# Sponge over filter intake for shrimp



## magpie (19 Jul 2010)

Dear all

I dreamt last night that one of you lot had flooded my 40 liter nano (currently under Dry Start Method - see pic below) and I was panicking about the fact that I hadn't got a sponge yet to cover the filter intake and the shrimp were all going to be minced...   

So... The filter is a Tetratec ex 600, as recommended by Gareth (thanks, G) and it's currently maturing in a bucket int eh garage.   The tank's growing out nicely, tho' given that I'm going low-tech, non-CO2, I'll give it a week or two yet. 

but in the meantime, can anyone point me in the direction of a good source of the right grade sponge to put over the inlet of a filter for a 40Liter Superfish Aquaqube (and yes, I know a 600lph filter is overkill but a) it'll be less when I bang a sponge on it and b) it increases tank volume and biological filtering by another 2 liters, so can't be bad)

ta muchly 

m

overhead of tank taken last week - the 'path' of hemianthus is a lawn leading up to the dolmen stone at the end. In the long run, there'll be lillaeopsis on either side at about 3-4cm and then a forest of stem plants behind it.  and maybe a moss wall if I can figure out how to place it. 

thanks all


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (25 Jul 2010)

Hi 

Instead of putting a sponge over the filter intake buy a cheap pair of ladies tights or stockings (not fishnet) and use the foot part over the water intake pipe, secure loose end with an elastic band.

Regards
Paul.


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## magpie (26 Jul 2010)

That easy?

huh, who'd have thought - being a girl, I do happen to have some spare pairs of tights lying about... 



gosh, life's good when it's easy.

mx


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## dw1305 (26 Jul 2010)

Hi all,
I'd buy a sheet of ppi10 or ppi20 foam. If you don't mind cleaning it more often the fine ppi30 sponge would also do.
If you buy a 3 sheet sponge set from a Koi pond place you can get one of each grade and you can get the 11" x 17" or 12" x 22" sheet sets for about Â£10, and that is enough sponge to last a life time.

Just cut a rectangle of sponge to the size you want, and then sew it into a cylinder using some nylon fishing line, and then seal the bottom of the cylinder. You can either cut a circle of foam out and sew it on, or you can just sew the bottom seams together. 

The advantage of this is that it gives you a sponge for the shrimps to have a pick up, and you can make the sponge any size you like, you can even muck about with thickness (more than one layer of sponge), have ppi10 on the outside pp1 30 inside etc.. 

This is the DIY intake sponge from an Eheim 2213, I got the filter from Ebay and it didn't have the strainer attachment, so I just perforated the bottom 4cm of the intake pipe, and stuck my DIY sponge on. You can see the wavy seam in the image, but if you take a bit more time you can do a really professional job.





cheers Darrel


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## a1Matt (26 Jul 2010)

I found the replacement foam for the old style fluval 3 internal filter (not the newer 3+) fits perfectly over the intake of my tetratec ex1200. Also found an ebay seller selling it in black so it does not stand out in the tank 

Not sure if the ex600 has the same size inlet, so you'd have to check that.

I'm not a fan of tights on filters, they get clogged too quickly for my liking.
I only need to clean the sponge every few months 

Darryl's idea is cheaper in the long run, as it gives you spare foam for other uses as well.


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## dw1305 (27 Jul 2010)

Hi all,
I had a look where I bought the sponge from, and it was here http://www.pumpsandspares.com/other-items/miscfoamsbrushes.php, and they are still selling some very cheap sponge. The ones I bought were "TFGS12000S".

I also bought 25kg of the ceramic media from them a few years ago, and that has lasted very well.

cheers Darrel


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## vauxhallmark (27 Jul 2010)

Lovely bit of DIY, Darrel!!    

Mark


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## a1Matt (27 Jul 2010)

Good link, thanks Darryl


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## Garuf (27 Jul 2010)

How I do mine is to cut a small block of foam and slide it inside the cage of the original intake, looks much neater, does need cleaning once a week but that's no real worry.


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## a1Matt (27 Jul 2010)

Garuf said:
			
		

> How I do mine is to cut a small block of foam and slide it inside the cage of the original intake, looks much neater, does need cleaning once a week but that's no real worry.



Interesting I had never thought of that.

I once went over 3/4 months without cleaning mine (this is bad of me, I know!).
When I did clean it, I got a bacterial bloom in the tank shortly after.
I assume this means that all the necessary biological filtration had usually already taken place by the time the water had passed through the filter guard. Kinda ironic with a 1200lph rated filter.

The reason I mention it is that it is probably wise to clean it regularly even if there is no apparent need to do so from it being clogged


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