Floss v fine sponge

[Country joe]

Happy Xmas all, I've decided to clean my Fluval 107 every 2 months. I've been told the bottom tray that holds the fluval black sponge should either have floss or a fine sponge on top, I'm sure the floss would improve water clarity, but would the fine sponge also, as I'm only going to clean every couple of months would the fine sponge be a better idea.
Only going for 2 months as I cleaned it after 1 month, and sponges were not to bad, so two months would be better.

 

[MattW]

Floss catches finer particles which is great for water clarity. However if your tank is dirty often it will clog faster than a fine sponge, which can be an issue if maintenance isn't done often (reduced flow rate for example). I only really use floss on new tank startups, and then after 2-3 weeks, I switch to a fine sponge.

 

[JohnnyReb]

Happy Xmas all, I've decided to clean my Fluval 107 every 2 months. I've been told the bottom tray that holds the fluval black sponge should either have floss or a fine sponge on top, I'm sure the floss would improve water clarity, but would the fine sponge also, as I'm only going to clean every couple of months would the fine sponge be a better idea.
Only going for 2 months as I cleaned it after 1 month, and sponges were not to bad, so two months would be better.

Floss as you call it is the same as a water polisher. Only it can get the finer particles.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I had 3 canisters running for years but now am down to just 2 as I have reduced my tanks numbers by almost 50%. I have only ever cleaned my canisters (all Eheim Pro IIs) every 6 months. I set up the 3rd one, which is still running with 100% 20 ppi Poret foam as the media. This filter is only cleaned when the return flow slows noticeably. I have had this filter running for close to a decade and am getting ready to do only the second cleaning.

The order of media in filtration matters. The one exception would be a sponge filter which is a single unit. For canisters, power filters and even sumps the order of media should always be the coarsest 1st and the finest last in terms of how the water flows through the system. I do not quite do this in my power filters. These are almost 100% Aquaclears and they all get the same media load, two foams with a floss in between. For the 100% Poret loaded canister I still have to use the final floss pad as without it the set-up design is defeated. The top plate atop the media will not be at the needed height.

I clean the power filters weekly. The foams get swished in a bucket of tank water and the floss gets replaced. Floss can be rinsed but with the 20+ tanks at my peak I determined it was easier and worth the cost to just replace floss. If one does not clean or replace floss it will clog fast and this can be a very bad thing. The bacteria mist have all they need delivered to them. This is done by the passing of tank water though the media. if the media clogs, the water and the nutrients is carries are not being delivered to the bacteria.

I also use pre-filters on all my intakes This should be a coarse media as it is intended to catch the bigger pieces of material which prevents them from getting into the media inside the filter. It is important when using pre-filters that they never be allowed to clog. This means I rinse them weekly to be safe. I do not use fine pore foam in any of my filters. I do use it in fry or shrimp tanks which are the exception and not the rule. But floss will clog faster than almost any foam.

 

[plebian]

With proper biofiltration, no floss is needed for crystal clear water. The problem is that most filters, canister or otherwise, don't hold adequate filter media (30 ppi foam is ideal). If you purchase a large enough filter to hold the necessary media, you end up with too much flow. When I was using canisters I had to use spray bars to reduce flow to an acceptable rate. I reverted back to UGFs for this reason (not to mention greater reliability, and reduced maintenance and cost) even though I had to fabricate my own.

Of course, the amount of filter media you require depends on stocking levels, but almost everyone overstocks, so...

 

[TwoTankAmin]

To avoid needing floss I have found that I need to use Hamburg Mattenfilters. They are the only filter I have used that keeps water clearer than using floss and/or a Micron filter for mechanical filtration.

I use spraybars with canisters but I also jury rig them on other things, H.O.T. Magnums are a perfect example. Running these with a micron filter really polishes water. It is even possible to add a bit of diatomaceous earth to them and that really gets the water clear.

The amount of media one needs depends on the quality of that media. I find using Poret foam works really well. So I have it in a canister, many of my powerfilters and as most of my "sponge" filters. https://www.swisstropicals.com/library/swisstropicals-poret-foam/