AQUANEAT Aquarium Bio Sponge Filter Breeding Fry Betta Shrimp Nano Fish Tank (Small up to 10Gal)

I got these about a year ago and they work great in a little tank and to increase the air flow I cut the top out of the little cap and put a air stone in which not only adds air to the mix but seems to increase the suction of water into the filter. But there does come a time when the filter is just fouled out and will not clean and then it becomes a bacteria breeding ground. At that time you HAVE to throw them away because no matter how thoroughly you clean out the sponge, it will foul out fast within a couple of days and actually contaminate the water. I thought they could just be cleaned out and would work till they fell apart but this is not true which is why the 4 and not a 5. I don't know if there is a recommended amount of time that you are supposed to use them but there does come a time when it is just not safe to use them anymore as they will breed bacteria fast and will just NOT clean up anymore. Overall, they are a good value but change them out when they start to fail to fully clean up properly and get new ones. They do that before the foam starts to break down.Added info - I bought another one as I threw the original ones I had away when they got fouled out. But while not using the sponge filter, the tank immediately got very hazy despite having a built in filtration system and even changing the water more frequently didn't make a difference. When my new sponge filter came in, it cleared up the tank in about 30 minutes max, the difference is amazing. And it is so small it surprised me how fast it took care of business in the tank.In the meantime, between the time I threw the original sponge filters away and before I reordered new ones, I read another review that said that they rinsed the sponge out with something that killed the bacteria in the sponge and all was well. Unfortunately, I had just thrown them away. So, when my new ones came in, I couldn't remember what the person said they used to clean the sponge, could not find the review so after spending a lot time trying to find what they had used, I decided to use the antibacterial soap that you use for your hands as a hand sanitizer and then rinsed the sponge out for a long time so there was absolutely no residue left in the sponge, and it seems to work as far as I can tell.My plan is to just use some type of sanitizer that will not hurt my fish and never let the sponge filters turn into bacterial breeding grounds and it should work fine. The sponge itself seems to last a long time even with regular cleaning. I read a review that said their sponge disintegrated fast but I am gentle with them and my original ones lasted over a year. Overall, I am very pleased with them.I have modified all of sponge filters like the guy who took extensive photos about how to put an air stone in them, and they are very quiet, have stronger suction with the air stone and the smaller bubbles keep the water calmer and less moving. This is good as I have a beta in the tank and he hates currents and moving water. Their natural habitat is totally quiet with little or no water movement, so they greatly dislike a moving water environment. I bought a new tank with a built in filter system that advertised a pump that could be adjusted to lower the flow and even on its lowest setting there is way too much movement with the water flow and my beta was visibly very upset about it. He went to the corner of the tank as far as he could from the moving water and stayed there behind the plants where there was no motion. He would only come out to eat and then immediately fled to the calm corner. So I turned off the built in filtration system and got another one of the little sponge filters and it works much better at filtering the water and keeps the environment calmer for my little guy. My beta in that tank is 5 years old which is geriatric for a beta and he knows how to communicate when he does not like something and he hated the built in filtering system. He is now happy with the sponge filter as it is much calmer with the small bubbles from the air stone and despite the extremely small size of the sponge filter, it actually works better and keeps the water cleaner than the built in filter system that came with the tank.

I love how good the sponge filters came,really big and in great condition and by the way perfect quality

We were running a Aqueon Shrimp Filter prior to picking this up and what a huge difference it has made! not only do we have no loss of any shrimp, fry or plant but helps keep the tank much cleaner and healthier. I have seen the healthy biofilm develop much faster and easier for the baby shrimp not to mention a happier colony that isn't trying to fight a waterfall or current like salmon anywhere in the tank. Some of them have too much fun with the bubbles haha.Do yourself a favor and ADD AN AIRSTONE! Super easy to search youtube or any search engine, "how to add an air stone to sponge filter" to make your life a lot easier, and more satisfied with the long-term results. It is not hard at all and DON'T FORGET SQUEEZE THE SPONGE underwater in your tank before placement. You want to extract as much of the air pockets as possible so it will sink and stay in place better. Much more appeasing to the eye for your aquascape as well if you have a nice driftwood/rock/plant in front of this, easier to hide compared to other filters as well. Don't be surprised if your fish and shrimp prefer to hang out on the or around it vs in the front of your tank at times :)Replacing all my current HOB filters with this and have not regretted each swap so far. Kick myself in the behind for not making this switch sooner. Super easy to clean just remove the sponge bottom while leaving the air stone and filter running for oxygen. Repeat squeezing out all the air when placing back in tank. Depending on how dirty your tanks get will be how often you need to clean this and I would offset cleaning with your water changes to keep a good biofilm for shrimp and cycled filter to not shock your tank too much.

Glad I got this fish definitely more lively with it

The media could not be loaded.  If you get the sponge filter you have to get a wave maker they both work great together and I had to modify mine with a bubble Ston.

I have this 60 gallon Sponge Filter in a 20 long and it seems to be doing great.

This sponge filter is excellent for adding an additional layer of filtration in my indoor 100 gallon stock tank fish “pond” over stocked with 8 fancy goldfish-Orandas, black moor, and a fantail. I use 2 of the XL ones and one large one in addition to my submersible filter and lots of plants at the top. A must have for fish keepers.

These sponge filters work great and are far less expensive than hang over filters and MUCH easier than canister filters.I think I need I better pump though to get better filtration. It's working but I think it will work better with a better air pump!