mix of different filters, most tanks have airoperated sponges, big tanks have aquaclear 500's and an airoperated sponge and a couple of tanks have home made trickle filters.
Ive been using mainly a mixture of ehiem cannsiters, H.O.B's and a sponge filter is a must in every tank.
Now i am making more racks, ive been designing different types of DIY wet/dry trickles with a sump and centralised filtration. Still have a sponge in every tank.
I have standard 4' tank and running it with just an AquaOne 1000 and spray bar. Not using any airpumps at the moment because I think they are really noisy.
I was wondering why it is so essential to use a sponge filter? Wouldn't the substrate be sufficient? Or is it more of a mechancial filtration issue? Because I am finding the tank is getting a little cloudy these days.