Foam filter material - like Aquaclear filters - for Eheim Pro
Bob Alston
Aquaclear filters - for use in my Eheim Pro in place of the white foam pad
Eheim sells for $$$. This foam I believe is called "open cell, reticulated
foam" and probably has a size of 20 pores per inch or 30 pores per inch.
Found a source of such at 20 pores per inch. Not sure if that is fine
enough. Source is:
groups.google.com/groups?q=1%2...k+foam+is+true+*fish+grade&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF
-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=35b069dd.74383538%40192.0.0.1&rnum=1
Also found a great source of bulk 75 foot roll of what appears to be
polyester filter material - $16 incl shipping:
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...;category=20758
--
Bob Alston
bobalston9 AT aol DOT com
NetMax
"Bob Alston" <bobal...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:k2Tnb.97055$Ms2.16244@fed1read03...
Just a suggestion. Pick up some Aquaclear foam and cut to size. The
foam blocks used on the AC500 are quite large. Cut in half
(horizontally), might give you the thickness you want. With the two
halves, you might get the canister diameter you need by trimming them
into 2 half-circles. There is no disadvantage to having 2 half-circles
instead of one complete circle, especially if you clean alternate pieces
to maintain some bacterial redundancy.
Another alternative is to check if a Fluval foam would fit. The older
models used a complete diameter disk (shape commonly found on the Eheim).
Another possibility is Fluval foam inserts (cut to match your
measurements, similar to AC500, but thinner).
Other alternatives are the square floss material sold in the LFS (not as
long a life), or using an unknown chemical composition foam block found
in an art/hardware store (which would be living very dangerously, given
the toxicity of the fungicides which are being commonly used in plastic
products).
There are many areas to save money in aquarium supplies (lighting,
substrates, rockwork etc) and IMHO, filtration media is not one of those
areas. Given that it's a re-useable material (I have foam blocks which
are over 20 years old), you might want to avoid the non-aquarium
products. JMO
NetMax
Tin-Tin
Bob Alston wrote:
> Looking for sources of DIY reusuable foam - similar to that used in
> Aquaclear filters - for use in my Eheim Pro in place of the white foam pad
> Eheim sells for $$$.
-You can get a huge bag of multiuse filtration foam for just
2$. You can put some in a powerfilter, you can use it in corner filters
and in peat diffusers (peat and foam filter) etc... Get that. Filter
foam that was not intended for aquarium use will not do.
Tin-Tin
JIA
years, it is a large piece of open cell foam, 2 fold with the size of
approx. 1"x10"X20", HomeDepot sells them for several $ a piece.
I have them in all my filters, I even use them as my wet/dry filter media,
make sure you chose the basic pad, not the one with fungicide.
"Bob Alston" <bobal...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:k2Tnb.97055$Ms2.16244@fed1read03...
Bob Alston
What do you mean by "2 fold"?
Thanks very much!!!
--
Bob Alston
bobalston9 AT aol DOT com
"JIA" <don...@nortelnetworks.com> wrote in message
news:bnp264$12qivh$1...@ID-209495.news.uni-berlin.de...
JIA
The pad has two layers of 1"X10"X20" open cell foam.
"Bob Alston" <bobal...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:J9Unb.97063$Ms2.67077@fed1read03...
Bob Alston
reusable. They seem more like 'polyester batting' - Use once then toss.
Now the blue foam is indestructable - but has large pores. Hopefully the
material you recommend will prove to be small enough pores to act as the
final filter - like the Eheim white pad.
I will get some today!
Thank you so much for the info. I have surfed the web for hours trying to
find out the answer. You answered my usenet post quickly!
--
Bob Alston
bobalston9 AT aol DOT com
"JIA" <don...@nortelnetworks.com> wrote in message
news:bnp37f$14h7su$1...@ID-209495.news.uni-berlin.de...
Bob Alston
--
Bob Alston
bobalston9 AT aol DOT com
"Bob Alston" <bobal...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:TlUnb.97065$Ms2.29719@fed1read03...
Paul
>in an art/hardware store (which would be living very dangerously, given
>the toxicity of the fungicides which are being commonly used in plastic
>products).
