How to Install an Aquarium Sponge Filter

Sponge filters aren't as efficient as standard filters, such as canisters or hang ons, but they offer some advantages for certain types of aquariums. With canister and hang on filters, very small fish are in danger of being sucked into the filter intake and killed. Sponge filters have a more gentle flow, since there is no concentrated intake point. Water is taken in over a broader area, and flows through a sponge that gives helpful bacteria a medium to grow on.

Things You'll Need

  • Scissors
  • Drill
  • 1-inch rigid plastic tube, cut to fit the height of your aquarium
  • Air pump
  • Air stone
  • 2 x aquarium tubing
  • Check valve
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut a hole a little smaller than your tube in a large sponge. Don't cut all the way through the sponge. Leave an area as thick on the bottom as it is on the sides.

    • 2

      Drill holes in the sides of the end of the tube that will be covered by the sponge, so the water can run through. Drill as many holes as possible without cracking the tube. The diameter of the holes does not matter.

    • 3

      Poke the tube down into the sponge.

    • 4

      Attach the air stone to one of the pieces of air tubing. Plug the check valve into the opposite end, paying attention to the direction of the air flow. Plug the other piece of tubing into the opposite side of the check valve, and plug the opposite end into the air pump.

    • 5

      Drop the air stone down to the bottom of the 1-inch tube. Place the sponge in the aquarium in an open area that gets a lot of flow from all sides. Plug in the air pump, and it is ready to go.