Sera L60 ilmapumpulla toimiva sisäsuodatin

An air operated sponge filter for the aquarium. Model L60, the smallest of the range; the range also has the L150 and the L300.

How it works without a motor: the filter is an airlift, or mammoth, pump. Air from an air pump is fed by hose into the standpipe, and the rising bubbles draw water up with them. The water returns to the tank through a fine mesh sponge, which cleans it mechanically. The unit therefore has no electrical part and no rotating part at all.

Where it is particularly good: the manufacturer points to rearing larvae and juvenile fish. An ordinary powered filter draws fry in because of their size and their swimming behaviour; in an air operated sponge filter the suction is gentle enough that this does not happen.

The biological side: nitrifying bacteria settle inside the optimised sponge and handle the breakdown of pollutants. The sponge is thus a mechanical and a biological filter at the same time.

What else you need: an air pump and air hose. The manufacturer names the sera air plus pumps for running this filter.