Do they make sponge tips for power filter stems?

[kenyth]

My mystery snail about killed itself getting stuck on the the inlet to the power filter. I'm still not sure it will make it. It was semi-listlessly hanging from it's shell and took a while to come back to life. It's still carting around the tank, but it doesn't look too healthy. I think it was after plant debris stuck on the inlet grate. I'm concerned about other things being inadvertently sucked to their doom. Will a normal sponge filter fit? Will it significantly impede the flow through the power filter? Will a piece of cloth work better? Will it interfere significantly with the mechanical filtration? I'm not sure what the best path is to take here.

[xoolooxunny]

i put a filter sponge over my powerhead intake after i lost a baby bala shark and and hatchet fish to it... I'm ashamed that it happened twice before i learned my lesson.

And no, the filter sponge wont slow the flow, you'll just have to clean it off about once a week, but not in tap water, try to keep the bacteria on it, helps with the biological filter.

[Faith_at_Large]

I cover my filter intake with filter foam too, just remember to attach it with two elastic bands - one around the intake basket to hold it on, and the second just under it to ensure that the end is also covered. The sponge does not need to be very big, just big enough to wrap around the whole basket - slotted section. I also learned about the dangers of filters twice, the second time I had the main part covered, but I left the underside uncovered and I lost my second Zebra Danio. I haven't lost any fish since then and the filter foam/sponge does not stop the flow until it gets clogged up with debris - mine is getting covered in algae. This works great and I know that my fish are safe.

[gm72]

I use these on all of my canisters with outstanding results. They have a variety of different sponge prefilters at this website too:
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