Filter hack 101

[Jeremy c]

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. If you don't know this already here is a big money saver for you. Go to your local super store and buy a roll of 100 percent polyester with no additives.it may cost you 6 to 10 us dollars. It replaces your floss In Your filter. You can even fold it to work on your hang on back filters.

 

[Dajuyu]

Polyester ?

I use norm sponges cut outs .. easy to squeze when its clogged with debri

 

[Colin_T]

Polyester ?

sold in Australia as Dacron. It's an acrylic wool substitute and is regularly used as filter wool in aquariums. You can buy it in sheets or as wadding for pillows.

 

[Essjay]

To be on the safe side, check that it doesn't contain fire retardant chemicals. Many 'pillow stuffing' types do.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

My assistant doesn't seem to be very good at doing cutouts I''ve started leaving a "sample" cutout and he makes 3 more from that - but they are pretty sad looking. In the last week we also started cycling a new tank using a canister filer and I finally made a big grid showing each day and what needs to be done. He only comes in once or twice a week so he can't do too much damage, but has done some - I wish he'd come get me before he touches anything. Im bad enough at messing up things, We use this foam that has more open holes on one side and the other side filters the finer particles.

I have multiple Dr appts each week. Right now it's my eyes- my now deceased husband and I had both had cataracts so he treated us on the same day - which was kind of fun. I drove us home because my vision was the best. After each cataract removal we would go back and have something else done. Well I had a scheduling conflict that day and scheduled for a month later. Sadly I had to cancel that appointment because my husband had taken a very bad fall on ice (that shouldn't have been there and burst a blood vessel in his brain, he was sort of ok for a few hours but was unable to stand or move by 8 that night. Called 911 and followed him down there after packing his cell phone and personal items. By the time I arrived he couldn't hardly talk and had lost control of his left side, most of of his speech and had to be placed in restraints so he wouldn't pull his IV's out and stomach tube. I was horrible but he was on 3 blood thinners and that made the bleeding worse. He still recognized me and said he was afraid of dying. A few days later (on the day of my cataract appointment) we took him off of life support so I cancelled the final appointment and didn't get back with them for 2 yrs and by then the scar tissue was so thick in my eye they were both blurry. So I'm having more surgery. plus my back is "out" and I'm getting about 30 more shots in my spinal cord for pain relief. At the same time I'm making RO/DI water for my first saltwater/reef tank and cycling another tank. Soon I'll be moving fish around in different tanks. Sorry for the sad stuff but my husband was 10 yrs older than me and had so many medical problems - that he and I both were surprised he had not died earlier. I was also on disability very young due to advanced stage COPD, Asthma and exposure to a number of chemicals when in Graduate school - so without both our incomes I couldn't keep the house and would need a lot more help around the house. It was recommended to me to file a lawsuit against the dealership since that ice should not have been where they parked our car (to get it out of the way from another car) or he wouldn't have fallen. We came to a fairly sizable settlement for me (not like millions or anything but enough to help me live comfortably when/ if I have to go to a nursing home - so even in death he managed to take care of me - bless his heart. I just miss him terribly.

So I'm thinking I should get a different assistant. My first assistant was super intelligent but she worked full time and had two daughters she was raising so her schedule with me became very crazy - and even she became crazy briefly and admitted herself to a psychiatric facility for a couple of weeks. So she just wasn't very reliable - right now i have her doing some landscaping around my duplex. There are some bulbs and rose bushes planted but they've all gotten out of control. But by letting her do the landscaping she can work as her hours permit and she's almost done so I can pay her; other than the money there is no pressure for her to get it done by a certain time. She also got a less stressful job as a bartender her ex-husband moved back in and she can run her girls around to school and day care, then pick him up from work and drop off him and the kids at home while she goes to her new job, I really hope this works - she's very outgoing and funny and has been a bartender before so it shouldn't be too hard to get back into things. Another BIG problem is that neither one of our assistants will get vaccinated and come up with all sorts of crazy stories about the horror of the vaccine. Even though I will wear a mask when I'm home I have to spray it down with lysol when they leave and hope I don't get a breakout case. I have a poor immune system so they need to see if I even developed antibodies with the first two shots. My palliative care doctor says to "keep these people out of your house" but I can't do all this by myself - I'm not strong enough to do many water changes and right now I have 5 aquariums (soon to be 4) . I'm changing the small tanks for the bettas, while I have my assistant change to large tanks. One of the three is cycling right now so that's minimal work for me, but after it's cycled it will be his tank to work with as I retire another tank because it gets expensive paying him to clean a lot of tanks. WHAT A MESS. At least the fish keep me busy - and I just adore them.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Around here (USA) you just go to WM and buy a bag of Original Polyfil. Inexpensive and works great.

 

[jimwg]

Around here (USA) you just go to WM and buy a bag of Original Polyfil. Inexpensive and works great.

Yes me too.