Discoloured Filter Foam - Safe To Use?

[fergalthefish]

i bought some fluval foam filter pads from ebay but they are yellow in colour instead of the normal white and very discoloured - does anyone think they'll be ok to use still?

 

[Rooster]

Yea they'll be fine - make sure you wash them well in TAP water first, then rinse in old tank water and youre good to go !

I took to making my own white pads for my cannisters because of the rediculous prices charged for a bit of foam !

 

[fergalthefish]

how do you make your own? and what with? hmmmm... sounds interesting!!

 

[Rooster]

Goto a habedashers (sp?) ie a place that sells materiel for dressmaking, and ask for "wadding" 99p a metre or so makes over a dozen filter pads

 

[fergalthefish]

ok thanks i'll give it a go. i'm all for saving money!!

 

[fergalthefish]

do u use it in conjunction with foam pads or on its own? doesnt it get extremely soggy? how often would i have to change it??

 

[Rooster]

It comes in a few thicknesses, the one I get is EXACTLY the same as the Eheim white pad... I just use a saucer to cut them out (well, scissors - but you get the idea) and yes, it does go soggy and limp...
I only "clean" the filter when output drops conciderably.... probably 3 months or so, then I rinse the media and blue (coarse) pad in a bucket of tanks water - and replace the white pad with a new one.

 

[fergalthefish]

so it would be ok with a fluval 3+ filter then do you think??
sorry to keep asking and thanks for replying Rooster!!

 

[Rooster]

Not too sure what the "+" media is like... I have an old Fluval 3, and it uses a foam cylinder... which lasts YEARS ! and is only £4 for 2, so I doubt you would want to cut any corners if its the same in the +.

My Eheim canister uses a coarse foam disc (similar to the fluval in density) which is resuable, then ceramic media - topped of with a fine white disc to capture smaller particles.... its this one that I use the wadding for, as because of its fine mesh, tends to get very clogged.

I suppose in theory you could use the wadding in a fluval the same as mine, because its ALL down to surface area... but as mentioned above, the real sponge is so cheap !