hygger Aquarium Double Sponge Filter, Comes with 2 Spare Sponges (S)

Works absolutely amazing! I could not get the algae growth under control while running just a charcoal filter. After 2 weeks as the good bacteria grew in the sponges, the algae was gone almost immediately. It takes a week or two because that’s how long it takes for the good bacteria that gets rid of the ammonia and nitrite to grow. Plus my plecostomus fish behind it as a hiding place during the day!

This is honestly a great aquarium filter. I used to be a canister filter and HOB user but decided to simplify my fishkeeping. I currently have 4 of the larger one in a 40 gallon breeder with three 3” fancy goldfish. Setup was easy and straightforward. I switched out the bioballs it came with and used seeded ceramic rings. To really maximize the filters I used a 16 watt, 475 gph air pump. My parameters are perfect at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 20 nitrate. I also use this filter with fritzyme 7. Water is clean, beneficial bacteria are happy, and my fish and I are happy.

Seems pretty good so far. Sponge filters provide the best biological filtration for aquariums. My main concern was the air discharge. This is for a tank in my living room and I didn't want the sound of large bubbles- was it free flowing and loud or did it produce bubbles like an air stone would. Turns out it's like an air stone. Very quiet. It comes with extra sponges. Not sure if I'll ever need them but it's nice to have in case I do...

I loved mine and I’m about to buy another because they work great. However when cleaning mine must have gotten damaged because it no longer shoots air out maybe a bubble or two a minute leaks out the top where it use to be a constant stream. I also want to add I have a 15 gallon cube full of shrimp and snails and these filters require almost every 2 month cleanings. The sponges need to be squeezed out or you will notice lack of bubbling because not enough water is passing through

This review includes tips for the extra sponges!!! I have had 3 of these for over a year and highly recommend them. I have all size smalls and use them on 5 gal, 8gal, 10gal tanks filled with mostly shrimp and snails and a few fish. They work great and they require little to no maintenance. They easily come apart if you do need to clean or maintain and there are no moving pieces to worry about breaking with wear and tear. They come with the bio balls and an extra set of sponges. They don't require a lot of air, so I'm able to use a splitter on each air pump to also power bubblers. They are completely quiet depending on what level you place the output spout compared to water level. Shrimp and snails love them because they are safe havens to rest on full of yummy things to eat. They cause little to no motion of the water if you have inhabitants that like things calm. And they there is zero risk of having a filter accidentally suck up a baby of any species. The black sponge blends in well with the background and the only part that actually sticks up and shows out of the tank is the tiny clear airline hose. In over a year. I've yet to come anywhere close to needing to replace the sponges, however they have come in handy: 1. When cycling a new aquarium, I bought another of these and swapped out one of the towers (balls and foam) from an existing aquarium with a new one. I did this with two different tanks. This had little to no impact on the established tanks since I only took half of the filter media. It got the new tank to cycle almost immediately. 2. To keep from vacuuming up tiny fish fry during water changes, I use one of the spare sponges on the end of the siphon hose (1/2"). It won't suction up debris with it on, but it works great for water changes in a heavily planted tank where I let the plants handle the debris. 3. (Sort of a spin off of 1 and 2). If you have multiple tanks and are worried about cross contamination, store one of the extra sponges in the back of the tank. Use this if you need to spin off an emergency bin for any reason, and/or when changing water on that specific tank.

I wanted to write this review to address the most common complaints I saw when looking for a new sponge filter. 1. "The replacement sponges were not included." The replacement sponges come squashed into the bio media compartments and you must disassemble the filter and remove them (which you should have noticed if you had bothered using the bio media). 2. "It made my water cloudy." Rule #1 of aquariums, RINSE EVERYTHING FIRST, the bio balls are covered in dust generated from rubbing against each other for however long they've been in the packaging. 3. "Not enough suction power." In many cases see point 1, its the same people who couldn't find their replacement sponges, and pretty self explanatory why that would cause issues. For everyone else, you need an air pump powerful enough to create the lift required to generate flow. A ~3v is good enough for the small, and a 4v for the medium. A 2.9v whisper quiet generates enough flow to piss off my betta if I don't regulate it. 4. "It stops working after a couple weeks" These are higher quality lower micron sponges, not your cheap drive a car through the gaps sponge filters of the early 00's. They will clog faster, reducing flow, than the aforementioned sponges. I suggest waiting 2 weeks after installation, removing 1 side for cleaning and the following week do the other side, essentially cleaning or replacing 1 sponge per week, and you shouldn't have this issue. (See addendum for cleaning sponges at end to save some headache.) 5. "It killed all my (fill in the blank)" No it didn't, you did or something unrelated did. See points 2 and 3, nothing in these filters themselves is toxic, nor will they change any of your water parameters beyond that of filtering or the lack of filtering if not setup properly. BONUS CLEANING TIP: As I stated above, after about 2 weeks in the tank you should clean 1 sponge, then the opposing sponge the following week, then just alternate each week. But as anyone who's ever had sponge filters can tell you, they make a cloudy mess when its time to remove them for cleaning. What I've found that works the best to mitigate that, is take a ziploc bag, filled with tank water, and place over the sponge when you remove it. You can then just squish it out in the bag or in a bucket of dechlorinated water before putting it back on the filter. Its still gonna put some particulate into the tank, but significantly less than any other method I've found. PS, the nasty ass brown water you end up with? Perfect for plants/garden etc. All said these are great sponge filters with a built in media compartment and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a sponge style filter.

I have one of these in each of two of my aquariums. I am impressed by their functionality and cleaning properties. They were simple to set up and install, and are working perfectly well. Time will tell how well they hold up to constant use, but so far, I am impressed after two weeks of operation. Hygger makes very good quality aquarium products.

You need a lot of air in order for this filter to work half decent . I bought 3 in the past 6 months there best used to filter a fry tank or nano tank. Funny, but with the same amount of pressure on a splitter, one filter clear works better than the other or more air seems to flow better