Box Filter: Filter floss

[Falling_Petal]

Hi people, I started using Filter floss in old fashioned corner box filter (air driven) the old style
10 gal
How often should i replace the filter floss ? or wash it ?
I have ceramic rings at bottom of the box under the filter floss
Many thanks X

 

[Fishmanic]

I would examine the floss after 2 weeks and see how dirty it is. If not too dirty you could go for 3 or 4 weeks next time you go to change it.

Is your tank cycled. You should not change the floss till the tank is cycled.

Also I would suggest adding a pc of sponge before the floss ( in direction of flow). Just rinse the sponge in tank water when it gets dirty.

 

[Falling_Petal]

I would examine the floss after 2 weeks and see how dirty it is. If not too dirty you could go for 3 or 4 weeks next time you go to change it.

Is your tank cycled. You should not change the floss till the tank is cycled.

Also I would suggest adding a pc of sponge before the floss ( in direction of flow). Just rinse the sponge in tank water when it gets dirty.

Yes my tank is cycled, i will add a piece of sponge before the filter floss thank you very much for the advice

 

[Fishmanic]

The sponge will help protect your beneficial bacterial since you will just rinse it in tank water to clean it.

 

[Falling_Petal]

The sponge will help protect your beneficial bacterial since you will just rinse it in tank water to clean it.

Just an academic question here : Should I hypothetically not use the sponge you suggested and only changed the filter floss, would my ceramic rings not hold enough bacteria when the new floss is inserted?

 

[Fishmanic]

ceramic rings may hold some BB. But at least until BB has settled onto your substrate and tank walls, I would use the sponge. I use Sponge and floss in my Marineland 200 filter.

 

[Boundava]

So...the ceramic media and if you choose to add a sponge would be where the majority of the beneficial bacteria will grow, the filter is set up to encourage it to grow in it. Any other bacteria in the tank is secondary. Also the quantity of bacteria in your tank relates directly to the amount of waste that is produced by your tank. You could have your tank full of media to promote bacterial growth however bacteria cannot grow if there isn't food to feed it so it will only grow to fill the niche needed. In case some bacteria grows on your filter floss if there's always the good backup of having the sponge and the media in there that will not be disposed of just rinse gently when needed to be cleaned. When the filter floss gets dirty you should discard it and replace it with clean filter floss. When the media and the sponge get dirty you want to clean them out preferably in tank water that you have removed or in tap water that has been conditioned to remove any chloramines or chlorines. I hate when people say

 

[FranciscoB]

There is absolutely no need to discard dirty floss. It can just been rinsed. In addition, using a combination of sponge and ceramic media is best, and they can be rinsed for years without any waste or environmental impact. Floss is an environmental disaster, which is fully avoidable!

 

[Fishmanic]

I throw out the floss and replace it in my marineland filter every 3 weeks. By then it is very gunked up and hardly worth rinsing and reusing. I also have a sponge in that filter and I rinse and squeeze it out thoroughly in tank water and reuse it. Works for me and my tank. I buy a huge 10 sq ft roll of floss for about $12 on amazon.

 

[FranciscoB]

12 bucks is only the apparent cost. To get an incomplete glimpse of its actual cost, one needs to add the actual environmental cost of producing it (which itself for now it is only apparent), plus the cost of the damage it elicits once discarded. It is virtually indestructible, not recyclable and a major pain. Just for minimum convenience?….not worth it.

 

[Colin_T]

I would put a sponge in the filter (on top of the ceramic rings) and use that instead of floss. It will last years and you will save a heap of money by not having to buy replacement floss all the time.

 

[Boundava]

Agree with Colin. The only instances I use filter floss is if the tank is very cloudy because I did something with the substrate or something else caused the tank to become very cloudy with floating debris. You usually run the filter with the floss in it for a little bit to help clarify the water. Then when the water is better you can toss the floss away. Dirty floss is hard to get clean and the chance of it adding to your nitrate load can be high if you are unable to rinse it well enough. This can happen to sponges as well, they can become nitrate factories if they become overly clogged with debris/mulm. However that doesn't happen for maybe a year or more if you don't maintain your sponges well.

 

[seangee]

No need to over think it or buy into the marketing hype. Bacteria lives on any surface. I have 4 tanks and nothing but sponge in any of them.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

I use floss to catch those tiny particles floating around in the water column, just my preference. And I only change the floss when it's chokka-block with mess...so it's hard to say when you should change it, depends on your tank and how much mess it produces. I love sponge, I have 3 lots from course to medium to fine to catch any debris, ceramic rings and other stones for bio media and then floss at the bottom

 

[GaryE]

I hadn't considered the environmental implications - I run 40 or so box filters and have various heavier layers at the bottom (lava rock, ceramic, etc), then sponge then pillow batting. It looks like I will add more sponge and phase out the batting, which I have usually changed every few months, or longer. The batting is for mechanical filtration anyway.