Fish Tank Sponge Filter

It's a sponge filter with decent quality plastic that seems to be better than most of the other market. (definitely more durable than any of the Lee's product). Sponge can be removed easily for cleaning, you do not need to disassemble any components to do so. The outlet can also be adjusted so you can have it in or out of water- I usually have out of water for good water circulation. Instead being sitting on the substrate, it attaches to the glass which actually prevent junk build up on the bottom.Even better that it has little room for you to add any of your filter media for extra biochemical filtration power.There are three things that you need to be aware of:-You will need more than 1w air pump for it to work, so if you're using USB air pumps or other small form, it may not work well. Regular 2.5w air pump, like Tetra whisper will do just fine.-**you MUST wash sponge in hot water before using it** It may or may not hurt the fish, but the sponges that I received had strong chemical smell. I had to wash it in running hot water, in the bucket for good 15 minutes to get rid of the smell.-this sponge filter works by culturing bacteria (that breaks down ammonia from fish's excrements to safer substances) into the sponge. **IT DOES NOT HAVE THAT BACTERIA OUT OF BOX**, you will need to cycle the tank properly WITH THIS FILTER before using it. If "tank cycling" sounds unfamiliar to you, then please go research that before getting a fish. If you have already added the fish before reading the tank cycling, I'd suggest getting a FritzZyme turbo product, a bottled live bacteria.

This filter was easy to set up and looks nice in my tank. Don’t forget you need your own air tubing and air pump! I connected mine to a little Top Fin 120v pump from PetSmart for my 10g tank. I wasn’t sure if the little spout is supposed to go underwater or above the surface I saw people had it different ways in the reviews, I decided to put it slightly above bc the bubbles were a little too loud for me when it was below the surface :)

Great at filtration, and it's great that it has the sponge and the media to help hold in beneficial bacteria. That being said, the sponge is a pain to clean and seems to foul up easily (and I'm out of replacements - need to order some more). The sound is really dependent on your air pump so I just gave it a 5.

I have a 10 gallon tank with 1 betta and this is perfect for him. It’s gentle, quiet and provides enough surface agitation to keep biofilm at bay. If you have a 10 gallon tank that is heavier stocked I suggest the double sponge. You will need an air tube and air pump. I also suggest a control valve. I also used cycled filter media in the area that is supposed to hold the bio balls. Easy to put together, took me less then 5 minutes. I did have a similar one several yrs ago so I knew how to put it together.

I am new to sponge filters but I wanted something that my bettas didn't have to fight the flow on. This works perfect. I set up my 5.5 gal tank with Fluval stratum and if anyone has worked with that, you know it makes a mess of the water for a few days. This filter cleared up so much in one day. So if you have a planted tank or not this is definitely worth the buy. It will look big in a 5.5 gal tank.

This is a good filter for a small quarantine tank - which is for what I use it for. Depending on your pump, it can actually filter a lot of water and give a good flow. Easy to use, easy to clean and very customizable even with the little container for biomaterial. The outlet can be extended and rotated so one can adjust the outflow. In general, I really like it. The only thing I do not like is that after using it for a few weeks, the bubbles come out on the side of the seal. Not sure why, whenever I fix it, it takes a few hours and happens again. Almost like the rubber inside is shrinking in the water and cannot seal it off completely (minus 1 star). The other thing is that the plastic feels a bit cheap and every time I clean the little container and screw it open, it I feel it would break any second (minus 1 star). Good for the prcie and powerful with the right pump.

I absolutely love this filter! It cleared up my 10-gallon tank in about 3 days, however I did switch out the media with SeaChem Tidal 55 Matrix, a much more effective media than provided. I'd recommend you do the same, as other reviews state that the media provided isn't as good. It's a pretty cheap media, as well, so no harm to wallet. The switch from the waterfall filter that came with my tank to this one didn't disturb my fish at all. I've already bought a 2nd one of these filters for my 20-gallon tank and I'll definitely be buying a 3rd. I'd recommend this filter strongly to anyone, but beginners looking into sponge filters, like me, especially. It's a great value for such a great filter!

It works great love it

Just getting back into fish after 25 years,74 now,retired for 10 years. I have always found air driven filters to be the cheapest to run. Most LFS don’t carry them because there is no money in them compared to power driven ones needing filter pads etc,etc. The exception is the regular type of sponge filter you see in use in LFS. Even my Petsmart here in Vancouver carries their own brand of sponge filter but that’s it. But thanks to Amazon,what is out there,comes right to our fingertips on our cellphones. This unit is one of them. I had a dual one years ago but after 5 years the sponges started to age and started to fall apart and there was no Amazon or Ali-ex***** to sell you replacements…not replacement filters but replacement sponges. Now this one even comes with a spare sponge. The novel feature of this one is that below the sponge is a compartment you can put the bio beads that is also included for extra surface for beneficial bacteria to grow. I haven’t used the beads because I wanted to prove what the path of the water was so I put a bit of good old filter floss in there. Result? yes the water is drawn through the sponge and then through the filter floss. How do I know? The filter floss is getting dirty! Just proof how well filter floss works trapping debris that has already passed through the sponge. So this little filter is going to be a secondary filter backing up the main filter which is the Aquarium Co op easyflow you see in my video. I am not sold on the fluidized media filter. I have read that while the technology is proven, it’s doubtful it’s enough K1 media in the small canister even though it is such a space hog as is. I have seen a few DIY projects on Youtube using a 2 liter pop bottle and that’s possibly where it gets to be enough K1 media but having a 2 liter filter in your 20 gallon aquarium is stupid.What is not apparent but is mentioned as a prefilter is a circle of foam,around 40 PPI that fits just bellow the tumbling media you see. It is this 3/4 inch thick foam that is doing most of the biological filtration and not the K1 media. It is stated that because of the media constantly tumbling,you never have to clean it. But the truth is the little sponge might have more surface area than the 1/2 cup of K1 and that sponge will clog. The K1 will continue to tumble as long as it has air bubbles but if the sponge is clogged not much aquarium water is coming in. Might as well use the air to drive a sponge filter. The tumbling K1 looks high tech though.

Great little filter. Havehadit running for many months with no issues. Filters well and the shrimp love feeding off of it.