Filter sponge

Good Morning all
Hopefully i will get by next month my new tank(250-350L)
For this tank I would like to try the in Europe (Germany Holland Belgum)very popular HMF(Hamburg Sponge Filter)
The draw back, i can't find any of the requiert sponge 20-30 bpi localy. Anybody here tried that system?
Anybody here any idea where to find this kind of sponge for a reasonable price?
Thanks in advance

 

it looks very interisting , love to try it out on one of my tanks

 

Hamburg Mattenfilter

okay, some links
http://www.swisstropicals.com/Swisstropicals Fishroom.html
http://www.swisstropicals.com/Poret Filter Foam.html

i found on a guy crazy with these things, now, please tell me how this works as i dont get it?, esp how those lift tubes work, (if someone with gimp or ms paint would draw a cut diagram maybe? the idea looks good, but i dunno how to work it

AH, found a site that explains the whole thing, (though i still dont know how the airlift one works
http://www.janrigter.nl/mattenfilter/

 

from aquariumadvice
"I used to have a tank with one of those. they do work pretty well.
I used the type where the whole end of the tank has the pad, not the corner.

What will happen in time, is the foam gets clogged, and the mat will be drawn to the end of the tank and after a while sucked tight up against it as the water is pumped from behind it faster than the tank water can be pulled into it.
(make sense? LOL)

For a while, this is fine. it makes a great biofilter and crud trap.

The horror show is when you have to clean the pad out.
take my advice, use a set of BBQ tongs and a pressure washer.

wringing it out by hand is just.... blech."

this guy has a good thread on making one inna corner
http://www.crustaforum.com/board/showthread.php?t=202

and one using an airlift
http://www.nico-manicone.eu/content/hamburger-mattenfilter

i dunno where you will get such a large piece of sponge, i know for small pieces, aquaclear's biosponge looks the same, but its too small

 

http://www.swisstropicals.com/Swisstropicals Fishroom.html
Now that is what I call a fish room. Very well thought out and organised.

Back to the topic:
I am also keen to try this out as a corner filer. I have a 3 foot that I am going to be setting up as a growout tank and think I will try this.
I have found a supplier of the Poret Foam as described in the posts. I will try and contact them on Monday to get pricing: http://www.searchengine.co.za/filtapak-for-top-notch-filtering-materials-and-supplies.html

 

awesome, i see they are in johburg somewhere

 

Hi All
Hi ferryman
I never heard that the thing gets sucked onto the glass but hey, makes sence. How long did it take till till the HMF clogged up, the people I spocke to say at least 6 month before they touch it, and twice a year cleaning a filter sounds good to me (-:

 

Hi guido,
Have a look at Northern Aquatics.They have big,about 500mm x 300mm,sponge pads.
Roughly 50mm thick.
@ Ferryman,what you actualy are looking at is huge sponge filter.Massive biological filtration but whatever people say,you still have to do maintainance and keep it clean to prevent it from getting clogged up and restrict waterflow.Looks great for fishhouse.

 

u could also fill the space behind the sponge with bioballs which would greatly increase your bio filtration .

 

Hi Reafer
Now we are talking the idea is good, especialy that one article ssugests that the gue behind the pad should never be removed. As I said no experience with the system whats so ever and many questions remain. But I think i will try.
I found one suplier here in C T but he only sells 3 square meter sheets for about R800 and thats a bit pricy for me alone.
I will keep you posted

 

i think i can get it at a better price i will call a guy i know on monday , sponge will be light to post i am definately keen to try this out , i cant believe no one here hasnt yet. personal experience would be great here.

 

Hi reafer
All i can say some people overseas swear by it and there are tons of sites refering to it incl. flowrate, spongesize, diy but sadly all in german.

 

@guido.coza
Would you mind sharing who the supplier is with us?
3 Square meters is huge (unless you have a lot of tanks).
Maybe some of us who are interested in trying this project can split costs?
Anyone keen?
Thanks

 

I experimented with a airlift gravel siphon idea of mine today;

In relation to the suction mechanism using a "lift tube effect" - it works fairly well if you have very high airflow going

So if you stick a type of lift tube in sponge like that I can definitely see it working the same way a sponge filter does, but usually you use sponge filters on smaller tanks and 'fry incubation' tanks.

Now if one wants to implement this idea on a 100liter and higher scale, i'm of the opinion that for a high enough flow rate to add suction to such a large sponge area, you'd have a very loud pump blowing away...

So i think using a powerhead or two smaller ones spaced out, would be the best option for effective suction.

I also think this filter will be more biological filtration than anything else, possibly ALOT of gravel siphoning will need to be done, plus, can you imagine big gunky stuff getting sucked onto the sponge, it would be quite unsightly, i really can't see it being possible for this filter to only need a wash every 6-12 months?

 

Sponge? Bob

I have tried this method.
Much longer before knowing they had a name for the sponge in Europe. The BLUE FOAM specifically is copied in European and Asian countries to gainmarket share..
Sometimes succesfully, sometimes disastrously when economics and fish health are taken into account.

The correct foam type is critical, but as it is Euro based pricing, beware that you are getting what you pay for. There are several "standards" wrt aquaculture species under consideration.

Note Volume of Foam VS PPI VS Biomass VS FlowRate VS Actual chemical make-up

R800, or even R1000 for 3sq m, is VERY CHEAP. If in fact supplier specifies item accurately.

I have 20 and 30 PPI info on hand

Guido, if You wish to, you may pm me supplier and product name/specs for accurate assessment of suitability.

What I did was incomplete sectioning off a corner of tank.
Use a short single pane of glass.
Tanks 90cm and upto 180cm, with JUST Foam filtration as described here and conventional weighted base sponge filters for added aeration/filtration..
Also in POND filtration.

I've just Looked at SwissTropicals link, my setup was alot like the 2nd picture featured!

Worked for raising Discus, Angels, Corydoras,Loricariids, South American Cichlids,Central American cichlids, Barbs, Malawi and Tanganyikan cichlids Marines, and LiveBearers in a few commercial fish-house pilot-projects.

I suppose you have to look at value for money and filter size, initial start-up and maintenance costs over 6-12-18-24months.
That is, if you want to make an informed descion?

 

Hi Darryn
Sure wonna share thats why I opend /suggested the the whole thing.Found actually two supliers. At the 1 company the guy new straight away what i was talking about and was also very helpfull. But he was well above R1000. The 2nd place was a pain in the A#** but had the stuff for +/- R800. On Monday try to find the guys again and let you know. As was said, the sponge weighs nothing and is easy posted
Sorry answered earlier already but reply went missing

 

Just got pricing from a supplier in JHB.
30PPI, 50mm thick - About R456 per square meter. They do have stock available.

HIH

 

Hi Guido,

I have some filter mats that I have imported from Germany. I have two different thicknesses (3 and 5 cm) and two different sponge densities. I think the sheets are about 60 x 60 cm. I would have to check on prices, but I can get back to you.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Hi all
sounds good at least it comes more into reach.
Busy with planing the stand (as soon as I can make up my mind on the final tank size:bigsmile
Than, do I go filter tank behind or below AQ:wondering::wondering:??
But I WILL try the sponge filter either in a corner or the whole side.
[FONT=&quot]Decisions[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]decisions[/FONT][FONT=&quot] decisions[/FONT]

 

@Dirk: I will also be interested in the filter mats. Are they the Poret brand? Let us know once you have worked out a price.
TIA