Ziss bio filter or the sponge filter

[Cohen]

Do you guys prefer either the ziss bio filter or the sponge filter!! 

[Fish Folk]

Are you just asking about any general sponge filter?

I like sponges. They are great for small fry and shrimp to graze on, and as easy as can be.

I like the concept and look of the Ziss filter though!

[HH Morant]

I'm not familiar with the Ziss filter, but fluidized or moving bed filters are supposed to be super-efficient biological filtration compared with sponges or even canisters. And they certainly look interesting. But they are not mechanical filtration. The Ziss filter appears to be pretty big, so it takes up more room in your tank and might be harder to hide.

[Cohen]

On 6/24/2021 at 4:05 PM, Fish Folk said:

Are you just asking about any general sponge filter?

I like sponges. They are great for small fry and shrimp to graze on, and as easy as can be.

I like the concept and look of the Ziss filter though!

good point!

[Colu]

I use my ziss filter for extra biological filtration in my goldfish tank and use a fluval 307 external canister filter to trap smaller particles the ziss only has a course filter pad it won't remove smaller particles i have used sponge filters in the past but a prefer the ziss

[tonyjuliano]

On 6/24/2021 at 5:24 PM, HH Morant said:

they certainly look interesting. But they are not mechanical filtration.

There’s a sponge in the intake for mechanical filtration.

[gardenman]

On my fifty gallon tank I have a sponge filter, a knockoff Ziss-type filter, and a Penn Plax Cascade 1500 canister filter. I like all three options for different reasons. The knockoff Ziss filter is easiest to clean. Just unscrew the base, pull out the sponge (while the filter is still running) give it a good rinse and then back in it goes and back on goes the base. No muss, no fuss and I'm done in a minute or two. Sponge filters take a bit more work to clean, but they're not horrible. The canister filter is a lot more work to clean, but it's not horrible, It takes me maybe twenty minutes to clean it completely. If I had to go with just one type of filter, it would probably be the Ziss knockoff. The K1 type media has an impressive amount of bacterial growth on it and it's arguably the easiest of the three to maintain. It's also the noisiest though and if that's an issue for you, you might want to go with another option.

[GardenStateGoldfish]

I run both, I prefer the sponge filter over the ziss filter personally. I do have 6 ziss filters so I do like both,

But, the sponge filter is just superior to me, the ziss are harder to clean then the sponge filters and do not work as well with slower flow air pumps, sponge filters work great with any flow setting. The ziss is more fun to water/visually appealing. And better for turtles since they won't eat the sponge inside. 

But if I have to choose only one, it would be the sponge filter, its my number 1 filter. 

[lefty o]

if you tilt the ziss 15-20 degree's, you can cut the air flow a bit and it will still move the fluid bed. straight up and down takes a good bit of air, especially when brand new.