost.
><{{{>
><{{{>Roger Fishyman1957
><{{{>
><{{{>                                                       Get
><{{{>more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download :
http://explorer.msn.com


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