Hang on Back Filters Vs. Sponge Filters: Which Is Best?

I personally like the look of hob filters. Currently I have an internal filter in my tank. It's been 2 months since I got my fish tank. I plan on getting a hob filter for it.

I don't use back filter went out yr i got sponge filter

Had my 100gal for like 2 months now first timer and im doing this.. also use skimmers.. some things are just common sense

I use both, and an undergravel filter as well

For tank size 20x20x25 aquascape with guppy an neon tetra and shrimp.. What the best filter? 😅🙏

She didn't mention you can take an established bag of bio media from one hob and move it to a new hob on a new tank for instant cycle.

Power Outages For HOB Filter Has A Solve If The Pump Is Submerged In The Water Some Brands Come With The Pump Submerged

On my 55 gallon I run a tidal 75, basically a better aquaclear. Larger media basket and self priming. But in my 10 gallon tank, I do use a sponge filter.

If anyone let their tank go so far that they didn't realize the flooring was being damaged....

Do bigger spong make more noise?

the only one thing the sponge filter is good at is being cost effective.. nothing more.. they are not effective as a tank filter.. water flow on submersible pumps is normal like in the nature.. just don't put the top filter & sump high above water & keep the water in your tank full to kep the water flow minimum.. I compare the sponge filter vs. overhead sumps & the overhead sumps is the overall winner for me in my own opinion..

one disadvantage of a sponge filter is fry will struck to sponge and die.

Tôi cần tiếng viet tôi không hiểu các bạn giải thích gì 😢

I don’t like seeing the bubbles. It looks crazy fake

Great video with excellent points/counterpoints. I left hang on back filters a few years ago for sponge and never went back…I run 2 medium sponges in my 40 breeder with my shell dwellers. Water is clear and tank has been healthy. Thanks for the info! Something for everyone!

I use both for my Lion Head goldfish
The results are clean and easy maintenance . The only drawbacks I faced is the air pump sound, in 2 years of using
I have change time to 3 air pumps, I really like a recommendation on a silence air pump if you can recomend. I like the sound of flowing water from my top filter and the bubbles as it give me a calm relax enviroment, but it would be nicer to have no air pump vibrations sound. Thank you
Your reviews are awesome. 😘

I've just bought a new tank for my blue lobster. It came with a HOB. Mine is mostly submerged. Has room for charcoal/zeolite and could easily take diy foam pads. Sounded terrible...then I added some stone caves.. raised water level by only 1/2 inch, waterfall is now completely different. And adding a small bit of soft foam between plastic lid made all the difference.
Time will tell. But previously I had an under substrate foam and biomedia filter that needed cleaning after two months. In both my lobster (messy eater) and my snail tank. Worked excellent. I'm trying my new lobster tank with the HOB (Interpet ) for now..

I use both and my tank looks crystal clean !! Fish are happy too . 🤗 🐠 🐟🐡 🐠 🐡 🐟 🐌

something that really makes me consider switching to HOB from my sponge filter is water splashing and hard water. i have no issues with my spongefilter itself. however i have really hard water, and with the spongefilter constantly putting a bazillion bubbles out on the top, water is literally splashing EVERYWHERE from the bubbles popping. the top part of my tank looks like a white gunk sprinkled mess within a week.

My brother gave me a 60 gallon tank with a tidal 75 and two sponge filters. Is this overkill?

Hi there l

I have hob, sponges and cannisters. All have pros and cons. The noise created by hob and sponge filters both drive me nuts, so my main display tanks run cannisters because they are silent. My fry and shrimp tanks all run sponges, and my grow out tanks are hob.

I use both in my 60 gallon. I run two well hidden sponges nonstop, but I use two oversized hang on backs when I do tank cleaning. I cram them full of filter floss and carbon to clear up the water as a do a water change.

Sponge filters always dump a lot of gunk when I take them out to clean, even as I lift them into a baggy. I like HOB because they are adaptable. Beside the primary sponge and bio-balls, carbon can be used as needed (after medication mostly) or a fine filter floss crystalizing type media can be used. I have actually taken to using both together in the same tank. I pre-filter my HOB so that I can go longer without pulling the basket. (I also pre-filter cannisters on my bigger tanks.) I have added sponges to my 20s and 30s incase of power outages or just if my HOB clogs and slows waterflow. This way, I never have ammonia issues. I found it is better to not rely on any one type of filter in any given tank except the nano tanks.

