Diy Filter Replacement

[noobgamers]

im replacing my filter in my 15 gallon for a moving bed i have the pump a bottle which will soon be empty my question is
a)can i use pieces of sponge for the moving bed the filter currently in the tank consists of a sponge and nothing else my thinking was that this would allow me to move all the filter media over and add some more media 
b)how do i get it working i have a rough idea with the pump and airline tubing which i have but the tutorial i watched involved a t piece to the end of the pipe which i don't have is this necessary or will my filter work better without it
any advice given is well appreciated my budget is about 3 quid until Friday so a bit on the tight side and will be relying on lifts to get to my lfs since im 14 so i cant really buy expensive media or go back too often ty
 

 

[DrRob]

I have to wonder what you're trying to fix by changing things. Do you have a problem that this is intending to fix or are you just shooting for perfection? If it's the latter then do remember that the more complexity you add the more there is a risk of things going wrong (although you do add more redundancy). Or are you simply having a play with a new filter type? They're rubbish mechanical filters by the way, but great biofilters.
 
Moving bed filters often use sand, the small particle size gives a great surface area for the volume that isn't possible in a normal filter as it would simply clog. There's nothing wrong with using foam though, it's a perfectly good media for most things, and has the advantage of being cheap.
 
As for getting them working they rely simply on using the flow to keep the media moving constantly, ensuring no clogging and plenty of oxygenation, it's done by tweaking the output of a pump so a controlled amount goes into the filter, the rest going....somewhere else. The t-pieces you've seen are for spreading the flow better.