Foam Filter

I want to replace the filter for the 50 litre tank with a sponge one, I'd rather avoid an impeller driven one because  of the shrimp. Can anyone recommend one please?

I have just replaced the filter in my betta's tank with an air pump powered sponge filter.

I bought the sponge filter on the recommendation of the chap at the shop (yes, I know, but this was Mark at Aquatic Finatic!). He made the comment that a lot of sponge filters either stick onto the glass with a sucker or just rest on the bottom. The danger is that if one of these filters floats to the surface, they stop working. He recommended one with a weighted base, the same type they use in the shop in the betta tanks.
This is the one I have. There are two bigger ones, but nowhere does it say what size tank they are meant for. But I would say the one I have would be plenty for a 50 litre tank with shrimps.
I also bought a JBL ProSilent a50 air pump. The chap said he would go either for that one or the Aqua One equivalent. He reckoned those were the two quietest ones - though mine does hum quite loudly. It's in the kitchen so with the fridge etc also humming I don't notice it unless I listen for it. The JBL comes with a European plug so the shop included a converter plug. The box also included air line tubing and a one way valve.

I did have to buy one extra bit for mine once I started cycling it in my QT - a splitter. Basically that is a thing for attaching 2 devices to one air pump, and I use mine to bleed off some air as the current was too strong for a betta - the pump is rated for 10 to 50 litre tanks.


The other thing to bear in mind is that you can't just take the media from another, cycled filter and put that into the sponge filter. The best you can do would be to tie the mature media around the sponge and hope some bacteria migrate in to the new sponge filter. That's why I cycled mine from scratch - that and the fact I'd never done the new method of fishless cycling myself so i thought it was about time I did.

The tank is silent except for the bubbling coming from the filter. The air pump is a different matter. They are always noisier than internals, and some makes are noisier than others. My pump has got quieter over the 7 weeks since I got it, and it is suspended from a hook under the wall cupboard with a piece of string. I don't think I could cope with it in my bedroom though.

The usual recommendations for air pumps is to suspend them as I have done so that no part of it can vibrate against something solid; to put it on top of a thickly folded towel, again to damp down vibrations; or to do one of those inside a cupboard to reduce any noise further.




An alternative would be an Eheim Aquaball. That's what I have in with my shrimps. They are cylindrical filters with intake slits all round the body of the filter. Mine has a black knee high sock pulled up over the slits, the cylindrical shape making this easy. This sock is usually covered with shrimps eating bits of food caught on it. And they are quite quiet. The aquaballs, that is, not the shrimps 

They are not the cheapest filter, but bear in mind that my sponge filter and air pump cost about £25. And aquaballs can take media from other filters, it just needs cutting to shape if it's sponges.

The 60 is the size you'd need for 50 litres.