sponge prefilter on powerhead 'shrunk'

3651 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Dave-H, Nov 7, 2010

Dave-H

Discussion Starter · Nov 5, 2010

Hello all -

I have MaxiJet 600 with a little sponge prefilter on the intake. I can't remember what brand sponge it is, I picked it up at Petco one day! It's been on there about 2 months and suddenly it's starting to look like the intake is sucking in the sponge and it's shrinking!

I took it out this morning and squeezed it out and it took it's shape back. But this made me think:

How long should a little prefilter last (i clean it out every week or two)? Are some better than others??? The flow from my powerhead really reduced, and this all happened so quickly!

thanks!

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chad320

· #2 · Nov 5, 2010

I use the replacement sponges from Marineland powerheads and theyve never shrunk at all.

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kevmo911

· #3 · Nov 5, 2010

Any filter sponge should do fine if you don't mind the look of it and are willing to carve it up a bit. And it would probably be a good idea to give it a quick rinse and squeeze in tank water during weekly water change/maintenance sessions.

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jwm5

· #4 · Nov 5, 2010

it depends on a number of things, the gph of the powerhead and the sponge filter itself are two big issues. I have two types, I have one powerhead that is around 100 gph that I use a Fluval Edge prefilter on it, I only clean that every three weeks or so. In my other tank I have a 300 gph powerhead that I used to have the same prefilter on, but it would clog and shrink every few days so I switched to a ZooMed 501 prefilter, its larger and the sponge is more course so it goes probably about a month between cleanings.

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barbarossa4122

· #5 · Nov 5, 2010

I use AC 70 foam and no shrinkage so far.

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[email protected]

· #6 · Nov 6, 2010

It shrunk from being full of gunk.
Rinse, but don't squeeze and it will last longer.

Swish it around in tank water when you do a water change. It also won't hurt to run water from a faucet through it since it isn't the main bio filter.

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Dave-H

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 7, 2010

barbarossa4122 said:
I use AC 70 foam and no shrinkage so far.

Where to you get that? Sounds cheaper!

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[email protected]

· #8 · Nov 7, 2010

Dave-H said:
Where to you get that? Sounds cheaper!

Any place that sells or sold Aqua Clear filters.
It will be rectangular and easy to slip a knife into. Really easy so take care with what you are cutting off or into. An X down the center will allow you to slip the piece over most round intake tubes.

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barbarossa4122

· #9 · Nov 7, 2010

Dave-H said:
Where to you get that? Sounds cheaper!

I bought it long time ago from Ken's Fish but, as "dbosman" mentioned you can get it at LFS. You can make about 6 sponge prefilters from one box (3 in a box) of AC70 foam. I paid $3.99 for one box. Lots of good deals coming with the holidays I suspect.
($1.99 at Petco)

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Dave-H

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 7, 2010

Today I cleaned up my tank and I took the prefilter off of the main filter intake for a cleaning. I had forgotten that I tried a new approach on this one - a Marineland foam prefilter for a reverse undergravel system. I had cut it to size so that it would fit on the intake of my Eheim 2236. Wow, it was in pristine condition after 4 weeks in the tank.

Then I realized that the leftover piece from when I cut it to fit the filter intake was almost exactly the size I needed to fit the powerhead intake. I have a scrap piece of Eheim blue/coarse filter media laying around, so I cut a little plug for the end of the foam (the hole goes all the way through) and there we go!

Pf by Dave-H1, on Flickr

The Marineland prefilter is really long, so it cuts nicely into a large piece and a smaller piece, perfect for my setup. In a month or two we'll how how this goes

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chad320

· #11 · Nov 7, 2010

Those are the sponges that I mentioned earlier. I used the smaller piece to plug the hole (a piece of the smaller one). These things will last a long time.

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Dave-H

Discussion Starter · #12 · Nov 7, 2010

chad320 said:
Those are the sponges that I mentioned earlier. I used the smaller piece to plug the hole (a piece of the smaller one). These things will last a long time.

Yea well you were right, but I had actually forgotten that I even tried that prefilter on the main intake. I am surprised how well it help up after being in the tank for while!

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