08-14-2012, 05:48 AM
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#11 | | |
It gets clogged with things you can't see. Got it.
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08-14-2012, 05:49 AM
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#12 | | | Quote:
Originally Posted by AbbeysDad  Actually you'd find that sponge filters are excellent bio-filter 'platforms' and many of our fishkeeping friends use them exclusively in their tanks. It stands to reason that sponge material in a HOB or canister would function equally well.
Matter of fact, the Aquaripure bio-denitrate filter is all sponge in 4 separate layers of increasingly higher density sponge/foam material.
I understand the hype regarding ceramic and other bio-media like Matrix and De*Nitrate with 'macro' and 'micro' pores that are supposed to provide exponential surface areas. It's great marketing. In reality, the pores soon clog with dissolved organics resulting in significantly less surface area (about as good as gravel). This is why bio-media manufacturers recommend periodic media replacement).
(Tip: I believe that ceramic and similar bio-media can be regenerated by soaking in a 50/50 mix of chlorine bleach and water for 24 hours to burn off the organics. Rinse well and soak in dechlorinator water before reuse. Ensure there is no smell of chlorine.) | Am on board with Abby's dad regarding sponge filter's which are somewhat different than pre-filter's but both serve same purpose when water flows through them.(mechanical -biological capabilities)
Pre-filter's (sponges) that slip over the intake of filter intake are indeed hollow, and thus less surface area. But sponge filter such as Hydro series,, have enormous surface area for bacteria to colonize and as Abby's Dad say's, are used in many breeder tank's,grow out tank's as sole form of filtration.
How clean the water stay's depends on bioload, and as mentioned,,frequency of cleaning the filter material.
If you have heavy fish load, or dirt planted tank,then cleaning the filter material more often will keep consistent flow,cleaner water.IMHO
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08-14-2012, 07:30 AM
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#13 | | | Quote:
Originally Posted by eug My canister is, as its name implies, a "classic" design and thus many aspects are rather basic - there isn't an easy way to remove the input/output tubes from the filter without making a huge mess. I ordered some click-valves though which make stopping the flow and removing the tubes easy, so I'll install them the next time I do filter maintenance.
It seems to me you all have very different experiences with filter material - I'm going to start with changing out some of the bio-balls with sponges and see if that improves mechanical filtration, and make gradual changes as necessary.
Where I am, Eheim's version of the cermamic tubes are a bit cheaper, called EHFI Mech. How do they compare? |
Eheim EHFI Mech, Ehiem substrat pro,ceramic noodles, are all good media.
But I would submit that with more than every four month's cleaning as your recent post's indicate,,flow would improve and perhaps no need for extra expense of purchasing pads,media.
Might try once a month cleaning as I mentioned somewhere,and see what that yielded.
Nothin to lose but weight from billfold.
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08-14-2012, 06:06 PM
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#14 | | | Quote:
Originally Posted by AbbeysDad In reality, the pores soon clog with dissolved organics resulting in significantly less surface area (about as good as gravel). This is why bio-media manufacturers recommend periodic media replacement). | Well first, they recommend periodic replacement for the same reason they recommend periodic replacement of sponges. To sell product.... when a company makes a product that never really needs replacing, it's a terrible marketing strategy to advertise that fact. It would look bad on them to try and say change it every month, so they settle for periodic. I suppose we should be following the feeding directions on the fish food container too? And I ALWAYS use generous amounts of shampoo, and repeat 3 times, because that's what the bottle says....
I would like to hear more about how dissolved organics clog media. Are you saying that biomedia and activated carbon do the same thing? What are the pore sizes of the biomedias? What about filters with carbon?
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08-15-2012, 12:26 AM
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#16 | | | Quote:
Originally Posted by fish monger What kind of dirt was in the filter / floss primarily ? It could be feeding and/or stocking that is causing the filter problem and not the media. | It was just brown sludge/guck. Stocking-wise I only have 7 peppered cories in there.
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08-16-2012, 10:14 PM
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#18 | | | Quote:
Originally Posted by jaysee Well first, they recommend periodic replacement for the same reason they recommend periodic replacement of sponges. To sell product.... when a company makes a product that never really needs replacing, it's a terrible marketing strategy to advertise that fact. It would look bad on them to try and say change it every month, so they settle for periodic. I suppose we should be following the feeding directions on the fish food container too? And I ALWAYS use generous amounts of shampoo, and repeat 3 times, because that's what the bottle says.... | There is more to "lather, rinse, repeat" than getting you to use more shampoo.
The manufacturers of ceramic bio-media realize that in time, the product looses it's performance capability so they recommend replacement.
One exception is Seachem Matrix and De*Nitrate - Seachem says to just rinse the detritus away. Quote:
Originally Posted by jaysee I would like to hear more about how dissolved organics clog media. Are you saying that biomedia and activated carbon do the same thing? What are the pore sizes of the biomedias? What about filters with carbon? | No activated carbon and bio-media are not the same. Bio-media does not adsorb impurities like carbon, but rather dissolved organics gets trapped and coats the surface - a look at used ceramic bio-media under a microscope is a real eye opener.
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08-17-2012, 08:40 AM
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#19 | | |
So I went with the ceramic pre-filter media plan, with progressively finer grades mechanical filtering, topped off with a bit of the already-existing bio-balls and a new piece of white filter floss (polyester?).
Looks like this: 
So bit of everything in there - Fluval pre-filter, EHFI Fix (green plastic noodle stuff), blue sponge, bio-balls, fine floss.
I'll see how this runs over the next while and see how long it takes before the white floss needs to be replaced.
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08-20-2012, 01:11 AM
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#20 | | | Quote:
Originally Posted by eug So I went with the ceramic pre-filter media plan, with progressively finer grades mechanical filtering, topped off with a bit of the already-existing bio-balls and a new piece of white filter floss (polyester?). | What's the difference between Efhifix and the blue filter? For filtering out larger particulates than the blue filter?
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