Sponge filter

[Greg B]

I am setting up a new 55 gallon tank and will be using a Sponge filter. How long does it take for the new filter to establish the beneficial bacteria? Does it help to use it in an existing tank first?

[Flareside]

generally speaking about two weeks from my experience- but it could be more time if you have a tank set up that is new and sparsely stocked-
It should take less time if you get it running in an existing set up first

[steve0199us]

when you are changing the water in your other tanks, I think you could add some of that water into your new tank to speed things up.

[s10jimmy]

Or shake out a dirty filter in the new tank and let the new sponge clean it up,then your good to go .:pimp:

[triscuit]

It can be instant- and there's a definite advantage to grabbing a sponge from an existing tank, and put the new sponge in the old tank. Squeezing filter gunk works great too. Using water is not much good- the bacteria colonize media- and don't hang out in the water column in any great numbers.


If you are going to stock a previously empty tank with a high bioload (lots of new fish) then I suggest running 2 filters on an existing tank for a couple weeks and feeding that tank a little heavier than usual. That way you can increase the bacterial population a bit before moving a filter to the next.

If you don't have a spare tank- or are worried about disease transmission- then we can talk about fishless cycling. That takes up to 4-6 weeks but you can grow as many bugs as you like prior to stocking your tank.

[Greg B]

I think I will try swapping the filters, put the old filter in the new tank and the new filter in the existing tank. Any downside using a new filter in my existing tank? I guess its somewhat similar to using new filter pads in a HOB filter.

[Pete]

Triscuit is talking about you having two sponges in the old tank and swapping one of them out.

If you only have one sponge in the old tank, switching it for the new sponge simply means you're now cycling the old tank instead of cycling the new tank because you just removed probably 95% or more of the beneficial bacteria.

[triscuit]

No, he's got it right- with a fully established tank with substrate (plenty of bacteria there), swapping filters works as long as the bioloads on the two tanks aren't too high. It's best to squeeze the old sponge onto the new sponge to help with the colonization. If you are really increasing the number of fish, then it's a really good idea to run both filters on the old tank, but otherwise you can cheat a bit without creating a measurable ammonia/nitrite spike.

[Greg B]

I put my old sponge filter in my new 55 and it keeps floating up from the bottom. I thought I solved the problem by giving it a good squeeze, but I found it at the surface again. Any suggestions? I have all new tap water and I was hoping to cycle the tank with the old sponge. Also put some rock and sand from the existing tank to provide bacteria.

[joe_jaskot]

I put my old sponge filter in my new 55 and it keeps floating up from the bottom. I thought I solved the problem by giving it a good squeeze, but I found it at the surface again. Any suggestions? I have all new tap water and I was hoping to cycle the tank with the old sponge. Also put some rock and sand from the existing tank to provide bacteria.The old sponge filter must still have air inside it. Squeeze it out some more while holding the sponge underwater. If that does not work, just put a rock on it for a while. Once the air is gone it will sink on its own.