Question: Adding charcoal to a DIY sponge filter system?

[zombieaddict]

So I've decided to go the cheaper/more personalized route of creating my own filters for the 65 gallon I'll be housing my lotls in. I have a 20-60 gallon air pump with two valves that will run a filter on either side of the tank. For now I'm keeping things simple with a sponge, an air stone, and a pvc pipe. I'm considering getting loose activated charcoal to fill around the air stone with a screen at the top of the pipe to keep it from getting out. Would this aid in the filtration system? Cause any harm? Or is it just a pointless effort that adds no real benefit?

 

[zombieaddict]

It just seems to me that with the sponge filter acting as mechanical filtration, the charcoal covering chemical filtration, and the live plants that I have in the tank managing biological filtering, I'd have all my bases covered this way, right?

 

[layna]

Charcole is pointless as it is only good for around 14 days, so i wouldnt bother.

You could try with some ceramic noodles instead, but they need to be fully submerged.

 

[zombieaddict]

I will have to look into ceramic noodles. Thank you for the suggestion!

Another question about the DIY sponge filter system: When I read the original DIY article(which of course I can't find now), it said that the pvc pipe should be an inch below the surface. Then when I was reading some of the articles here, it was advised to someone that they have the pipe about an inch /above/ the water. The pipes of my two filters are about an inch above the surface right now but I can see that the closer the water's surface is to the top of the pipe, the more effectively the water flows, which makes me think that having it an inch below the water's surface would be the best route. Thoughts?

 

[layna]

You want it pretty much like the pic, so the water will cover the sponges, but the pipe in the middle (that the air pump goes into) is above the water.
It doesnt matter how high or low the middle tube is above the water but it does need to be above it so the water flows back into the tank and aerates the water
You might find that your airtube isnt strong enough to pull the water to the top of the tube and out, so try tilting the filter or buying a stronger airpump