AQUANEAT Aquarium Bio Sponge Filter Breeding Fry Betta Shrimp Nano Fish Tank, 3pcs (Large up to 60Gal)

I’ve been using these small sponge filters that connect to an air pump line for months, and they are just as effective as the more expensive hang-on-back (HOB) filters that pump water. These simple yet highly efficient filters provide excellent biological and mechanical filtration while maintaining gentle water flow—perfect for fish, shrimp, and fry tanks. One of the biggest advantages is their ease of maintenance. Every couple of weeks, I simply dip the sponge in dechlorinated water and squeeze it a few times to rinse out the sediment. It’s important to use chlorine-free water to avoid killing the beneficial bacteria that help keep the tank healthy. Compared to traditional HOB filters, sponge filters are **cost-effective, quiet, and reliable**. They don’t require expensive replacement cartridges, and they run smoothly as long as the air pump is functioning. They also provide great aeration, which is a bonus for oxygen-loving fish. Overall, I highly recommend these small sponge filters for **any freshwater aquarium**. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced aquarist, they’re an affordable, low-maintenance, and highly effective alternative to pricier filtration systems.

Great size for my 5 gallon tank. Was confused when the packaging didn't say Aquaneat on it. Instead it said Xinyou, and it had a different model number, but they are the same size and seem to be decent quality. The sponge is much thinner and coarser than the Seapora one I had in the tank, but I'm not concerned since my betta fish doesn't produce much waste, and I routinely take out uneaten food and waste after feeding him. I rinsed everything in my tap water first, and I floated the new sponge in the aquarium for 3 or 4 days before setting it up, and am leaving the sponge from his old filter in the tank for at least the rest of the week to ensure I colonize the new smaller filter sponge with the good bacteria. I never bothered modifying this filter to fit an air stone, since the inner chamber was pretty narrow and I figured the bubbles would be pretty small coming out of the upper openings. I was right...the bubbles aren't too big or loud. It might be a bigger issue if I had the air flow turned up on full power. You can see in the picture where the gravel went around the base if the old sponge filter, now it looks like a crater around the new one lol. I'm happy that Angel has more space to swim around now.

It's not the exact same product as in the pictures. The sponge foam in the photo seems coarser and more porous, while the ones I got are much less so. Functionally, it works fine as a sponge filter, but the less coarse the sponge, the more often you have to clean it.

First, it is a good idea to mod these to use an internal air stone. Use snips of some kind (like small side-cutters) to cut space on the inside, then attach a small air stone (0.6" cylinder worked for my "small" sized filter) inside the filter from the cap using the tubing. Doing this will make the filter create finer bubbles, providing better filtration and less water surface disturbance. It will also quiet the bubbling from the filters down quite a bit. Sponge filters are great all-round filters, and work well for fish that don't like movement (like Bettas). You need an air pump and airline tubing to use them, though. They won't flood the ground around the tank like other types of filters, and they don't really break (air pumps do, though). They are a little unsightly and harder to hide than some hang-on-back filters, but not impossible. This particular sponge filter is about as good as any other, with some caveats. Some aquarium experts recommend larger, open-cell sponges for their filters, which will clog up less than the fine closed-cell sponge on this filter. Because of this design, you will need to clean this filter more often than you otherwise might need to. It does work, though. Also, this filter is not quite weighted as much as it should be. Even when fully soaked, it's a little too buoyant. A good sponge filter should sit comfortably on the bottom of the tank. Do not ever replace the sponge, by the way. To clean it, you pull it out of the tank and squeeze it out gently in the old tank water during a water change. The sponge may last years, and will harbor beneficial bacteria for your tank. If you replace it, you will mess your tank up. To replace a filter with another, you want to run the old one alongside the new one for a least a few weeks to help the bacteria colonize the new one.

Described as pack of 3 but only 2 arrived