Return pump sponge question

[nazgul1979]

May seem silly but would rather seem noob than burn up my return pump. Today I noticed air collecting in the top of my siphon tube. Got to investigating and realized it was because I didn't have the flow I used to have going through it. Traced the problem back to the sponge that comes in my Hydor return pump. My question is this: does everyone keep the sponge in there? I had a rio return pump originally that didn't have a filter sponge in it at all and it seemed to hum along just fine. I don't mind cleaning the sponge but hate to run the risk of forgetting and losing my siphon.

 

[atreis]

Take the sponge out. Assuming you have live rock (or dry rock that will become live) in your tank, the sponge is going nothing except collecting debris, clogging, and generating nitrates.