[Bahugo]

I am not looking for an exact answer, but from people who have not used a pre-filter sponge, how many shrimp got sucked up? I am considering taking my pre-filter sponge off because of how much it slows down the flow of my canister filter. Is it only a small % of shrimplets that get sucked up?

 

[zachary908]

I know this doesn't really answer your question Bahugo, but have you thought of trying out one of the stainless steel pre filters? I imagine they wouldn't restrict as much flow.

 

[Cynth]

When I did not have prefilters on my 40 gallon breeder my Fluval 204's had hundreds of cherry shrimp in them when I changed them.

I just bought some stainless steel prefilters last week for this tank and so far they are working well. I had to change the sponges in the middle of the week because they would start to plug.

 

[Cardinal Tetra]

Quite a few can get sucked up but I don't mind because they keep the inside clean and seem to do fine in there. I just take them out leaving a few every time I clean the filter media.

 

[GDP]

Interesting, ive yet to need to clean the sponge on my 2213. But I keep pretty clean water though. But I can deffinately vouch for those steel prefilters. You can get em at the shrimp lab for a decent price. Only other place ive seen to get em is on ebay from hong kong and god knows how long that would take.

 

[Cynth]

Interesting, ive yet to need to clean the sponge on my 2213. But I keep pretty clean water though. But I can deffinately vouch for those steel prefilters. You can get em at the shrimp lab for a decent price. Only other place ive seen to get em is on ebay from hong kong and god knows how long that would take.

ShrimpLab is sold out. I ordered the ones from Hong Kong and they arrived in about 12 days. They are not as nice as the ShrimpLab ones but I couldn't wait any more. When they are back in stock at ShrimpLab I want some of those.

Oh and I wanted to add that the shrimp in my Fluval filters are alive, there is no impeller on the intake of Fluvals so the shrimp just "vacation" in the filters until I change them. (Cherry shrimp).

 

[The Dude]

I found more shrimp in my XP3 than I could find in my 46g tank. There were 30+

 

[fresh.salty]

I just trim the sponge down so it's not as thick. They can go weeks without plugging up. I still get a filter full of shrimp from the surface skimmer though. lol

 

[leo1234]

I use pantyhose work better than a prefilter in my opinion.

 

[GeToChKn]

I use pantyhose work better than a prefilter in my opinion.

I find they get too clogged up as well. I've tried screen and all kinds of things. Ordered some Rena sponges online that do a good job so far.

 

[GDP]

I think it really depends on the amount of debris in your tank as well.

 

[astrosag]

Great question OP!

I got the black fluval sponge that most people have recommended. Unfortunately I lost it somewhere in the house but I too was concerned about the flow restriction on my Eheim 2215 and whether that would damage the filter or severely restrict flow.

I have had chili rasboras get stuck in there and I'd have to take them out - I don't think they're are strong as the shrimp to survive in there for months. I put a luffa net on the filter intake but it was unsightly and eventually started fraying.

For my small nano shrimp tank with a ZooMed, I'm not too concerned about flow simply bc the bioload will be low and I don't have to worry about plants getting all nutrients. In fact for the silly 1.5G experiment, reduced flow will be welcomed.

It's with the 2215 and 20G that I'm more concerned. I just cleaned the filter out on Sat and the sponges and poly-fill were completely brown/black with dirt. Needless to say, the 1" of Mircale Grow Organic Potting Soil I have in the tank really adds a lot of debris anytime I disturb it for planting/rescaping.

Maybe like with just about everything else with this hobby, I'll try it out and see what happens

 

[mach_six]

i have a sponge on the AC 500 (110) and at one point the filter on the highest setting was just dripping. Needless to say that's when you need to clean the sponge. I didn't know how long that was.

If you regularly clean the sponge it shouldn't be a concern on the Eheim. Doesn't their wet dry come with one?

 

[astrosag]

i have a sponge on the AC 500 (110) and at one point the filter on the highest setting was just dripping. Needless to say that's when you need to clean the sponge. I didn't know how long that was.

If you regularly clean the sponge it shouldn't be a concern on the Eheim. Doesn't their wet dry come with one?

Thanks for the input mach_six (ramjet or scramjet? ).

I think I'll simply try it out and see what happens...like you said, I'll keep an eye on the flow. I am not familiar with the wet dry Eheim filters but the classic don't come with a pre-filter sponge. They have a grated green pre-filter housing but for shrimp and small fish it does absolutely no good. It'll catch large debri like plants leaves and stems but not much more.

 

[reybie]

I've posted this before in some other threads, I lost some shrimps and a pleco due to the prefilter clogging. I'm now using the ss prefilter from shrimp lab and I haven't had the need to clean it since installing.