Cotton Wool

[Sambo]

I have a wet and dry trickle fitler, its an aquaone tank, can i put cotton wool in it to make of the filtration? I have actualyl done it already and seems to be doing pretty well in there. Just wanna make sure it isnt dangerous or anythin,.

 

[ox5477]

As long as the cotton is clean, shouldnt be bad, actually gives lots of crannys for bacteria to live in, just might have to worry about it getting clogged up easier than the normal filter media

 

[Sambo]

As long as the cotton is clean, shouldnt be bad, actually gives lots of crannys for bacteria to live in, just might have to worry about it getting clogged up easier than the normal filter media

ok good, it seems to do a good job its sitting in top of 2 black filter sponges, you can really see the dirt thats on it, im pretty pleased with it.

 

[MojoDex]

doesnt cotton wool have chemicals in it? not 100% but i think it does and if it does it cant be good for fish

 

[fishfishfish]

i put cotton in the bottom of my 15 gal brckish filter and when i added more sand the cotton did the trick much faster than the filter before i put the cotton in.

 

[tmack]

I'm not sure about the cotton concerning it's degradability. I assume we're talking about actual cotton and not the synthetic type of filter floss? I'm just guessing that actual cotton, being a natural fiber, might be degraded after time and end up adding to the biological load in the tank, rather than helping remove it. It's probably fine for a while but I'd be concerned about long term use if not changed frequently. Just my thoughts on this.

 

[Sambo]

I'm not sure about the cotton concerning it's degradability. I assume we're talking about actual cotton and not the synthetic type of filter floss? I'm just guessing that actual cotton, being a natural fiber, might be degraded after time and end up adding to the biological load in the tank, rather than helping remove it. It's probably fine for a while but I'd be concerned about long term use if not changed frequently. Just my thoughts on this.

It is just ordinary cotton ftom the supermarket. I was going to leave it in for a week and then take it out when cleaning the filter nad replace it with fresh cotton so it wouldnt be in there long, just 7 days until i put new cotton in. It seems to do really well, the muck goes onto the cotton and anything else is caught by 2 black filter sponges.

Interesting topic this though. I dont know if it has any chemicals, but as the person b4 said if it does it cant be good to the fish. So if anyone knows let me know.

Cheers

 

[tmack]

The cotton may be fine for all I know. Cotton is really almost pure cellulose, same as wood, and a lot of people keep wood in their tanks, so who knows? I doubt it has chemicals in it if it's the common type used for personal use & for surgical use like dressing wounds. I'm not sure what they do to cotton after it's picked - maybe wash it & clean it up a bit? I'm not sure if that would mean there would be any residual washing or bleaching chemicals in it or not. Might be best to give it a quick rinse, but I'm not sure if that's even needed. If it works and the fish are fine with it then use it!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Sambo,

You will probably find that ordinary filter floss would work better, last longer, and cost less than real cotton. The 100% polyester fiberfill can be rinsed in tank water and reused over and over again to preserve the beneficial bacteria that grows on it.

 

[fishwatcher]

I use the polyester stuffing sold for stuffing pillows, etc. It works great. Really gets the tiny stuff that the larger filter media misses. I use it in all of my tank filters.

 

[smurfyy_2k3]

filter floss is cheaper

 

[jayjay]

Hi Sambo,

You will probably find that ordinary filter floss would work better, last longer, and cost less than real cotton. The 100% polyester fiberfill can be rinsed in tank water and reused over and over again to preserve the beneficial bacteria that grows on it.

Actually, you can wash it under the tap, after all it is only the mechanical section, using the tap will make it cleaner and thus last longer. The biological media should be rinsed in old tank water, but if you have your mechanical filtration before the biological all the solid waste will be removed before getting to the biological media, so not clogging it etc. so the biological media will not to be cleaned as often. Just clean and change the floss as and when it needs doing.

 

[Sambo]

Where can i buy filter floss from? I dont think i will even bother washing the cotton wool, ill just replace it with fress cotton wool, although my girlfriend might start moaning as it is her cotton wool! lol

 

[jayjay]

LFS for filter floss, or online.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If your tank is a juwel tank, i know that they do specially made filter floss pads made to fit your filters perfectly, saving you the hassle of having to cut the floss up yourself to fit your filters .
The white filter floss stuff in my experience is not as durable as normal filter sponges, but can be cleaned over and used over and over again but it eventually knackers out- but i would say (at least in my tanks), the average life expectancy for some filter floss is around 6months depend on various factors like how much/often your clean it, how dirty it gets, how roughly you clean it etc.