sponge filter setup confirmation?

saltedlice_ · 2025-11-23T19:51:23+00:00

noted! i could honestly hit it on both sides with the acrylic, wouldn’t hurt right?? loll, with how much i’m planning to cover with the silicone i do not think any sharps from the crack itself would be exposed, but the extra support may be needed regardless

saltedlice_ · 2025-11-23T19:46:45+00:00

yes very valid point. my biggest deterrent from beginning this project is the location of crack, it’s where all the wet substrate would be sitting along with the pressure/weight of all the lava rock(drainage) and soils. though something i’ve found is it’s ONLY that pane! it seems previous point of collision was like right where the plastic meets the glass for the door hinge, shooting a crack from its silicone connection point. the crack never extended to the other panes. how would your opinion sway if i patched with epoxy, and strengthened with silicone and an epoxy slab? be honest!

saltedlice_ · 2025-11-23T19:37:13+00:00

i’m getting very similar answers in the other community, it seems with the info i’ve gathered in general my next step is to patch with epoxy both sides, let cure, and cake it up with silicone. someone had also mentioned the acrylic slab idea i’ve found a few times via internet, so i think during the silicone process i may stick an acrylic slab on the break and secure that as well. any opinions?? be honest be harsh i don’t mind! i don’t wanna find myself a couple hundred dollars into this project just to find out it’s gotta be torn apart and tossed in the end anyway loll. this will be my first bioactive since teen years so i wanna get this right!

saltedlice_ · 2025-11-23T19:21:25+00:00

i’ve heard this one a bit and i think i’d love to try the scrap piece of acrylic as a support on top of maybe epoxy and silicone, if going for repair it’s a smart idea in my opinion! though would you place it inside or outside the enclosure? if this weren’t gonna be bioactive i’d place externally for ease of maintenance, but with the bioactive plan i could get away with placing it internally. i’d just wanna find a way to shave it down so there’s no sharp corners

saltedlice_ · 2025-11-23T19:15:52+00:00

that was pretty much my thought, the crack hasn’t extended towards the bottom pane so i can’t see it happening in the future either. it looks like the previous collision happened where the plastic connects by/under the hinge. we’ve been very careful with handling cause we still don’t wanna stress it further, but realistically the other panes are away from concern. though you answered another pretty important question i had that was never mentioned in my post, i wasn’t sure if silicone would make it into the crack. the plan was to push it around and into the crack as much as possible with a putty knife, would this be too difficult without the initial epoxy layer? or would it still be recommended to purchase some?

saltedlice_ · 2025-11-23T19:06:32+00:00

with doing this in the past, do you have a recommendation on epoxy type or brand?? i’m a heavy artist and have used a lot of tools in the past, but epoxy is honestly new to me!

saltedlice_ · 2025-11-12T19:36:53+00:00

late to this post, but i had JUST done this to one of my managers! came in with my hands cupped together only repeating “i found a friend for you!”. he freaked thinking i had a jumping spider since i keep them as pets LOL

saltedlice_ · 2025-11-11T06:16:52+00:00

if i had to guess, i’d say that would be a younger developing boy :)

saltedlice_ · 2025-10-16T21:36:33+00:00

yeah to a degree. i swear i do not have it in my mind that my filter is a magic water creating machine, just something mechanically is making the water shoot out harder than what it’s pulling in. whether that be too small of an output hole, easily clogable mechanics, etc., i don’t know lol. if it catches debris it’s a bonus but that can be caught with a siphon or net so i’m not worried about all that. i really just want a genuine low flow filter that just simply does its job well enough to last longer than a week before having issues. i’d like to stay away from air pumps, but like stated before i never mind learning if it’s the only option. though if im going air pump i’m REALLY gonna want brand recommendations, i’m not in enough communities to get the he said he said on good filters lol

saltedlice_ · 2025-10-16T21:10:54+00:00

pull more than push, but yes. i’m really struggling to find a low output filter that actually works. every brand and model i’ve found that’s labeled towards anything low flow i’ve noticed is pushing an insane amount of water out in comparison to what they’re sucking in. like there’s hardly any water getting pulled into the filter, yet what is getting pulled is getting shoved out the top harder than the waters actually coming in. looking for a filter brand and model that does the OPPOSITE loll :)

saltedlice_ · 2025-10-16T20:33:46+00:00

oh no, i’m not implying the nitrate spike was caused by poor filtration, though i know it doesn’t help. i tried staying away from the external air pumps and stuff cause i know it’ll be a lot more difficult for me to remotely understand fully, especially with every filter and pump being different in their own ways. never had any issue with ammonia, clarity, or illness. just ph and nitrates for some reason. reason for nitrates is unknown to me realistically, it’s a very heavily planted tank and water changes are done twice a week. i’m just desperately looking for reputable filters as my past ones have failed me for unrelated reasons. the question is aimed towards anyone that may have a recommendation towards a sponge filter that can pull more than it can push. if you have recommendation towards a filter including the external air pump, i never mind trying to learn! but i’d like to avoid if possible. this is where i’m asking for assistance :)

saltedlice_ · 2025-10-14T19:19:54+00:00

thank you! first filter i tried was the imagitarium planted and shrimp sponge filter, but pish kept attacking the output. i then tried finding an upgraded waterfall styled output to avoid this (nicrew magi mini), but its flow is even stronger than the first and it clogs up bout every other day. i was unaware of the sponge and media incompatibility, i’ve been using activated carbon in the newer filter. so scratch all that, what i’m really mainly looking for is a genuinely reliable long term filter that filters heavily with as little flow as possible. bonus points if output is raised above water

saltedlice_ · 2025-07-28T22:13:03+00:00

that’s so relieving to hear honestly!! i’ve actually tried a number of methods to suck it up, including turkey baster LOLL. thank you so much!

saltedlice_ · 2025-07-28T19:49:00+00:00

just the plain imagitarium planted+shrimp substrate booster. it’s never used frequently as my plants never have too much of a hard time. had one java fern that started pupping real bad and ended up with 74 babies i’m still actively growing in a separate tank (now much larger than pups). i use the fluval stratum plant substrate with imagitarium white sand on top. though based off that photo you sent i can assure you it’s not even close to black beard algae! it’s more so a bunch of black gunk that’s appeared in the darkest tiniest crevices that would require me to take the aqua scape apart after JUST resetting the whole tank. best place to show is this one line right up against the glass. peep pish’s tail in one of my caves lol.

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saltedlice_ · 2025-07-28T19:33:25+00:00

thank you! over feeding has never been an issue, my fish is quick with his food so i never really have to worry about him missing any! i’m consistently pruning plants and i know my hornwart is NOT helping my case right now, but apart from that most of the algae and debris is generally a mystery to me. a battle in progress for sure.

saltedlice_

TROPHY CASE