Should I replace my sponge with floss?

[Reefer Brent]

Hello all. Quick preference poll. I have an aquatop recife 40 AIO and have a large 3x3x7ish sponge in the first chamber. I haven't had any issues with it but know it will need to be replaced eventually. I'm looking at the in-tank floss holder and floss pads but could also just buy a new long lasting sponge for cheaper. Is the floss worth the extra money?

 

[X-37B]

My aquatop 20 had a sponge and I got rid of it and use this basket with floss.

 

[Reefer Brent]

My aquatop 20 had a sponge and I got rid of it and use this basket with floss.

How often do you have to replace the floss?

 

[X-37B]

How often do you have to replace the floss?

About every 3 days and its only a 3x3 piece.

 

[paragrouper]

I started with the supplied sponges in my Fluval Flex AIO. I opted to replace with the Intank baskets and I now use a roughly 3 x 3 chunk of floss, much the same as @90's reefer. I replace every few days.

 

[Reefer Brent]

I started with the supplied sponges in my Fluval Flex AIO. I opted to replace with the Intank baskets and I now use a roughly 3 x 3 chunk of floss, much the same as @90's reefer. I replace every few days.

Do you miss the sponge or is this an improvement. Guessing it's better than rinsing a sponge every couple weeks?

 

[cwerner]

Way easier to just toss a square of floss in the garbage than give the sponge a deep clean.

 

[Legendary Corals]

+1 on floss over sponge. Much easier to replace and you won't have to worry about accidentally squeezing your hand on some spikey worms.

 

[paragrouper]

Do you miss the sponge or is this an improvement. Guessing it's better than rinsing a sponge every couple weeks?

I don’t miss it, but in my tank the sponge was a bit of a problem. It allowed water to circulate around my filter media—not through it. It was not the best design choice by Fluval. The Intank basket channels the flow through my media. I expect I could replace it with a bit of sponge, but the flow is convenient and inexpensive.

 

[Reefer Brent]

+1 on floss over sponge. Much easier to replace and you won't have to worry about accidentally squeezing your hand on some spikey worms.

Didn't even think about that!

 

[turtlewax2020]

My aquatop 20 had a sponge and I got rid of it and use this basket with floss.

I just got the same tank last weekend so I'm looking into this eventually.

 

[X-37B]

Their 20 aio is nice. This is mine at 5 months.

 

[Reefer Brent]

Their 20 aio is nice. This is mine at 5 months.

Wow 5 months! Do you have a good dosing system?

 

[X-37B]

Wow 5 months! Do you have a good dosing system?

A4R by hand once a day, 30ml, thats it.

 

[X-37B]

A4R by hand once a day, 30ml, thats it.

Same tank at 10 months from start until I broke it down. I was dosing esv 2 part and dsr ez trace.

 

[Reefer Brent]

Same tank at 10 months from start until I broke it down. I was dosing esv 2 part and dsr ez trace.

Yeah I have been wanting to switch to A4R as I am using balance and 2 part reef fusion now. I will switch when they get close to empty.

 

[X-37B]

Yeah I have been wanting to switch to A4R as I am using balance and 2 part reef fusion now. I will switch when they get close to empty.

Make sure you have alk to dose.
It took 9 days for the A4R to kick in. I had to dose alk for that time period until it stabilized.

 

[Reefer Brent]

About every 3 days and its only a 3x3 piece.

Have you had any issues with the floss changing the flow from day to day. Does this mess with any ATO systems or make it hard to determine the amount of evap?

 

[saltcats]

I use filter felt sheets cut to size which I think is kind of in between... I do wash and reuse them but only a few times till they get too fuzzy and then I replace. But I like that I can stack the felt pieces so I can put 2-3 in at a time and just take out the top dirty one however often I want depending on the tank's state.

I haven't noticed any issues with my water level based on the felt.

 

[X-37B]

Have you had any issues with the floss changing the flow from day to day. Does this mess with any ATO systems or make it hard to determine the amount of evap?

The floss has no effect. I run a tunze nano on this system no effect.
If you change it every few day no issues. I guess if you left it in long enough it could reduce flow.
Just took this on my 20.