Sponge filter doesn't have the power to suck up waste like the hangon filter.

Omg putting the heater inside the filter is a great idea

I've always found hob filters to be more trouble than they are worth and most seem to have a pretty short life span. When I started dating my wife I gave her a custom 55 gallon tank. She had never had fish before and I wanted to make the tank easy and bullet proof for her. I bought two coffee can sized pond foam filters. I removed the risers and replaced them with 1" pvc pipe. I cut the pipes off short enough to mount a submersible power head of each. I'd say around 800 gph of flow total. I told her each week to remove four gallons of tank water and wash one sponge out in the old water and then return it to the tank and top up the tank with fresh water. The next week to clean the other filter always alternating. I stocked the tank with one inch africans. In no time she had a tank full of five to six inch fish in a variety of colors and never had any issues with that tank over the years.

Like the Heater in the filter idea...thanks

Sponge filters tend to disturb the water surface which is messing up the co2 content of the tank. Also youre pumping air into your aquarium (and oxygen) which should only be done at night (when plants generate co2) and already generate oxygen during the day. A hang on the back is more gentle. If you dont want too much flow, just out a cotton at the end

I love the sond of the waterfall

the issue i have with hang on filters is the water flow , there is not much water flow around the aquarium cause the intake and outlet of the filter are almost at the same spot while it would be more effective if the intake and outlet were at the opposite sides in a way that they made a gentle flow to carry all the impurities toward the filter's intake pipe.

Thank you! very informative!

10 bucks for a sponge cube is very expensive

sponge filters are just so ugly!

I'm with Irene, I used sponge filters in all my breeding tanks, but hated pulling them out and have all the waste fall into the tank (yes, I know Cory uses a plastic bag, but that's kind of a pain). Plus the HOB filters look much better, take up no valuable tank real estate, give the nice water trickle sound (if you want it) and are just as easy to move to other tanks as sponge filters.

I said fk it and bought both and now my tank is double filtered. Im actually worried the extra flow is stressing the fish

Hi what is the exact brand of filter you have on this video. I’m just getting back into this hobby. The people at Petco act “all knowing” and sell you the wrong product. I’m mainly going for shrimp I have two tiny golden zebra loaches and 1 tinny butterfly loache. So far my shrimp have been good had to save them a couple times bc they sold me the wrong filter. I’m starting a 14 gallon cube tank from aqueon. Primarily for shrimp with vegetation. Will a 10 aqueon gallon internal shrimp filter do. Bc from what I read, people go filter less. I my self like the water clarity.

Are sponge filters as effective as HOB filters? I’m actually revamping a planted tank and am considering replacing my HOB filter for a sponge for the very first time.

I made a “custom” filter that i feel gives me the best of both worlds . My first aquarium had a filter that would pump the water up the pipe in the corner then send it through the foam filter tube up top and dump out the end. I took the pump and attached a sponge filter to the bottom of it and up top i cut down and outlets into a clear mesh disk container filled with activated charcoal and filter media . So the sponge filter inside keep the beneficial bacteria and the top down portion deals with chemical.

I have mild tinnitus, so the water splashing sound or air pump sound makes me sleep better 😂

This was a very fun video. I really enjoyed

I'm team hang on

How about filter efficiency? I see so many debris swimming around not getting sucked in by the sponge filter. Do sponge filters really work?

Irene is the best!

The longest running tank I've ever had without a full teardown is a 35gl. Hex. With DIY under gravel filter and a HOB filter.(self priming) Using the lift tube on the under gravel lift tube (rising above waterline) as placement of the HOB inside it. The rest of filtering is done by Amazon sord, java furn, java moss. 5gl water remove once a week cleaning gravel with RO top off. 7 years and still running. Use the back filter as receptacle for an air tube syphon for top off water.

If power does go out the filter should start flow because the water level should not drop that much.

The lady wins. smaller footprint and more area for beneficial bacteria. Sponge filters in general seem better for poor people or a pet store that is selling fish and not having a tank for it's aesthetics.