Sump sponges - good or bad?

[Littorina]

Hi everyone,

     I've had someone on another forum tell me to get rid of the sponge I have as a mechanical filter in my attached sump because they are nitrate traps.  I was told to only use filter floss.   

I actually have polyester quilt batting on top of my sponge (so basically filter floss!  ;-)  ) , and change that 1-2 times daily, depending on how cruddy it gets, and I have been rinsing my sponge in saltwater when it gets cruddy, or tossing it and replacing it if it's really nasty........

Thoughts? 

[az]

it cant be bad if you are cleaning it that much.

[bandit]

I would get rid of it down the road and replace with chaeto. It's just one more thing you won't have to worry about. Keep your setup simple and easy,  all you need for filtration is a protein skimmer and a refugium.

[Eb0la]

If you clean it that much, your fine.. no issues