Best Betta Filters

There are hundreds of types of aquarium filters in the market. For a beginner, it can get confusing easily while buying one for his/her betta.

So you might want to dig a bit on the net. I did too. But got bombarded with top 10 review articles which made me even more confusing. These top 10 review articles suggested sponge filter, canister filter, undergravel filter and a lot of other types too!

Really? An undergravel filter? Which is technically not even a filter?

I won’t do that to you.

I’ll clearly suggest just one particular sponge filter to you for a betta only tank. And I believe, this one sponge filter will be enough for a single 20 gallon betta tank.

I am recommending the Hygger Aquarium Double Sponge Filter.

Why this sponge filter? Why not a HOB or Canister filter? Well, I’ll explain everything in the rest of the article.

Why Sponge Filter?

Most of us keep betta in a single 10 to 20 gallon tank. Also, we generally don’t keep any other fish with a betta.

So, for a single betta in a 10-20 gallon tank, there is actually no need to buy a canister filter. Canister filters are an overkill for this level of bioload and you’ll just waste your money down the drain.

Now you might ask what about a Hang on Back filter? I also thought at first that hang on back filters are the best. However, after doing some testing with other betta owners, I found that most of them recommends sponge filter for a single betta tank.

Here’s proof:

As you can see, most of the betta owners are suggesting to use sponge filter because, the output flow of a HOB can be too much for the betta. On the other hand, you can easily control the flow of a sponge filter. That’s why they are perfect for small to medium betta tank.

Why Hygger Aquarium Double Sponge Filter?

Well, I did some digging. And I found this sponge filter to be offering the most essential features at a very affordable price range. Let’s see what it has to offer:

• This is the only sponge filter I’ve seen that has a chamber for including bio balls. This really caught my eyes and I think it is an excellent addition to a sponge filter. Bio balls are ideal for growing beneficial bacterial colony. So, this sponge filter will provide a superior biological filtration than most other sponge filters in the market.
• The dimension is adjustable and not overwhelming. Here is the dimension of the small version: width 6″ and 9″-13″ height (adjustable).

Here’s what you’ll get with the filter:

• ceramic media balls (1 bag)
• extra sponges for later use (2)
• 2 containers for the storing the media balls
• 60 PPI ‘Fine’ sponges are used. Not coarse ones. So, there will be more surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow.

Note: You’ll have to buy a good quality air pump and standard size 4mm air hose separately to use the sponge filter. These don’t come with the sponge filter. For air pump, I recommend the Tetra Whisper Air Pump. It has sound dampening chambers that produce much less sound than the other ones.

You can get 4mm air hose from here.

Sharing is caring!