XY-380 Aquarium Fish Tank Biochemical Sponge Filter, 4-1/2-Inch

This thing is a beast. A huge amount of surface area for colonizing bacteria, and despite being a simple sponge with a tube running through it, it absolutely polishes water. After seeding it with bacteria by running it in an established tank for a couple days, the water was sparkling clear, noticeably clearer than when running a canister filter alone. I may have to get a few more of these and make them permanent fixtures in all my tanks. By the way, this thing is pretty large. It will easily take up half the tank in a 10g. If you have a small tank or are trying to conceal it for aesthetic's sake, you may want to go with a smaller model.

This is the best sponge pre filter i have tried with AquaClear 70 Power Filter - 110 V, UL Listed (Includes AquaClear 70 Carbon, AquaClear 70 Foam & AquaClear 70 BioMax Excelllent biochemical filtration. Due to the extra surface area, it continues to flow well even after 4 weeks of straight use. And this cleans the water so well that i rarely have to clean the filters in my aquaclear. It also prevents any pieces from causing impeller damage. This keeps it running quiet also. With other smaller pre filters i would get clogged in three days. Ive used this for 6 months and working well. Although the filter tube on the aquaclear 70 is too big to fit in this. So i took the plastic tube out of this filter and stuffed it with extra sponge material to create a seal.

I picked this up earlier in the month and it’s dope! U can use it as a sponge pre-filter for your HOB filter attached to your impeller or just put it in another area of your tank for more filtration and a large surface area to house beneficial bacteria. It’s bulky but just hide it behind some plants or decoration. Just hook the airline to a air pump for bubbles and aeration. Water is crystal clear and tests have been great since I put it in. If it doesn’t sink after squeezing it just weigh it down with a few rocks. (FYI...lava rocks would hold even more beneficial bacteria).

There weren't really any instructions but it after googling some other sponge filter setups it was easy to do. With my new baby axolotl this creates a wonderful environment that has filtration but very low current. She still goes up and climbs on the filter to play with the bubbles though! I do wish there was room to easily add an air stone since the bubbles coming from mine are pretty big and a little loud. I'm sure I can figure it out reading through some more reviews and researching a bit more. Overall a good buy, a nice cheap alternative to an over the back filter that works well in tanks that need low flow for animal comfort!

Nice and cheap and very modular so if you wanted to make a monster filter, you could just pull these apart and build one that was 2, 3 or more foam high. Got a tank that is 5 feet tall and want a monster foam column in the back? Just buy a few of these and make your frankenfilter. Just remember to get a pump strong enough to drive it. Now for the people who are worried that it doesn't come with an air stone. All you do is GENTLY pop apart the filter and then grab a few things. You will need some cheap air stones and a little bit of aquarium tubing. Once it is apart you clip out the tube from the bottom section (you can feel free to clip the bottom grill that holds the tube) so there will be space for the air stone. When you are done you should be able to stick your finger through the bottom piece without issue. Once you have done that cut a short ~3/8" piece of aquarium tubing and place it in the bottom of the top part so the air stone will have a sung fit. You could also glue the air stone but then how would you chance it when it plugs up? Once you have fitted the air stone and made sure it is snug reassemble the filter. The picture should give you an idea if these instructions were confusing. If you want to use one of these as a prefilter for a canister or HOB (Hang on the Back) power filter price compare the foam refills as you will not need the internals.

Great filter, once I set it up and had it running in my 20 gallon aquarium for about a week ( to let the bacteria build up on it), I was able to remove my rear hanging filter system that came with the aquarium. It was a good system but the filter cartridges are not cheap and you need to replace them every couple of weeks. Whereas with the foam filter, I just rinse it out in the water that I remove from the aquarium , squeeze out the access and place it back into the aquarium. I also like that since I am now using an air pump ( required for this type of filter) I am also adding air into the water. The fish seem to be doing much better , look healthier and I haven't had any die. So, yup, I'm happy that I bought it. A side note, I also noticed that when I went to my local fish store, this setup was what they were using on all their fish tanks. So I figured that if it's good for a fish store then it's good enough for me.

Muy buen sistema de filtrado para el acuario (acuarios grandes)

Es de tamaño grande, Funciona Perfecto y es un excelente complemento para tu acuario.

Amazing product. Big and has lost of surface area. Would recommend this product as it’s worth the money.

Sponge quality seems good but the base is not heavy enough to keep it down even when fully water logged. My Oscar also seems annoyed by it :)