River Manifold Tank - Crushing Sponges

[VFX_Bishop]

So we set up a river tank around the middle of January this year for my GF's Burmese Boarder Botias and Zebra/Leopard Danios. All was going well, we hooked the whole thing up and decided to try the locally available Pre-Filter sponges from Lustar which were rated for filters up to 40gallons. On the other end are a trio of King 2A 400gph powerheads.

Needless to say, these sponges weren't up to the task at hand and the pumps have begun crushing them against the intake pipes. Flow is naturally suffering for it and since we don't have any other sponges available locally, and I'm leary of ordering things online since I'm not sure what I'm going to get until I have it in hand, does anyone have any advice for what could be done to improve performance of the manifold while still staying within the confines of the original build.

I'd had thoughts to wall off or make/buy a box to form an overflow style end to the tank and just have bulkheads in the bottom of the box or what have you with a pile of sponges to act as filter material. However given that the tank can't be emptied at this point, no more room for the fish to go elsewhere, my options are a little limited with altering the manifold itself.

Thoughts would be most appreciated! Thanks!

[farid]

hi there,
can you post a photo of the sponge form?? maybe i got an idea

farid

[VFX_Bishop]

I'm not sure what you mean exactly.

These are what the sponges look like


They're run almost up to the glass in the tank. If you need a shot of the tank and what's happening to them there I'll be happy to post up that too.

The sponges are slipped over a piece of 3/4" SCH 40 PVC with and end cap and inline coupler on the top and bottom to seal them on. The PVC is cut with two sides open and thin members linking the top and the bottom. Some cutter mesh is zip tied around the PVC to retain the round shape.

[farid]

hi
as i dont know what pump you got i guess it is a stream pump...this sponge or course will soon be fully blocked...the volume or the should be bigger, or the density smaller or the sponge...

try to get e middle density (we call that PPI 20 ) with a size of about 10x10x30cm add a pipe on the inside with drill holes so tha water can pass...this should manage for at least 4 months!!

see the forst few pics ...just like this system but without the pump...
http://veloofahren.ch/Aquarium/klotzfilter.htm

or you connect a longer sponge direct to the pump...this would be your new filter then

farid

[plaalye]

It's hard to tell by the pic but I'm guessing that your sponges are too dense like Farid said. I don't know where you are but I got some really nice sponges at Home Depot in the garden/pond filter section. Aqauclear filter sponges are also about the right density.

[Diana]

Keep those sponges really clean and they may not collapse enough to shut off the water.
I use Aquaclear sponges and they will stand up to a pretty good flow. There is a slightly coarser sponge that is sold for ponds or sump filters, it is blue, and the cells are bigger than the Aquaclear sponges.
The Aquaclears will collapse as they fill with debris. The blue ones will plug up, but not collapse.

[VFX_Bishop]

The pumps themselves aren't stream/prop type pumps but good old fashioned submersible impeller style pond pumps (King 2A is a high-output pump based on an improved version of the Rio).

I've seen those big foam blocks used around here before, though I'm not sure where to find them.

Is there anywhere I can buy some of these sponge materials? I've looked at Big-Al's and found bubkiss.

[Diana]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=5341

Here is an example of the coarse blue sponge that I find useful.
You may have to call or do more research to get more details such as actual cell size, and what size the various blocks are.

Cut the sponge to fit.

I cut them to about 1.5" x 1.5" x 4". Then cut an X into one end without removing any material, and slip it over the pipe that is the intake to the pump.

For more support, perhaps longer before it collapses I will use the up tube from an under gravel filter and drill lots of holes in it. These fit the Aquaclear power head. Then slip the sponge over this drilled tube.

[VFX_Bishop]

I'll buy a block of the stuff you linked and see about giving that a try. Adding a filter block to the "upstream" side of the tank would somewhat defeat the purpose of the river manifold, I also don't have AquaClear power heads. The King heads I have are threaded for 1/2" NPT for both in and output so adapting a pipe to these is a snap.