Filter sponge in my refugium question

My refugium is in the center chamber with a baffle seperating it from the return chamber which uses a porous filter sponge to prevent larger particles from going into the 3rd chamber where the pump is. My question is whether or not this will prevent pod eggs and baby pods from travelling back into my tank, OR should I just fill that gap with crushed live rock mixed in with bioballs. I hate the fact that the bio balls float. It wouldn't be very much, as the sponge filter is only 8" X 2" X 2".

Thanks

 

Why not just remove the sponge and leave it as it is? Bioballs as well as live rock rubble will accumulate detritus over time. I feel like your better off just removing it completely. Is it a Biocube, because that is what I did with mine and had one nice live rock piece in the middle chamber

 

You don't "need" anything. I have never put any form of mechanical filtration on my reefs. Only a protein skimmer. No sponges, no socks, no floss. Nothing.

To answer your question, you can block pods/eggs etc. I doubt it matters all that much though.

 

That's interesting Grim -- I have heard other people say how much they love sponges and socks ect... I tried cutting down on replacing my filters by having a bag of active carbon in a HOB filter on my fuge, but I found now I hardly use it. I have some sponges here and there but they are mostly for stopping micro bubbles in my fuge and slowing down flowrate in my HOB return. I try to rinse them out every water change but forget sometimes.

I just feel like they are good for blocking detritus and other larger particles from being recirculated in to the DT from the FUge

 

It won't stop it enough to matter, IME. We have plenty of pods and have various sponges in various places, including one over the return pump to keep the stomatellas out. Granted, the wrasse doesn't let them get too out of hand up there, but pre-wrasse we had so many pods in the display (only ever introduced into the sump chaeto), that they were all over everything in the display even with the lights on LOL. That was also before adding corals & live rock. I had worried about the same thing initially.

 

Problem is, detritus is also food for something in your tank. Being trapped in a sock or sponge, it just wastes away, creating DOCs.

 

I have a foam sponge in my baffles and it stops micro bubbles. What can I use to stop those? I have a filter sock but they seem to find their way through. :/

 

That's why you clean it often. We do ours at least twice a week, swap dirty for clean, then clean the dirty ones.

 

I guess my flow through my sump is slow enough that I don't have to worry about it. I feel like it's extra maintenance with no real benefit and a possible negative if you don't keep them clean... I spend a lot if money on food. I don't want it in a sock or sponge just breaking down.

Even with no socks or sponges it's not like I have a bunch of stuff just floating around distracting viewers

 

Good point, I've went ahead and removed one of my sponges and rinsed the other out (was actually surprisingly full and disgusting) but then I placed it in a location I think it may help stop micro bubbles. I think I will eventually just remove them completely because you made a very good point, food should be circulated and thus be more easily broken down by bacteria and organisms - not be trapped in a sock or sponge to accumulate and decay. +1 K - Thanks for the good advice Grim