Keep your aquarium filter media organized and easy to maintain with the ISTA Net Bag of Filtering Material. Made from durable fine-mesh material, this reusable filter bag securely holds biological and chemical filtration media such as ceramic rings, bio balls, activated carbon, zeolite, and phosphate remover. The fine mesh design allows excellent water flow while preventing small filter media from escaping into the filter system.

Ideal for canister filters, sump filters, overhead filters, and internal filters, this filter media bag makes cleaning and replacing filtration media quick, convenient, and mess-free.

Key Features

• Fine Mesh Design – Suitable for filter media under 8 mm.
• Excellent Water Flow – Ensures maximum filtration efficiency.
• Durable & Reusable – High-quality mesh for long-lasting use.
• Secure Storage – Prevents filter media from scattering inside the filter.
• Easy Maintenance – Simplifies cleaning and media replacement.
• Universal Compatibility – Works with canister, sump, hang-on-back, overhead, and internal filters.

Suitable For:

• Ceramic Rings.
• Activated Carbon.
• Zeolite.
• Bio Balls.
• Phosphate Remover.
• Other aquarium filter media under 8 mm.

Package Includes:

• 1 × ISTA Net Bag of Filtering Material.

Setup & Use

ISTA’s own instruction is exactly two steps: put the filter media into the net, and tie it up. It is worth doing that second step properly — a bag that comes untied inside a canister distributes ceramic rings through the impeller chamber.

Fill it about two-thirds. A bag packed solid has no water moving through the middle of it, which wastes the media in the centre and forces the flow around the outside. Media needs to tumble a little when you rinse it.

This is the under-8 mm net. ISTA make two: the I-987 for media under 8 mm in diameter, and the I-986 for media over 8 mm. The mesh sizes differ, and using the coarse bag for fine media is how carbon granules end up in the pump.

Use one bag per media type. Carbon, zeolite and phosphate remover all have different replacement intervals, and mixing them in one bag means replacing all three when only one is exhausted. Separate bags also let you pull one out without disturbing the biological media.

Rinse it in tank water, not tap water, if the bag holds biological media. Chlorine kills the bacterial film that is doing the work.

It is reusable. Empty it, rinse it, dry it, refill it. Replace it when the mesh tears or when it has clogged to the point where rinsing no longer restores the flow through it.

Label it or knot it distinctively. Three identical black bags in a canister basket, six months apart, are impossible to tell apart — and the one you want to replace is never the one on top.

Returns & Replacement

Returns are accepted within 7 days of delivery, provided the item is unused and in its original packaging. Manufacturer-sealed items cannot be returned once the seal is broken, and sale-priced items are not refundable.

If your item arrives defective or damaged, message us on WhatsApp with your order number — or email us, if you would rather — and we will replace it. Approved replacements are delivered within 3 to 5 business days. Transit damage is covered by insurance on every shipment. If tracking shows delivered but nothing reached you, tell us within 72 hours, which is the reporting window Indian couriers allow. Damage caused during installation or use is not covered; replacement spares for such cases are chargeable.

Full terms are on our Cancellation & Returns page.