Question: Are regular sponges safe for newts?

[sde]

Hi all,

I am wondering if I could use a regular sponge in my newt tank, I think it is mainly used to wash cars etc.. Here is a pic:

Sorry if that is too big . I found this off of a website: "The product is made of sponge, which uses a special foam polyurethane and natural wood pulp cotton material" Does that sound ok? I am guessing it is fine but I want to double check, Thanks! -Seth

 

[Zen749]

I've personally used car sponges safely in many of my aquatic tanks, there aren't any chemicals leaching from them. However they will deteriorate after about a month and then you'll have pieces of floating sponge matter polluting your tank which can then turn into a hazard for your newts should they become hungry:uhoh:.

 

[Chinadog]

It depends what you want to use the sponge for. I use a regular sponge for cleaning algae off the glass etc, it's one of those pan cleaning ones with the dark green scouring pad stuck to it. I've used them for over 25 years and never had any issues.

If you were thinking of using it as filter media don't bother, the sponges for cleaning are normally made from closed cell foam, whereas the ones sold for filter media are open cell to allow the water to flow through and to give a huge surface area for bacteria to grow. If you use closed cell foam in a filter the flow of water will be very slow and there will be nowhere near as much surface area for the bacteria.

 

[sde]

I was going to use it to diffuse the water flow, but I don't think I am going to any more. it looks bad and it really isn't that big of a deal. Thanks anyhow guys! :happy: -Seth