Hygger double sponge filter not working

I bought a Hygger double sponge filter for my 20 long a while back. The first couple of weeks it was working great. The bubbles shot out across the tank so it seemed to be working. I had no fish in my tank at the time due to cycling and other water issues that I got straightened out. Then I started noticing less bubbles. Now it barely has any coming out.

I‘ve tried the pump (whisper 20) on an air bubbler to see if it worked and tried different spots on my check valve. Everything worked fine. I pulled the filter out and checked everything over plus hooked up a new hose and I still have the issue.

Is there any suggestions on what to do? Is it fixable or should I contact the seller or try a different sponge filter?

 

If you remove the sponges does it shoot bubbles across the tank?

 

No, it still does the same. I took it all back apart just to make sure there wasn’t a blockage. Is it possible that it could be my pump? It’s a whisper 20.

 

Can you blow air through the line?

Can you borrow another air pump to test the system? Maybe the Whisper is near it's capacity or the end of it's life. Is it new.?

 

Yes, I can blow air through it. What would be a good size pump to get? I don’t mind buying a new one.

I‘ve got to go to the store later and I will check the pumps they have. I was wanting to add a couple more bubbler things to the tank so it is probably a good idea to go with a bigger one.

 

I looked around and found this.

whisper 20 uses 2.5 watts. On Amazon, the seller of your filter said the it needs a pump with a minimum of 3 watts of power.

 

Thanks for the information. I went to Walmart and they only had one pump in stock but it was for a 20-50 gallon. I bought it and it’s working a lot better. I don’t know why it worked in the beginning though.