wow, awesome idea! I had never even thought to put some sponge there! sheesh and I have had hundreds of tanks over the years, but never once did that occur to me It might actually reduce the water flow in the over the back one that came in the tank kit....I'm going to try. I know they have a ton of new things out for tanks in the filter department but I'll try to modify what I already have. So I will get more sponge and put it on the intake of this one to see what happens. Its a good thing the snail is so hardy, he/she/it has been a total 4x4 trooper through all this. I think I'll name it Eugene. Thanks for all the great advice!! I'll post pics when I think it looks nice enough, and I have a betta I am happy with