Air driven Sponge Filters for Overstocked Fry tanks

[joel08]

Hello, I am new to 'Air driven Sponge Filters' which work by connecting a Sponge to an air pump and sitting in the aquarium. They come in small, medium and large sizes and have a weighted base with a uplift tube connected to a cylindrical shaped sponge, you have no doubt seen these in any fish shops or fish houses.

I just need to know how effective they are for raising Cichlid Fry to Juveniles 2-3". I have cichlid fry about 70+ fry and I expect them to grow to at least 2-3" inside a 40US Gallon grow out tank. I need to know if these Sponge filters are any good for overstocked Fry tanks and will they be effective filtration compared to an Internal Power Filter (or hang on back) filter which use impellers/motors? I just need good biological filtration, not mechanical or chemical; just the main Nitrogen cycle biological filtration required. The sponge claims to offer Super Biological filtration.

If anyone knows; who has bred cichlids before; or has experience with these Sponge filters can please help advise if these are the right type and how many of which size should be good in a 40 Gallon tank with 70+ fry please?

 

[Archerfish]

Sorry I missed your post. I have used sponge filtration for many years. If used properly, they work beautifully. My 90-gallon Archerfish tank is exclusively filtered by sponge filters. Sponge filters are ideal for a fry tank. I used sponge filters in my breeding Angelfish tank and grow-out tanks. I have not used sponge filters with aggressive cichlids. But you can always cage the filter to protect it if needed. By the way, some of my sponge filters are modified (made taller or increased tube size) to better suit specific tank needs. Your second question about overstocking is more difficult to answer. Overstocking regardless of the fish size is a precarious situation. By itself, no filter will make a seriously overstocked situation better in a closed environment. Routine maintenance (partial water exchanges etc.) become essential. You will need to carefully monitor your water parameters too. Please feel free to ask about types and sizes of sponge filters. I'll do my best to help.

 

[emeraldking]

Using sponge filters for fry are absolutely perfect. At some pint, those fry can even look for food on those sponges. For it's real dining sponge to those fry once the sponge is all settled with bacteria and micro organisms.

 

[GaryE]

The filters, which are excellent, won't be the issue for raising 70 fry to 2 inches in a 40 gallon. That's a tall order with any system.

I have bred more than 50 species of Cichlids, and my first question is: which ones? Your chances of success vary wildly from species to species. The 40 won't be overcrowded when they are small, but when they start to sex out, things can get rough with those numbers. At 2 inches with many species, the game will be afoot.