No one can deny how important fish tank filters are to an aquarium set up.
Without them, the fishes and other aquatic life would not enjoy a clean and healthy environment which is just right to live and breed in.
Along with a heater, they form a complete system that replicates the environment that the fish came from as close as humanly possible.
But that is as long as they are in good working condition.
One of the things that can cause a filter to not function to its maximum capacity is if it is dirty.
A filter that is dirty will eventually get clogged and therefore not allow a good flow of water to pass through its filter media.
Probably the one filter type that is most ignored by many fish breeders is the sponge filter.
Generally considered a secondary filter and used mainly as a backup, sponge filters are in fact quite efficient, providing excellent mechanical filtration as well as biological.
However they do need to be cleaned because mechanical filtration will trap large debris and waste in the sponge.
No matter what type of filter you will be cleaning, other than just getting the filter media unclogged, you must also do so without killing off beneficial bacteria colonies that inhabit the filter media.
Therefore, never ever wash your sponge filter with direct tap water.
The chlorine in the tap water is meant to kill any microrganisms and using it on the sponge will immediately destroy all bacterial colonies that you took so long to cultivate.
The correct way to clean the sponge is by using the aquarium water that it came from.
How you do this is by arranging for your filter cleaning to coincide with your water change.
After you have siphoned out some of the water from your fish tank, use it to wash the sponge in.
By doing it this way, the colonies of bacteria will not be killed.
You do not need to scrub the sponge when cleaning it.
Too much scrubbing will spoil the outer layer of the sponge and over time will reduce its filtration capabilities.
All you need to do is squeeze it a few times in the water to bring out any large debris that might be lodged on it.
Then swirl it around the water a little to rid it off any debris that might still be clinging.
It really isn't necessary to clean a sponge filter more than once a month.
But if your filters tend to get clogged a little too much, you would need to figure out the cause of this happening because it could be affecting the health of the fish.
The two main reasons why they might be clogged is from excess food and fish waste.
If it is due to excess food, you might be feeding the fish a little too much and you should reduce the feeding so that the excess food does not raise the nitrate levels in the tank.
If however it is due to too much fish waste, then you might have too many fish for the volume of your aquarium to support and you should think about getting a larger tank or simply reducing the quantity of fish you have in that aquarium.
These are the proper ways to ensure that your sponge filter is cleaned and cared for properly.
By following these effective cleaning methods, your aquarium will always be healthy and clean and at the same time ensure that your sponge filter function effectively for a long time to come.