Water not flowing thru bubble blocking sponge

[Texanjordan]

Water is not flowing thru my bubble blocking sponge on my sump very well, and as a result my return pump is pumping too much water out of the return area, and the water level drops low, which causes pump to suck air, which equals bubbles. I have thrown the sponge in the washing machine with vinegar, but that didn't seem to help. I am running with no filter sock, can I leave the sponge out too? My skimmer is rated at 180 GPH on my 90 gal. Or does any one have any idea how to fix my sponge?

 

[Pool_shark]

If you have a bubble trap in your sump, a couple of verticle dividers 1/2" to 1" appart, you may not need a sponge for this purpose at all. But even if you do have a bubble trap and are using the sponge to catch a few bubbles that slip past, the sponge doesn't have to go end to end in the trap. Cut it to leave 1/2" gap at both ends to let more water flow through, but still contact most of it. To allow more flow through your sump you need to trim your current sponge back, or get a less dense sponge that will allow more water flow. Also, make sure you clean the sponge out periodically.

 

[BigBarnacles]

I ended up removing my sponge altogether. The baffles do a great job of eliminating any chance of micro bubbles. The sponge is a nitrate factory at best. Yours must be a real fine pore sponge or got really dirty to stop that much flow. Mine never did that with weekly RO water rinsing.