Cotton Wool As Filter Media?

[JasonandJill]

Hi all. When I bought my set up the cannister filter had what looks like cotton wool on the top layer. I know it isn't but it got me wondering, could cotton wool be used, or is there some other cheaper alternative i could use???

 

[fluttermoth]

That is filter floss. You can't use cotton wool; it would clog far too quickly, but you can buy big rolls of filter floss for ponds on ebay that last for ages. Just cut off what you need

 

[JasonandJill]

Thanks for that, i'll look it up.

 

[england]

The cheaper way is filter floss,shop around tou can find the stuff as cheap as chips,i got a massive box at my lfs for a quid,still got it now three years on..

 

[Timmy_Bee]

howq often do people changes their filter floss?
I hadn't used it before, but i inherited some from someone who has given up on the hobby, and it had been in my filter 2 weeks so when i did my weekend water change, i gave it a bit of a clean (yes, in old tank water). Im assuming this is OK, or do people replace it more often?
Im planning to keep it until its so clogged up that my filter isn't pumping out enough to disturb the water enough

 

[roadmaster]

I use the cheap polyester (sp) batting that folks use to fill pillows. Can find it at walmart and it's only bout five U.S. dollars for a big bag of it.
I replaced the fine filter pad in my eheim 2217 with this and it works great.
I only service the filter about every three months and when I do,, I simply throw away the old polyester and stuff some new in the filter.