Filter Floss & Prefilters

C

Captain Hook

Looking for ideas
Aug 21, 2003
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Toronto, ON
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Looking for any opinions or experiences on using prefilters and filter floss on your filters. I'm thinking about using filter floss in my 2 Aquaclears and possibly the top shelf of my fluval 404 when I set it up. Is filter floss a pain? I've heard it clogs fast.

I've heard with canisters it's a good idea to use a prefilter like an AC sponge over the intake. Going to be setting up my first canister soon and trying to figure out what I want to do.

With filter floss for water polishing and prefilters does regular maintenance become even more important?
 
Stick with the sponges IMO. It can clog fast, is messy to deal with, and a sponge works much better long term. I use sponges on the intakes of my power filters-cuts down on media changes-esp. for the Magnums and makes cleaning much easier overall.
 
I would guess that floss is better for filtering out fine particulate matter, which is what makes it clog quicker.

I prefer sponge because it's easy to remove and clean, and it lasts a long, long time. Prefiltering with sponge is a great idea. You can buy a pre-made prefilter like the FilterMax III, or just buy a cylindrical sponge and stick it over the intake. You can even take a hunk of sponge (like an AquaClear sponge block), cut a slice in it, and slip it over the intake. All of these methods are reasonably cheap and do a great job of catching crud, decreasing the frequency with which you need to clean the main filter.

HTH,
Jim
 
Pre-filtering for me is about as important as having water in the tank (I'm really lazy) I use several different sponges on my hob's and rfug's. The revers flow sponge kits sold for penguin power heads work on almost any round intake made. I aslo use aquarium systems sponge prefitlers for applications where the penguin is too tall (my 10 gallon with an rfug) I custom cut sponges for my emp because it has a stupid square intake tube.

The penguin and AC sponges are pretty coarse, and I've found they don't catch as much as the aquarium systems sponge but they definately do the job. I also buy bulk sponge from big al's and it is a pretty fine sponge as well. My only caution against usng AC sponges on intakes is to make sure they are well hidden. you can see a yellow sponge from 40 miles away in the back of your tank. the black sponges hide better.

As far as floss, I have used it in the AC's and my emp. it does do a good job of removing minute particles, and does plug up faster than the sponges. it also is a big pain to rinse out so I usually end up pitching it and replacing which adds dollars. I always run floss as the last media before the water re-enters the tank. this helps it last longer, but it still plugs up every couple of weeks.
 
daveedka, I'm thinking about using filter floss in my AC. do you have to put it in a filter bag when it's on top or does it generally stay put?
 
Its stays put fairly well if you buy the bulk stuff and cut it with scissors rather than just tearing chunks off by hand. I usually stick one layer of marineland bonded filter pad on top just to hold it in place. the worst that ever happens for me is I get a few floaters off of the floss and have to pull them out.
 
Last nite I bought a huge 1 pound bag of filter floss for $4 at wal-mart. Can't go wrong with that. Unfortunately I didn't catch the cut it with scissors part and tore it. I think it's alright tho...have to check the water tonite see how it looks.

Is it easy to find pre-filters that are black? It will be for a fluval 404.
 
I have probably mentioned this before,
With my AC 500s I use 1 inch thick 'Baby Bumper' batting you can get from a fabric store, Walmart sells something similar but can't get it that thick. I put in about a 3 inch layer of that stuff first, then the AC sponge. All I do is rinse the batting out every week, and the sponges are hardly ever dirty so I rarely clean them. The batting holds up well (100% polyester) and have been reusing them for several months now. Great stuff for polishing the water.

Romeo.
 
You might want to look run your canister a little while before you decide what you want to do. After all, as RTR will tell us, prefilters need to be cleaned as well.

Not only that, but they do cost money. More, in the long run, then I spend on Eheim filter media. I have no prefilter for this, (although I did originally,) on a 60G tank and I have only changed about 1/3 of the the media in both baskets once, in about a year and a half. The sponges, (which you have to have to layer the media anyway,) catch the majority of the debris. And personally, pre-filters are a bit unsightly.

Again, it's up to you. My tank is a bit over filtered, yours may be under.
 
I run my re-fliter with only filter floss in it. Bought a big 5lb bag of polyester batting from fabric store for about $5 or so. I remove the stuff every week, and dump it and put new in. It normally takes me about 2 years to empty the bag, so $2 a year isn't bad. I do just rip it out and fill the prefilter, never had any problems with it getting away.


Matt
 
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