Sparky: the $3 Micro Fish Tank Filter

Meet Sparky, a micro filter for fish tanks that only costs $3. It is so simple to make and it is the perfect size for a betta tank or another small aquarium. If you want to use it with a larger tank, you can just double up!

Why do you need a Filter?

A filter is absolutely essential for any fish tank! Not only does it help remove harmful toxins from the water such as nitrite and ammonia, but it also provides a colony of beneficial bacteria essential for prime fish health.

Why is Sparky a Great Filter

Sparky not only provides mechanical filtration (from the sponge) but also provides biological filtration from the biohome media, combining the two most crucial elements of filtration. Not only is this unusual for such a small filter of only 5cm long, but it is virtually unheard of!

You will need:

• A scouring sponge: if you have an old sponge at home you can peel off the scouring part (rinse it first!) and use that or you can pick up a sponge at the dollar store. Make sure it hasn't been treated with anti-fungal or anything at all for that matter. If you want to spend a little extra you can use an aquarium sponge.
• A piece of biohome mini ultra (or ultimate) filter media (or other): you can get a free sample of biohome filter media from their website. It is by far the best choice. You can use a ceramic media put it just won't work as well. With biohome it can be broken into smaller pieces and adapted to your container size.
• A container: I used a small little container that came with a USB cord and was the perfect size. They were popular little contraptions about 3 years ago and were used to hold two ferrite core halves to help stop electrical interference. If you can't find one of those you can modify one of those travel sized soap bottles or, even better, a film canister holder by drilling a hole in the cap for the airline and holes all around the body of the bottle.
• A drill and small drill bit (optional)

You will also need an aquarium air pump and some airline.If you don't already own one (most fishkeepers do) then you can buy a very cheap one that gets the job done for $5.

Cut out two squares that are the width and length of your container from the scouring sponge. Gently tuck them in the two halves. If you are using a travel sized bottle or other, wrap the sponges along the inside of the bottle.

Also cut out a circular sponge the size of the base, put it to the side.

Put your piece of media in between the two sponges. Before shutting the container, put the circular sponge you cut out inside, so it covers the bottom. Now close up your container and make sure that it is firmly shut.

You need to drill some small holes on the body of your filter to enhance water circulation if it doesn't already have holes. My container already had holes, so I only made a few extras.

Also, I found a suction cup in my spare parts drawer that I hot glued to the bottom of the filter. This made sure that it stuck to the bottom of the tank when it was in use.

Attach an airline to the hole at the top of your filter, push it about 7/8 down the body and you are ready to give it a spin. It was that easy, and your fish are going to love it!

How does it Work?

The airline and air pump pump air into the body of the filter. This sucks water through the sponge and piece of filter media, triggering a siphoning action. Air bubbles will then escape, along with your filtered water out of the holes in the body.

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