Review on 🐠 XY-2831 Air Pump Sponge Filter for 10-Gallon Aquarium Tank: Efficient Filtration and Aeration by Denise Miller

I love these little sponge filters! They are cheap and effective, safe for juvenile fish and better for bacterial colonies than the more popular high performance filters. I strongly believe that the only reason they are not becoming more widely available is that there is no money to sell them and so they are not widely promoted as an option. To be honest, they have two downsides. : noise and appearance. An air pump is required for operation, and the vibration of the air pump, although silent, may be annoying for some people. And they are not beautiful. I don't see the latter as a problem as they can easily be hidden behind decorations or plants. My husband worries about the pump humming but I hardly notice it. The pump takes a little longer to clean the water and doesn't cope very well with large debris, but it's effective at keeping the water clean and clear. qualitative. Coarse dirt can be removed manually. Cleaning is as simple as removing a sponge and squeezing it into used aquarium water a few times (never use chlorinated water for cleaning as you will kill your entire bacterial colony and cause dangerous ammonia releases in your aquarium). I didn't have to change my sponge every two years, but when I do, they're only a few bucks. And there is no risk of juvenile fish or shrimp getting into the filter. Some people take the sponge itself and place it on the surge protector inlet to get the best of both worlds. If I needed heavier filtering (e.g. with big fish creating big debris) I would do the same. However, they are ideal for guppies, shrimp and small aquariums and, as I said, inexpensive.