Stan reveals the greatest filter media he found in 45 years and you can buy it.....

[Stan510]

ACUREL...Its a polyester not like any other brand. This stuff is very springy,almost wiry and it does a terrific job of being both a mechanical filter and your bio media filter. Use enough and you could go months without ever needing to wash it out.
I know that Pond Guru on YouTube came across some of this that was made for a canister filter and he marveled at how you could push it down- and it would pop back up. This isn't your mother's quilt batting from Walmart or the Hobby shop. It does not quickly pack down..or become a stringy wet blanket mess like cheap filter floss will. Pillow stuffing stuff quality. ACUREL is worth seeking out on the internet..its not any more expensive than other fish filter floss....just 100% better at giving you clear water.
I promise..when you touch it? You will look back and say "THAT'S what he was talking about!"

 

[Fishmanic]

So where can you buy it in bulk? ... how expensive is it? ... I buy 10 sq feet of filter floss from big al’s for less than $10. I cut pieces for my fiter boxes and replace every two weeks . It’s cheap enough to just discard it when dirty.

 

[Stan510]

I bought from LFS the typical size for $8..but I see for less on Amazon..just google it.
My point is...cheap quality filter floss isn't much better than cotton from the Aspirin bottle. Sure you can buy it loads cheaper...but if quality means something and your fish water. Acurel is it. You have to buy it,take it out and when you feel that weird springy texture..its not soft or as dense as pillow stuffing sold to aquarists. Me? I hate that crap sold in rolls. Good for nothing..I tried it..never did a good job as mechanical filter let alone biological.
It's amazing how people think that because those pads and rolls look professional- cut nice and neat to every size,they're the best for aquariums. They are not.
For another thing,I use it as my biological filter also. So I have like 18 gallons of the stuff filtering 240 gallons of aquarium. That's floss 18 gallons puffed up/but you get the idea it fills two 9 gallon filter boxes I made with pot scrubbers under it all and 900 GPH pump to move things along. If you only need it for pre filter,then I guess you won't notice much of a difference.
But I've seen many a sump with those crappy "pads"...yeah,Acurel is far better.

 

[Colin_T]

ACUREL...Its a polyester not like any other brand. This stuff is very springy,almost wiry and it does a terrific job of being both a mechanical filter and your bio media filter. Use enough and you could go months without ever needing to wash it out.

Regardless of the filter media being used, all filters should be cleaned at least once a month to remove rotting organic matter than can encourage disease outbreaks and poor water quality.

Imagine living in your house with no windows, doors, toilet, bathroom or anything. You eat and poop in the environment and have no clean air. Eventually you end up living in your own filth, which would probably be made worse by you throwing up due to the smell. You would get sick very quickly and probably die unless someone came to clean up regularly and open the place up to let in fresh air.

Fish live in their own waste. Their tank and filter is full of fish poop. The water they breath is filtered through fish poop. Cleaning filters, gravel and doing big regular water changes, removes a lot of this poop and makes the environment cleaner and healthier for the fish.

 

[Stan510]

No Colin,it doesn't work that way. Organics get broken down by bacteria..it's why we use filters and dont run pure river water 24/7. Broken down and much turns to gas. Not all,and that's why you do water changes because there is no filter that can go with no water changes..unless its something ridiculous like a 500 gallon tank with only shrimp.
And some highly efficient filters...whats the criteria? How long its does the job without being serviced My filter doesn't need to be washed out often because it's also a bio filter. Would you rinse out your bio media that often?..No.
No reason to get hostile.

 

[Fishmanic]

Colin is not being hostile...just stating his opinion and reasoning. I mostly agree with him. I rinse out my sponges every two weeks in tank water. Loads of black sludge and grime is removed but the bb still survive. I change the floss at that time and it is black and loaded with build up so it is doing a good job of filtering. and helping keep the water clear. Note that I use hang on back filters, not canister filters so perhaps they need cleaning more often than a large canister filter would need.

 

[Stan510]

That's another..sponge..that does not do much for me as a PRE FILTER...now,you take that sponge..blow it up to a gallon or more size...and guess what? You got yourself a pre and bio filter. I just think that ACUREL has so much more surface area. Only of course,you cant use floss without a container of some sort.
Like I say,its not expensive and to those who buy it..they will see how fast good guy bacteria colonize it. It took me awhile to realize I was washing it out far too often. Funny how that turned out.

 

[Fishmanic]

how much is a large roll of it?

 

[AbbeysDad]

Actually after over 50 years in the hobby I'm convinced that bio-sponge material is the best filter material...so all my filters are filled with coarse, medium, and fine sponge material. Sponge is inexpensive, cleans easily, and lasts forever and a day. Sponge material is not only an excellent mechanical filter, but also an amazing bio-media, as evidenced by the many large fish rooms using only air driven sponge filters. With one exception (a DIY bucket drip filter), I do not use polyester filter floss.
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As to organics in a filter, it's true that once organic material completely decomposes (and pollutes the water) the solids (or sludge) that's left behind is relatively inert. However, the filter typically contains a vast amount of organic material in various stages of decomposition. It's always best to service filters frequently to get this decaying material out of the system brfore it pollutes the water! Running large canister filters for months just makes them nitrate factories.

 

[Stan510]

It doesn't come in rolls FM..its what they call "Loose fiber batting with fewer gaps. Fewer gaps=better performance" on the cover. It has for me.
I know people love sponge. I never did. Floss was always the best. Interesting to see in Japan that the inside small box filter with floss has replaced the sponge. I found that when used in maximum amounts,its best to not wash out too often. Everybody's aquarium on this will vary since we have different fish,amounts of fish and the types of food. BUT,nothing changes that this is a better batting. Even pond guru on you tube agrees.
On sponge? We agree to disagree.

 

[Retired Viking]

Interesting discussion, I talked my wife into letting me have another aquarium (20 gallon long) and was thinking of having a sponge filter instead of BGF. I will have to research @Stan510 suggestion before I decide

 

[Fishmanic]

Interesting discussion, I talked my wife into letting me have another aquarium (20 gallon long) and was thinking of having a sponge filter instead of BGF. I will have to research @Stan510 suggestion before I decide

let us know how it works out for you

 

[AbbeysDad]

Interesting to see in Japan that the inside small box filter with floss has replaced the sponge.

Hardly new, really old school - box filters have used filter floss (and carbon) since the 50's/60's and when soiled, the filter floss is usually tossed and replaced. I'd rather just rinse and reuse bio-sponge material and I'd use a sponge filter before a box filter. BUT EACH TO HIS/HER OWN.

 

[Stan510]

That's part of what I meant,the Japanese are leaving sponge and going back to batting since it makes water clearer then sponge filters can do. If they wash them out or just replace? I don't know. Acurel, try it.

 

[Herpin Man]

Is this it?

Polyester Filter Fiber | Acurel