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.
