Bioscape 160L/h Hanging Filter Replacement Foam (6 Pack)

On a hang-on filter the foam sits first in the flow path, and everything behind it depends on it.

• It protects the carbon. Carbon that clogs with silt is spent by muck rather than by the dissolved organics you bought it for, and it stops adsorbing early.
• It protects the bio balls. Nitrifying bacteria need oxygenated water moving across them. A blocked foam starves that stage and the tank's ammonia processing slows with it.
• It protects the pump. The 3 W motor in this filter has very little reserve. Restriction shows up as a thinner waterfall at the outlet and a surface skimmer that stops pulling film.
• It holds bacteria itself. A mature foam carries a real bacterial population, which is exactly why it should be rinsed rather than binned at the first sign of colour.

This is the question the foam stage actually turns on, and the two answers are not interchangeable.

Bioscape does not publish a fixed replacement interval for the Tropic hang-on media. In practice a foam rinsed in tank water at each water change will run for several months before it stops recovering, which is why the pack contains six rather than one.

The Tropic "Easy Clean" range covers three sizes and each takes its own foam. The flow rate is printed on the filter body.

Suitable for

• Bioscape Tropic Easy Clean 60 hang-on filters, 160 L/h, freshwater or marine
• Betta, shrimp and nano setups where a weak outlet flow is the first sign of trouble
• Keeping several years of spares on hand in one purchase

Not suitable for

• The 320 L/h or 450 L/h hang-on filters – use BIS531A or BIS532A
• Bioscape PRO canisters, Tropic canisters or Velocity internal filters
• Removing tannins, odours or medication – foam adsorbs nothing, that is the carbon cartridge's job
• Replacing your biological filtration – the bio balls carry that load

• Rinse in aquarium water, never under the tap. Chlorinated tap water kills the bacteria living in the foam. A jug of water siphoned out during a water change costs nothing.
• Squeeze, do not scrub. Two or three gentle squeezes clears the debris. Scrubbing tears the pore structure and shortens the foam's life considerably.
• Never change the foam and the carbon in the same week. On a 16 to 38 litre tank there is very little water to buffer the loss of two stages at once. Space the jobs apart.
• Seed a new foam if you can. Running a fresh foam alongside the old one for a week or two lets bacteria colonise it before the old one comes out.
• Check the intake if flow does not recover. A blocked intake slot or a snail lodged in the impeller housing produces the same symptom as a clogged foam.

• Bioscape 160L/h Hanging Filter Carbon Cartridge 2 Pack (BIS530B) – the chemical stage sitting behind this foam.
• Bioscape 160L/h Hanging Filter Bio Balls (BIS530C) – the biological stage the foam exists to keep clear.
• Bioscape Premium Fine Filter Wool 6 Pack – cut-to-fit sheet wool for adding a polishing layer in the same chamber.
• Bioscape Tropic Easy Clean Hang-On Filter – the filter range these foams are cut for.

Bioscape warrants the Tropic Easy Clean hang-on filters for 1 year. Filter media is a consumable and is not covered by that term. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law apply to this product and are not limited by any manufacturer's warranty. Ships as a standard parcel.

How many foams are in the BIS530A pack?

Six. BIS530A is supplied as a six-pack of replacement filter foams for the Bioscape Tropic Easy Clean 60 hang-on filter, which for most nano tanks is several years of spares.

Should I rinse the foam or replace it?

Rinse it while it still springs back after a squeeze and while flow fully recovers afterwards. Replace it once it stays compressed, tears, or when flow drops again within days of a rinse. A collapsed foam restricts the pump without filtering, which is the worst of both outcomes.

How often does the foam need cleaning?

Bioscape publishes no fixed interval for the Tropic hang-on media. Rinsing the foam in tank water at every water change suits most 16 to 38 litre setups. Heavily fed tanks, shrimp tanks with a lot of botanicals, and tanks with a messy eater will need it more often.

Can I wash the foam under the tap?

It is better not to. Chlorinated tap water kills the nitrifying bacteria living in the foam, and on a tank this small that colony matters. Rinse it in a container of water taken from the aquarium instead.

Will BIS530A fit my 320 or 450 L/h Bioscape hang-on filter?

No. The 320 L/h Tropic Easy Clean 80 takes BIS531A and the 450 L/h Tropic Easy Clean 100 takes BIS532A. The foams are cut to each filter's chamber and are not interchangeable.

Do I still need the carbon and bio balls if the foam is clean?

Yes. Foam only traps solids. It has no effect on dissolved organics, tannins or medication residue, and it is not designed to sustain the bacterial colony that converts ammonia. All three stages do different jobs in this filter.