# Aquaclear 110 filter. sponge VS Bio glass



## Mike8888 (Aug 31, 2012)

I run a small aquarium maintenance business and use the Aquaclear 110 filter regularly. The ease of use, reliability are second to none in my book. My tanks are fully stocked with African Cichlids and I never have problems....ever. I always use the big sponge on the bottom followed by carbon and then another half sponge. My question is this.... What has more bacteria surface area my sponge and a half configuration or will I get more surface area it I use a high quality bio-glass like AZOO bioglass or Siporax? I realize I said I never have problems so why change. I would just like to know in case I get a tank size that requires a larger bio load and I don't want to add another filter.
Thanks for your input.


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## JRHorne (Jan 2, 2016)

The sponge has a lot of surface area, but do you frequently rinse them all off when you do your maintenance? I know a lot of people will use some bio-glass or ceramics rings because long term, when they rinse the sponge/clean it, they would likely kill all of the bacteria.

When I clean my AC110s, I take the biorings out and actually drop the entire thing into the aquarium or suspend them from the rim into the aquarium. I rinse the sponge pretty thoroughly. It's not like this is the only place in the tank that has beneficial bacteria growing, but I always like to have as many options as possible (if I have to treat or do any large water changes, decoration changes, bottom media change, etc, having a backup media with lots of bacteria present is nice).

I'd guess the differential in the filter media (sponge vs bioglass) is probably not a large enough swing to really matter either way.


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## Mike8888 (Aug 31, 2012)

Thanks for your input. I usually rinse the heck out of the sponge and continue using it even after a huge water change. I have never had any problems with this method but I do like your method better. I think I will start using the Bio-glass in addition to the sponge. When I do a huge water change I will rinse the heck out of the sponge and soak the bio-glass in the aquarium during cleaning. Thanks again!


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## Mike_G (Nov 8, 2011)

I use tank water in a bucket to rinse sponges out in order to avoid negatively affecting the bacteria


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

I'd say don't waste your time with the carbon. Put in more sponges or other media.


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## dledinger (Mar 20, 2013)

I just wash the whole thing.....sponges, and biomax....in scalding hot tap water. I don't worry about preserving BB anymore. I believe there's enough in a tank it doesn't matter.

I do use prefilters, however, and they probably do much more filtering than the main sponge in the ACs.


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## testtube (Jan 23, 2014)

I've been using the DIY filters I made several years ago and swear by them. I use plastic pot scubbers as filter material and am amazed at how much gunk they pull out of the tank every week. And that is one slight problem with this DIY filter. You need to clean it every week or so. However, it only takes about five minutes to clean and replace the filters. I have had my 125G set up this way for a number of years without having to do a total tank tear down. And water changes I do every 3 to four months. The site where I posted my how to DIY filters is below:
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=216330


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