Japanese filter mat... this stuff is wonderful, why isn't it more popular, or more widely available???

[Magnum Man]

I got some for a hard to service hang on back filter... shhhh... it was recommended... it's coarser than 30 pore sponge, maybe coarser than 20 pore... it's a bugger to work with... this is my 2nd Tidal 75, I set up like this, with 2 layers of coarse foam, on the bottom, and an assembled "block" of Japanese mat, in the place of the pumice stones, the filter comes with, the block is 3 inches, by 4 inches by 8 inches, and I feel it's a vast improvement... anyone else play with this stuff??? if not, why???

this is what I bought...

https://www.amazon.com/CNZ-Japanese-Filter-Premium-Filters/dp/B08T4V7FM5/ref=mp_s_a_1_27?crid=2JIGK6R558IM9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bzsE00Iv7bHJ53PF2TZwUsuthpmTC-r8eHo-uojyc15qLPsSwwKuGtDvi8IL3Gv72590ivysz3IacNC294tBAGIKdPzOUh4F0nGsQXXN15sqfPuw95_cBK4DZEjiK2SvIaUMEyaVjeMti3BI43EdByml5vXE0-vh70Mi4FlmBNAZVgWBFwbRg-FRSHAYJgLqgvJf-W-TL8a8b2sFl00Iyg.zg7Q_aZ3duh-VfaaWXOVZvGE6nsHNq-5laFiK19a0uk&dib_tag=se&keywords=japan+mat+aquarium&qid=1743817417&sprefix=japan+mat+aquarium%2Caps%2C170&sr=8-27&xpid=vEAk5C_CrSpiC

 

[GaryE]

I've used it for years. At one point, in Montreal, we had a large aquarium store that had terrible cheap sickly fish, but the best DIY gear and cheapest good quality equipment I've ever seen. If you wanted to invent, that was the place to go. They took a big risk and were bringing in Chinese manufactured filters and other equipment when people were convinced the US brands were better. Consumers didn't realize they were made in China too. I got brilliant equipment from them, including some no name HOBS still running 20 years later.

I found Japanese filter matting there and liked the look of it, and its recycled nature. Every non air driven filter I have has that stuff in it.

It is murder to cut, and could only appeal to DIY oriented people. Most aquarists waste money on filter inserts, pushed by an industry that painted itself into a corner. The quality of an aquaclear HOB reached the point where you bought one, and it ran for 15-20 years with no problem. That wasn't ensuring the sellers any ongoing revenue stream, so all the manufacturers had to 'devolve' their offerings and make them lower quality, slot insert machines that keep you buying replacement media.

Japanese filter media will outlast anyone who buys it. So it will never be marketed hard, and will never be in pet stores.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

@Magnum Man thanks for finding this. I've been looking into modding my HOB. I was thinking of some 30 ppi foam but this might be better. My only issues is this is 1.5 inches thick, I will have to cut it so it's an inch thick.

 

[Magnum Man]

I did that, the picture is a piece of 2 inch, and one I split, to an inch, laid next to the 2 inch to get me the 3 inchs

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I don't have access to a band saw but I imagine a good long, sharp knife could cut this. Like a slice of bread .

 

[MaloK]

From the research I could make I have not found any better reasons to use it compared to quality reticulated polyurethane sponges. Other than durability.

Filtration capability and surface area provided is outstanding for both products.

But the Sponges (even if imo, lasts nearly forever) are going to wear a lot faster.

In an aquarium it might not be as much a problematic factor compared to your beautiful 300 years old familial pond where you dont want to replace your media forever.

It's difficult to work for a perfect fit and find it way overkill for setups that will last less than a century.

 

[MaloK]

I don't have access to a band saw but I imagine a good long, sharp knife could cut this. Like a slice of bread .

tell us how that goes.

 

[GaryE]

Heavy scissors worked here. You don't cut the inch pieces, but jam the blade in and cut it in increments, maybe a quarter inch.
For a while, the muscle beside my thumb was ripped. and I could have become a hand model. Muscle tone? It was great. I could have planted a bicep sized tattoo on my right hand.

 

[anewbie]

How does it compare to high quality sponge with regards to ease of cleaning, longevity and effectivness ?

 

[GaryE]

It lasts forever - a downside except that it's made from recycled plastic already. Archaeologists will find this stuff thousands of years from now and wonder what we were doing.

It rinses very easily as mulm gets trapped. But a sponge does trap more. It's a tangle of fibres, not a uniformly porous sponge.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I'm running sponge prefileters on my HOB, so mulm on the Japanese filter mats shouldn't be that big of an issue.

 

[MattW]

I used it in my old paludarium. Was great at getting clogged quickly with wood mulm

 

[Alice B]

Aquascape's smallest "biofalls" pond filter has that kind of mat. I usually just get 2 inches filter mat for the ponds I service, don't know where to get that in bulk. I suspect my 2 inch is about the same filtration quality

 

[MaloK]

Atm I have the best results with 20 ppi prefilter followed by 30 ppi filter and a mechanical one at 45+ ppi at the end.

I clean the 45 every 1-2 weeks and the others lasted 8 months before their first maintenance and I expect to turnaround 6 month when broken in. So it's not that bad compared to to the standard config that filter suggest, that was forced to be maintained at about a week max to every couple days on heavy bioload.

One important factor is that your media must not block everything in one pass and plug, instead it must be filling slowly without restriction and trap particles that rubs the wall while having still large passage for more.

Most standard sponges delivered with new filter are a little too much oriented toward finer mechanical filtration to offer more surface area, but, but... They clog a lot faster, they keep the water cleaner.

So in my mind I would have put the Bushido mat in front of the 30 ppi sponge since it's a lot coarser.

Was great at getting clogged quickly with wood mulm

So I'm not sure If I would want to put it first now. I use a lots of botanical and they all create that same kind of mulm.

 

[MattW]

So I'm not sure If I would want to put it first now. I use a lots of botanical and they all create that same kind of mulm.

It didn't help that I had such a small filtration compartment on that paludarium, which clogged easily. That entire back wall was a mixture of a spider wood stump + branches and spray foam. Which as you can imagine got dirty very quickly in a small tank. One of the worst decisons I've made regarding a setup's filtration and equipment.