GobyJohnKenobi
New member
Hey everyone.
This mod is soooo simple. No pictures are needed.
I've been running the stock filter cartridge in my 8 gallon BioCUBE for about a month now. I knew the day would come that I would need to replace it due to the inevitable nastification of all things filterating. But the idea of coughing up the long green for Oceanic's replacement cartridges has really been bugging me.
So I have been looking for an alternative.
Today the idea finally struck me -- what if I bought a small sheet of Poly Filter for $6.99 and cut it down to fit within the stock frame after I removed the original media? Worth a try....
All I did was rip the bonded floss off of the front of the frame and dump out the carbon. ( BTW- the carbon that I found hidden behind the filter pad had a very shiny and smooth surface: not the greatest for adsorption. And the layer of bonded floss is very, very thin. Imagine that...... )
This revealed four individual compartments with foam pads located in each one to hold the carbon. I discarded the original media and all but one of the foam pads.
I used a sharp wood chisel to shave off all of the raised plastic dots around the perimeter of the frame that the bonded floss was anchored to. This helped to get rid of any stray fibers that might eventually clog a pump impellar and made reinsertion into the holding brackets easier. I left the bumps along the dividers of the compartments to help hold the new pieces of Poly Filter in place.
Then I took the original piece of foam used to line the back of the compartments and laid it onto the Poly Filter to use as a cutting template. I placed it in the lower left corner of the Poly Filter with one of its longer sides along the bottom. I then made a vertical cut with a pair of scissors along the shorter side. Then I moved my foam template to the lower right corner with one of its shorter sides along the bottom and made a horizontal cut along its top edge. Viola! My first filter pad!
Then I put the template back into its original position in the lower left corner and cut horizontally along its top edge. Viola!! Pad number two. And so on and so forth until I had the 4 pads that were needed. No waste whatsoever of the Poly Filter, and all of the new pads fit nice and snug.
I like this idea for a number of reasons:
1. Poly Filter is a fine product. If anyone has any other product recommendations, please share them.
2. I can change out one pad at a time on a regular shedule to help moderate any affects on water chemistry or conditions. I am estimating that if I change one every two weeks; I should be able to get about four months from the small Poly Filter pad.
3. It should be much cheaper in the long run than using the Oceanic cartridges. Which after dissection, I'd really prefer not to use. Four months of Oceanic = roughly $24 depending on the gouge factors involved at your LFS. Four months of Poly Filter = $6.99. No brainer.
4. Hey! It's my first mod ever. I haven't even widened the opening from the first compartment. And I wonder if by leaving it stock more of the water will be forced thru the filter. Hmmm....
Either way, my flow seems fine.
I hope you found this helpful. Please feel free to share thoughts, criticisms, recipes, beer recommendations, one-liners....etc.
This mod is soooo simple. No pictures are needed.
I've been running the stock filter cartridge in my 8 gallon BioCUBE for about a month now. I knew the day would come that I would need to replace it due to the inevitable nastification of all things filterating. But the idea of coughing up the long green for Oceanic's replacement cartridges has really been bugging me.
So I have been looking for an alternative.
Today the idea finally struck me -- what if I bought a small sheet of Poly Filter for $6.99 and cut it down to fit within the stock frame after I removed the original media? Worth a try....
All I did was rip the bonded floss off of the front of the frame and dump out the carbon. ( BTW- the carbon that I found hidden behind the filter pad had a very shiny and smooth surface: not the greatest for adsorption. And the layer of bonded floss is very, very thin. Imagine that...... )
This revealed four individual compartments with foam pads located in each one to hold the carbon. I discarded the original media and all but one of the foam pads.
I used a sharp wood chisel to shave off all of the raised plastic dots around the perimeter of the frame that the bonded floss was anchored to. This helped to get rid of any stray fibers that might eventually clog a pump impellar and made reinsertion into the holding brackets easier. I left the bumps along the dividers of the compartments to help hold the new pieces of Poly Filter in place.
Then I took the original piece of foam used to line the back of the compartments and laid it onto the Poly Filter to use as a cutting template. I placed it in the lower left corner of the Poly Filter with one of its longer sides along the bottom. I then made a vertical cut with a pair of scissors along the shorter side. Then I moved my foam template to the lower right corner with one of its shorter sides along the bottom and made a horizontal cut along its top edge. Viola! My first filter pad!
Then I put the template back into its original position in the lower left corner and cut horizontally along its top edge. Viola!! Pad number two. And so on and so forth until I had the 4 pads that were needed. No waste whatsoever of the Poly Filter, and all of the new pads fit nice and snug.
I like this idea for a number of reasons:
1. Poly Filter is a fine product. If anyone has any other product recommendations, please share them.
2. I can change out one pad at a time on a regular shedule to help moderate any affects on water chemistry or conditions. I am estimating that if I change one every two weeks; I should be able to get about four months from the small Poly Filter pad.
3. It should be much cheaper in the long run than using the Oceanic cartridges. Which after dissection, I'd really prefer not to use. Four months of Oceanic = roughly $24 depending on the gouge factors involved at your LFS. Four months of Poly Filter = $6.99. No brainer.
4. Hey! It's my first mod ever. I haven't even widened the opening from the first compartment. And I wonder if by leaving it stock more of the water will be forced thru the filter. Hmmm....
Either way, my flow seems fine.
I hope you found this helpful. Please feel free to share thoughts, criticisms, recipes, beer recommendations, one-liners....etc.
