capetsma Aquarium Filter Sponge Fish Tank Filter

I bought this product for an axolotl tank after seeing everyone and their mom suggest it. I put it in a cycling 20 gallon with a HOB filter on the opposite side. I am not entirely sold on it being the **best** and **only** filter for the tank. It is a bilogical filter and probably growing lots of good bacteria on the ceramic balls and will probably be good at taking out ammonia, but it does not filter out any big bits so that's why I'm not sold on it. A HOB will suck out big chunks of things, and I just can't give that up and put only this in my tank just yet. Will need to buy an air pump for this product.

The media could not be loaded.  Works amazing for my 3 gallon, heated, betta tank. My betta is 2 years old with very heavy fins and this filter creates just enough flow to prevent protein film on the top of the water but a small enough amount of flow so my betta is not too disturbed. I would recommend this filter for even a 20 gallon tank if it’s low stocked. The intake has enough suction to suck in and hold any debris in the water. I used a starter colony of bacteria in this new tank and I watched the filter immediately suck up the debris I squeezed off an old sponge filter. I couldn’t recommend this product enough!

The sponge has changed color so I know it's doing something but floating debris is not attracted to it, nothing is sectioned to the sponge.

A problem for those of us who use shoeboxes as grow out tanks for fry is lack of filtration options. Normally we either do without or manufacture our own using film canisters, pvc pipe, etc. I stumbled upon this and while a little pricey, decided to give it a try. It’s basically a a perfect fit for the shoebox and you can tilt it for shallower . The biggest downside is the suction cups do not hold very well so I just leave it off and allow the weight and buoyancy handle positioning.

This filter will not suck up debris. If that's what you're looking for this isn't it. It's a nice biological filter. The bubbles are good size and it takes up very little space. The suction cup is strong and durable.

It doesn’t take any water in through the sponge so it cannot be used as a filter. It is just an air stone with a sponge on the end. Which isn’t a bad thing, I just had the impression it would actually help filter. I love the look of it, but it’s not living up to what I had hoped. It does provide surface agitation, but that’s about it. Once connected to an air pump by tubing, the air goes straight from the tubing connection and out the output. If it was actually sucking/filtering water from the sponge, then it would pour water out of the output, not just air.

The media could not be loaded.  Really great addition to my tank. I added this to a heavily stocked 75. The hang on the back filter I had was just not enough. This filter works really well. The bioballs add a lot of surface area for benificial bacteria. The sponges come off easily for rinseing, which is nice for quick and easy cleaning. The top part telescopes up allowing you to either place it in a taller tank like mine or a shorter tank. It would be pretty easy to hide behind plants or other decor. I think this would be great in a 30 to 55 by itself. I added a vid (the noise is a fan not this filter)

I had a nice 8 gallon tank with a built-in filter in the back, and no matter what I did (water changes, additives, change of feeding, etc.) I struggled with cloudy water. After doing some research I found out that those built-in filters often do not move around enough water. I saw these as an option for additional filtration, and it has been a MIRACLE! My water cleared up and has stayed crystal clear! My only wish is that you could just buy replacement sponges (it does come with 1 extra), but at the price, if I feel I need a new sponge once I go through both, it will not break the bank.