Filter Sponge in a Biocube Yes/No?

i had a sponge on the overflow box on my 75 and since i have removed it and went with the filter sock it has helped drop my nitrates from a steady 15-18 to a 0 to 5 on the other hand it became more noisy with the gurgling sound so i cut the original sponge open and fashoned a cover for my overflow box which returned it to the original sound level

 

Do you run a skimmer on the cube? Since you said that they are a pain to keep clean, it sounds like they are getting dirty fairly often? If they are, the debris that they're collecting has to go somewhere...either a skimmer, filter sock...somewhere! The tank shouldn't have ammonia if it's got sufficient LR/bacteria. You can have higher nitrates and phosphates if the filter sponge is not kept clean... You can always try it without the sponge but I would monitor it closely and, don't overfeed :0)

 

First Thing Most People Do Is Take The SpOnge Out For that Reason

 

Protein skimmer is a big thing for me,i have it in my 29biocube & i also have filter sponge that i forget to wash in like 4months now i think but i replace my filter cartridge every end of the month.

 

Before I put an overflow on it I ran a hob red sea prizm skimmer.... had to modify the back a little bit but it looked good and worked very well

 

i have oceanic too & it fits just right in the back where my H2O heater is.i replace my airstone probably every 6wks.