What are you using as Filter Floss/Pad

[MMM33732]

Whats everyone who uses a type of filter floss or pad using? for the past year I've been using a blue and white roll that I believe is actually used for furnaces. It works good at catching detritus and anything else, but not sure if it had been contributing to algae growth. It get changed weekly, but I'm unsure of the chemical makeup of the media. So what are you using?

 

[KafudaFish]

pillow stuffing material from the craft department at walmart.

Large bag runs $4.

 

[cloak]

I use those foam pads that come with the Aquaclear 200 powerfilters. I'll stack up 3 of them in my overflow when I need to polish the water for a few hours.

 

[seapug]

I personally avoid any type of pads or floss in my system primarily for maintenance simplicity and microfauna preservation. The skimmer and refugium settle out/remove most of the detritus and a carbon reactor is used to clarify the water. Any detritus that accumulates in the sump chambers is periodically siphoned out. Apart from that, I try to let the pods have free run of the entire system.

 

[dublo8]

post #2^exactly. works really well and you get about 10x the amount for less than half the cost of "aquarium" filter floss. I used acrylic rods between one of my sump partitions to hold filter material for water polishing. I only use it for a night and take it out the next day. I usually use the blue filter pad material cut to size and floss on top.

 

[RenoR1]

I don't use anything but a skimmer, loads of rock, and sand. Tank is very happy. Agreed with above. I want my pods to be freeeee!

 

[Agu]

I used to avoid using filter media for the reasons posted above.

However the surface protein slicks just got too bad so I made a couple of surface skimmers and use polyester batting from a craft store. There's regular batting and non flammable batting. I use the regular just in case the non flammable might have some kind of chemical treatment hazardous to my tanks. It costs a few bucks for a huge roll that'll last me a couple of years even though I change the pads at least a couple of times a week.

The pads are checked for worms, pods and mini stars before they're thrown away.

 

[The Velvet Sea]

My new tank will use filter socks on an as needed basis.

My previous system used filter floss. It was mandatory due to a system design flaw, otherwise micro bubbles were a problem in the display. I bought rolls of polyester floss from an air conditioning supply store. A long time ago they used to sell me floss that was blue and white, but nowadays it is just white. It is the best value floss I could find, even better than the pillow stuffing sold at walmart and easier to use. Considering the more often you change the floss the better, I could change it a few times a week and it was still a good deal.

 

[billdogg]

not a darn thing

 

[chris88]

I use HBH filter pads. They come in carbon, phosphate, and plain. I can say with confidence that they work awesome and to prove any disbelievers I could take a picture of the pads after only three days. The stuff they pull out is incredible. I have a spot in my sump for them so they fit perfectly. I still have tons of pods in my display but I doubt I have any phytoplankton in there because they will pull out dertrius and other small organisms if they get sucked down the overflow.

 

[Dino]

pillow stuffing material from the craft department at walmart.

Large bag runs $4.

^This .

Mom's hobby is cross-stitch and pillows. There is always a bag or two of pillow stuffing around the house that works perfectly.

 

[Rybren]

For the folks using the Wally-World material:

All the stuff that I can find says Mold/Mildew resistant on it. I'm hesitant to use it in case it contains something that could harm the bacteria population in the system. What, if anything, does it say on the packaging for the stuff that you're using?

 

[Dino]

I just looked, this is the exact bag of stuff I have now

No mentions at all of being mold/mildew resistant. Only real mention of anything is on the kind of warning/certification tag printed on it says it meets flammability standards which I wouldn't be surprised if there is ANY pillow stuffing you can buy that isn't flame-retardant (keeps people from burning their houses down with their cigarettes in bed).

 

[sirreal63]

I personally avoid any type of pads or floss in my system primarily for maintenance simplicity and microfauna preservation. The skimmer and refugium settle out/remove most of the detritus and a carbon reactor is used to clarify the water. Any detritus that accumulates in the sump chambers is periodically siphoned out. Apart from that, I try to let the pods have free run of the entire system.

100% agreement! The microfauna you cannot see is actually food, I prefer to not remove that. I use my low flow to the sump as a method of detrius collection, where it gets siphoned out with water changes. Mechanical filtration is simply not needed unless you are starting up a new tank and have a milky sand storm to clear.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

I use big black 2x4x12" foam blocks, one on top of the other.
The level in my sump varies between 5-8" deep each day from evaporation that my ATO replaces daily.
Over the 17 years my tank has been running the amount of detritus these foam blocks has removed is unbelieveable. If I had to guess I would say it is probably a minimum of 50 pounds and maybe as much as 100 pounds.
The drain from my fuge bypasses these (letting pods go directly to the DT) and I rarely find an amphipod or mini star stuck to them which I pluck and throw in the DT where it is devoured before it reaches the bottom.
People that use no mechanical filtration and never vacuum or stir their sand bed, I can hear your tanks ticking from here.

 

[Rybren]

Thanks Cody. I'll keep looking.

 

[scubasteve06]

The only type of pad or floss filter I use is a poly filter I have placed in between the baffle from my skimmer section to the return pump section.

 

[The Velvet Sea]

This is the floss I use. These big rolls cost me about 8 bucks at the A/C supply store. That is 40 square feet of floss. The blue and white is how it used to come. My new rolls are pure white. Simple reef safe polyester material.

 

[wickedfish]

Definitely notice a lot of good guys being trapped and dyeing or getting entangled, when I use ^^^^this. I have a new box what else is it good for???? Don't use this anymore.

 

[The Velvet Sea]

You can always use it for your air filter in your home if you have central air / heat. That is the intended purpose.