>
Hi Max, I have been using some foam that is sold at a craft store which is
designed for use in chair cussions, I didn't think about the fungicide
problem. I have had this in my filter for about 3 weeks, and the fish seem
unaffected.given that my fish are quite healthy, do you think this means
that it is now safe? or could I have further problems down the track?
NetMax
"Paul" <pa...@gooboo.com> wrote in message
news:bnpo59$iil$1...@mws-stat-syd.cdn.telstra.com.au...
What symptoms would low level fungicide poisoning exhibit? ... a
persistent fin rot, low egg count, fry mortality, loss of appetite or
coloration etc.....? With all the variables in the delicate equilibrium
of an aquatic environment, there is a significant value in being able to
reduce the number of variables we need to deal with.
Floss & foams used for pillow/cushin stuffing could conceivably be
sprayed with an anti-bacterial/fungal coating. There are also such a
variety of chemicals used to whiten, clean, sterilize and make materials
inert after the manufacturing processes, that I would be leery of putting
them in my aquarium water. As an example, the white floss used to stuff
pillows, sold by Dupont is mildew resistance = fungicide = death to fish
at sufficient concentrations.
Quote "are primarily used in seat cushions, back pillows, mattresses,
decorative and throw pillows, and hand-stuffed custom upholstery. DuPont
Dacron® clusters have superior loft and retention, and unlike natural
fibres, are hypo-allergenic, non-absorbent, and mildew-resistant"
unquote, found here:
http://www.dupont.com/fiberfill/about/dacron-story2.html
Even if you find out that it's non-toxic, the manufacturer is under no
obligation to keep to a non-toxic (when submerged in water) recipe, nor
are the craft store buyers constrained from changing supply lines, as
lower quotes come up on these commodity items. Unless it's designated
for aquarium use, there is some risk to weigh against the savings
(*sigh*, fungicides and anti-bacterial potions).
I'm just forwarding this for general interest. Note that it would be
almost impossible (and very frustrating) to diagnose and treat fish which
were suffering from low level fungicide poisoning.
NetMax
Bob Alston
"Open pore, reticulated" foam material to use in place of the white
polyester pad normally used in the Eheim Pro II canister filter.
http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/BuklFilterMedia.htm
--
Bob Alston
bobalston9 AT aol DOT com
"Bob Alston" <bobal...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:ELWnb.97437$Ms2.15279@fed1read03...
Frankrkay
>Looking for sources of DIY reusuable foam
I have been using upholstry foam for 40 years......Frank
Gordon James
I bought a 10 year supply from wallmart about 6 years ago (1/2 gone , for
close to 1800 gallons of aquariums and decorative ponds.)
"Paul" <pa...@gooboo.com> wrote in message
news:bnpo59$iil$1...@mws-stat-syd.cdn.telstra.com.au...
Gordon James
they dry quickly when not in the filter.
"NetMax" <comput...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:kk9ob.4500$Nm6.2...@news20.bellglobal.com...
NetMax
> Thought you might be interested in my preliminary results from my
search for
> "Open pore, reticulated" foam material to use in place of the white
> polyester pad normally used in the Eheim Pro II canister filter.
>
> http://members.cox.net/tulsaalstons/BuklFilterMedia.htm
>
> --
> Bob Alston
Thanks for the link. Now if I remember correctly.... If you are dealing
with large wholesalers or manufacturers, there is a document called a C
of C (certificate of compliance) which accompanies processed materials.
It's basically the recipe (or certifies compliance to a spec sheet which
should also be available), and if the manufacturer changes the recipe, a
new C of C is issued. Any companies operating under ISO quality
specifications is mandated to have a system of C of C traceability. If
any fungicides were being used, it would (should) be indicated. The C of
C is usually a single page document which is routinely faxed back and
forth to buyers and engineers. If you were contemplating a bulk purchase
(ie: fish club), this might be worth asking about.
NetMax
James Thompson
"> Bummer. Couldn't find this either at Home Depot or Lowe's.
>
> --
use in pond filters.