Yes. I have done this for years. That's why I like the coarse Aquaclear sponges to make my own. Of course, if you don't maintain them every once in a while they will slow down the flow of the filter, but if you're doing proper maintenance you are not going to have any trouble. Frequency of cleaning is going to depend on what is in the tank. I'm using prefilters on 4 tanks right now. This works with hang on back filters too. My multies really move a lot of sand so I have one on the Aquaclear 70 I use for their tank, and I'm using one on another Aquaclear 70 that I have on my albino bristlenose breeding tank. It's definitely keeping the fry out of my filter, because I have about 70 of them in the tank right now. LOL