# Putting sponge on intake of canister filter



## clintgv

Hey guys. I recently added a sponge on the intake for my fluval 304 canister filter. I was wondering how I could stop the sand from getting inside the filter (since I have african cichlids, they like to dig) and bought a sponge for the intake in Rogers. 

Anyways, now I'm wondering if the sponge on the intake makes the intake of the water weaker? Wondering what everyones thoughts are and is there a better way to prevent sand from getting to the filter without making the intake of the water weaker?

Thanks,
Clint.


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## spit.fire

if you put a course enough sponge on yyou shouldnt have a problem, the other option would be to put a surface skimmer attachment on your intake but ive never tried one so im not to sure how well they work


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## Rastapus

clintgv said:


> Hey guys. I recently added a sponge on the intake for my fluval 304 canister filter. I was wondering how I could stop the sand from getting inside the filter (since I have african cichlids, they like to dig) and bought a sponge for the intake in Rogers.
> 
> Anyways, now I'm wondering if the sponge on the intake makes the intake of the water weaker? Wondering what everyones thoughts are and is there a better way to prevent sand from getting to the filter without making the intake of the water weaker?
> 
> Thanks,
> Clint.


Clint,
Canister foams have been around for ages. No harm to the filter, in fact will likely get more life out of your canister media.


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## clintgv

Another member here gave me a suggestion on making the intake tube short enough so when the cichlids dig/stir up the sand, it will be short enough to suck the sand up? Which will you guys rather do? Leave the sponge on the intake or cut the tube shorter?


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## Rastapus

The shorter tube wont matter, you will still get sand in there. Stick with the sponge or both.


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## clintgv

Rastapus said:


> The shorter tube wont matter, you will still get sand in there. Stick with the sponge or both.


I use this one if that helps ^^. Google Image Result for http://www.gardensite.co.uk/upload/media/Aquatics/Indoor/filters/a332.jpg


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## clintgv

What I mean by weaker guys is, if I put a sponge sleeve on the intake tube, will it reduce the flow of the water getting sucked in and going out the out take tube?


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## hi-revs

i use to use a spone pre-filter on the intake.
it does slow the outflow when the sponge gets clogged. Youll notice this as the sponge will start to look like its getting sucked in.
Then all you do is take it off and squeeze out all the crap.

if i were to use it again, i think i'll just wrap some filter floss around the intake and just chuck it out as it gets dirty.

Not sure if filter floss will keep sand out of the filter though.

Side question- does sand really still make its way into the filter even with the intake raised? doesnt sand sink quickly though?


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## clintgv

Alright. I will just leave the sponge sleeve and just clean it everytime it gets dirty. Well my intake tube is long. It's I think about 2-3" on top of the sand. So maybe if I decide to take out the sponge on the intake, I will cut it to half the height of my aquarium.


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## hi-revs

btw, one bad thing with the sponge on the intake, is that when you pull the intake tube from the suction cup, that force releases a lot of the crap back into the water. Drove me nuts. But it does keep all the crap out of the canister


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## clintgv

Do you turn it off and then pull it from the suction? I just cleaned my canister filter before posting this thread and it never happened to me. Well mine was still on and it never drew back anything then I put the sponge and cleaned the canister then turned it back on hehe.


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## hgi

I have a sponge on my fx5's intake, word of advice, when you go to clean it I find it's best to take a ziplock bag and put the bag over the sponge before turning the filter off. Once the filter is off, close the top of the bag and lift it out of the tank -> in to a bucket or what ever. Fail to do this will result in a bunch of floaties making your water look terrible.

I clean mine every week, during water changes.


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## neven

the trick is to clean it every water change, this way it never gets dirty enough to collapse in. Once it collapses in, you risk the sponge being deformed collapsed permanently. On my xp1, i put a hydor III sponge (not the prefilter series) over my intake (with a smart heater on too). The size of the sponge really helps prevent the flow from being restricted. With the fluval prefilter, i had 8 days or it would collapse, this one has yet to collapse despite once leaving it for 12 days on the intake. The monstrosity of a prefilter is hidden from my tank display aswell, so no eyesores


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