For Oase biomoster owners

[Country joe]

Hi I have the biomaster 350 and on the prefilter have always used the orange 30 ppi I've recently watched a you tube video where the presenter starts of using the orange 30 ppi, then when the aquarium settles down he switches to the 45 ppi, sponges do any of you use the 45 ppi sponges, do you find they keep the filter cleaner, and do they affect the flow?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am a big user of pre-filters. I have them on almost everything which includes powerheads. I will only use 10 or 20 ppi foam as anything else is actually detrimental because of how fast it will clog. the last thing one wants to do is to limit the intake side of pumps etc. The slowing should always be done on the output end.

The role of a pre-filter is to stop the bigger sized pieces from going into the filter not the smaller stuff. I also use a lot of foam filters and I think that out of all my Matten and cubefilters I have just 2 that are 3x3x3 inch 30 ppi cubefilters. These go with fry and shrimp. 20 ppi is what I consider the ideal porosity as it offers large spaces for bacteria to colonize but also doesn't clog too rapidly. A pre-filter is not usually what one wants to have as their primary bio-filtration living space.

Ideally the pre-filter would be 10 ppi and then the foam inside a filters would be 20 ppi and if there are several layer then only the final one might be 30 ppi. I consider it important that the foam does not clog quickly and thus need to be cleaned more often. If we allow the media to gets clogged, it stops working properly. If the water is not reaching the bio-film where the nitrifiers live, they will either die off or, at best, go dormant.

I suggest you have a read here Aquarium Biofiltration

 

[Aquatopia]

I have two of the Oase BioMaster 2 600 Thermo filters and I switched to the 45 PPI sponges on both of them.

The idea with these filters is that you want the prefilter to catch the majority of the detritus so that your main filter does not get as dirty as quickly as it would otherwise.

The only issue with using the 45 PPI sponges is that you have to clean them regularly. I clean mine every week when I do a water change. They don't get too dirty and definitely not clogged.

If you aren't willing to clean them every week then don't go for the 45 PPI sponges, stick to the coarser sponges. You will have to clean out the main body of your filter more though. I'd rather clean the prefilter more often and not the main filter.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am a big fan of Poret foam which is sold exclusively in the states by Dr. Stephan Tanner owner of Swiss Tropicals. He sells foam from 10 to 45 ppi. here is what her states re prefilters:

Q: can Poret® be used as a pre-filter or strainer?
A: yes, 10 or 20 PPI foam cartridges fit over the usual plastic strainers on filter and sump inlets, or bulkheads. By covering the strainer with foam, fry don’t go down the drain or larger particles are not sucked into the filters and clog them prematurely.

You can read a lot more on the topic of Poret foam here: https://www.swisstropicals.com/faq/

I have one of my Eheim Pro II 2026 canisters filled 100% with 20ppi Poret foam. I did this at the suggestion of Dr. Tanner. I normally clean my canisters every 6 months. I asked Stephan when I should clean that canister. He told me when I notice the return flow had clear;y s;lowed. Thta took close to 4 years. It has been about 4 years since then and I am considering cleaning it again.

I replaced all my ATI sponge filters with which I rinsed weekly with Poret cubefilters. I rinse them monthly. I almost never clean my Poret Mattenfilters which are all 20 ppi. I have been replacing the foams in my AquaClears with Poret as well.

I have no interest in Swiss Tropicals and make nothing for voicing my opinion on Poret. I use it because it works really well and last a really long time. I have yet to replace any of it and i started using it more than a dozen years ago

 

[Country joe]

I did look into replacing the Oase sponges with poret But it would mean some fancy cutting as the oase sponges are a funny shape. I contacted poret and they said the couldn't deal directly with me in the UK. The only place selling them was on Ebay, but how genuine poret they were who knows.

 

[Country joe]

I am a big fan of Poret foam which is sold exclusively in the states by Dr. Stephan Tanner owner of Swiss Tropicals. He sells foam from 10 to 45 ppi. here is what her states re prefilters:



You can read a lot more on the topic of Poret foam here: https://www.swisstropicals.com/faq/

I have one of my Eheim Pro II 2026 canisters filled 100% with 20ppi Poret foam. I did this at the suggestion of Dr. Tanner. I normally clean my canisters every 6 months. I asked Stephan when I should clean that canister. He told me when I notice the return flow had clear;y s;lowed. Thta took close to 4 years. It has been about 4 years since then and I am considering cleaning it again.

I replaced all my ATI sponge filters with which I rinsed weekly with Poret cubefilters. I rinse them monthly. I almost never clean my Poret Mattenfilters which are all 20 ppi. I have been replacing the foams in my AquaClears with Poret as well.

I have no interest in Swiss Tropicals and make nothing for voicing my opinion on Poret. I use it because it works really well and last a really long time. I have yet to replace any of it and i started using it more than a dozen years ago

It said on an Internet post that Oase have used poret foam on their pond filters i wonder if they use it on their aquarium filters, as it looks good.