Use of Poly Pads

[fio1022]

I started using Poly Pads a few weeks ago.I don't know why just figured it could only help water quality.I have it wrapped around a carbon container inside a canister filter.Filter is only used for add'l flow and to run carbon.
I'm getting ready to do some maintenance and don't know how long they last or when to change out.It is supposed to turn from white to green to brown then black.
It has only turning slightly brown because its been in so long.
Can I just hose it off and reuse it. or toss it and use a new one.
Should I bother to continue using it-Don't see any noticable changes.
Any information on the subject appreciated.

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

salutations, fio1022, re-use the poly pad a few times before you throw it out and exchange to a new one, these pads are re-usable for approximately three to four times. after about the fourth rinsing exchange it for a new one. hope this helps you a bit, Happy Holiday's!

 

[fio1022]

Thanks for the reply,
I was wondering since the poly pad did not change color,does that mean that it is not pulling anything out of the water?
The reason I was going to rinse it was so it would not go biological and release nitrates.
Does the pad need to change color before it is exhausted or should it be changed after month or so.
Thanks

 

[Agu]

If you use it to remove certain chemicals it's supposed to change colors. For example it's supposed to turn green if you're removing copper. Since I've never used copper I have no first hand experience though.

My experience is that it turns brown from crud. I've often wondered if there's any definitive way to determine if it's used up ?

That said I use it upon occasion if I'm having problems, like when all my snails and flatworms died suddenly and unexpectedly :mixed: .

Regarding the cleaning us ro/di water. Otherwise you're using up it's adsorbing capacity to clean the tap water.

 

[bingoreefer42]

I assume that you're referring to PolyFilter Pads? I use these constantly, and I take them out from time to time and rinse them under hot water. This does _not_ remove anything that the pads have absorbed, as their magic lies in their ability to chemically bind with nasties. Once this happens, the nasties are forever part of the pad. By rinsing I remove any accumulated gunk that would interfere with the source water reaching the filter material. I toss them after about a month of use. Not the cheapest form of filtration, but certainly worth it I believe. I use them in the hope (??) that they absorb any of the real nasty things that should not be in a reef, period, like heavy metals of the copper kind.

 

[FunkieReefJunkie]

I always take some tank water and swish them out a few times to remove the detritus, then rinse them in RO/DI water... otherwise you'll introduce chlorine and what have you. I emailed PolyFilter a long while back trying to get them at lower cost and I was told I could extend the life by soaking them in fresh water.

 

[fio1022]

I guess my real question is,if it doesn't change color is it still good?And if it doesn't color does that mean that there are not any phosphates or other nasties present in my water?

 

[FunkieReefJunkie]

I think the problem here is the issue is not black and white. Notice the remark on pH. They use this stuff in medical applications where the concern is greater than fish poop. I think it would be easy to assume to just junk it by trying to gauge it by how it looks alone. And that would be a bad idea. Probably a waste of money.

 

[RandyStacyE]

Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve used polyfill sheet wrapped around an expired ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œfilter coreââ"šÂ¬Ã‚, then put my DIY filter inside of a water filter canister. This will mechanically filter your water just fine, but you have to be careful not to leave it in too long. Thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s why I switched to filter socks whenever I want to mechanically filter the system.

http://www.randystacye.com/diy_canister_filter.htm

 

[finding nemo]

Randy. Love your site and that drop down to view your site is cool.
I have a question.
You are talking about poly sheets.
Are they just polyester sheets? Cut to fit?
Or are they something special for fish tanks?
What is the density of these? Can you see thru them or are they really tight woven.
Any closeups of these would be apreciated.

 

[RandyStacyE]

finding nemo,

I appreciate your comments. The site is a work in progress, itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s very basic but Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m learning. The ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œpoly-fill sheet materialââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ is what people use when making quilts. They use it as like padding inside the quilts. Some people use this material on a raised tray in their sumps for some mechanical filtration. Their overflow simply dumps water onto the filter material. Poly-fill is quite coarse but works very well when wrapped around a few times on a filter core.

Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll take a close-up pic and put it on my site and let ya know with itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s uploaded. On that site it does say you can use poly-fill or felt, I prefer poly-fill since felt is very fine and will clog quicker.

 

[finding nemo]

HI Randy, great. I will give it a try, I was wondering if it would work in my aquaclear filters and not clog so fast is why I was asking about the weave of it.
I will watch for the pictures and thanks for the information.
Now a question, how did you get the black bar with the pages to drop down as you scroll down on your site? THat is the coolest thing.
I have a web page also, click the little red house.
karen

 

[RandyStacyE]

finding nemo,

My site's menue was created using "All Web Menus Pro 4.0"

It's a very user friently software.

 

[RandyStacyE]

That poly-fill is likely something to just try and see if you like it. It's really cheap. If you want more filtration just use more. I cecked and can't find any in the house, looks like it may be a while before I upload any pics.

 

[finding nemo]

Thanks Randy, will check into it, how is it compared to the filter media that is blue on one side and white on the other? I have a whole case of that and use it on every tank.

 

[RandyStacyE]

I'm not sure. I look at the fist store and see these $6.00 replacement filters and think do people really buy these? I just buy a huge bag of poly-fill sheet and never looked at replacement filters again. I'm sure that that blue stuff is nice but in the long run I'm sure plenty of money would be saved using poly-fill sheet.

I've even seen filter material that has some black crud on it that's supposed to be carbon, what will they think of next.