Matten filter

[OscarRomeoFiveTwo]

Found this YT video on how to build a matten filter...looks like an awesome. Anyone tried these?

 

[MaloK]

@Ceez and @TwoTankAmin have experience with them.

 

[Boundava]

Yes I have had a matten filter and they are great. Had one set up on my 125 with a water pump vs air pump and had no issues with my cycle.
Had some of the tower/jet filters from Swiss Tropicals when I had over 40 tanks hooked up to my central air system in our last house too. Those are fantastic sponge filtration as well, offering mechanical and biological in one.
I did eventually break matten sponge down as it clogged up on me shortly after I moved here. I had added a lot of plecos to this tank and upped the bioload considerably.
I have an FX6 and FX4 on the tank right now.

 

[OscarRomeoFiveTwo]

I am going to have a go at using one for a small fry tank. Looking at pictures of them all the tanks are bare bottom, Can you use them with substrate? Would you need a divider/separator so the substrate is not directly against the sponge, like perspex/glass/pvc pipe along the floor of the tank

 

[Boundava]

I am going to have a go at using one for a small fry tank. Looking at pictures of them all the tanks are bare bottom, Can you use them with substrate? Would you need a divider/separator so the substrate is not directly against the sponge, like perspex/glass/pvc pipe along the floor of the tank

So the matten filter that I had set up for the 125 gallon tank came with glass framing because I had a corner matten filter. I had to silicone the glass strips into the tank and allowed the silicone to cure while the tank was empty. Once the glass had cured and was secured to the tank I was able to put the matten filter in behind the glass braces prior to putting substrate in.
This was my personal choice as I did not want substrate behind the corner matten, I also did not want the sponge sitting on top of substrate so that any fish that could burrow through my sand was able to get stuck behind the filter. Again this was my personal choice. Matten filters do not need to be cleaned often, but you do need to keep that in mind when you're setting one up. So plan on the best way for you to be able to remove that say 6 to 12 months down the line, depending on the bio load of your tank.
So to answer your question it's up to you whether you want it to be sitting on top of the substrate or on the bottom of the tank. Just keep in mind that one is easier for cleanup in the future or the other one is a little bit more difficult as you're going to have to move the substrate when you clean the filter. I hope that answered your question in a roundabout kind of way.

 

[OscarRomeoFiveTwo]

So the matten filter that I had set up for the 125 gallon tank came with glass framing because I had a corner matten filter. I had to silicone the glass strips into the tank and allowed the silicone to cure while the tank was empty. Once the glass had cured and was secured to the tank I was able to put the matten filter in behind the glass braces prior to putting substrate in.
This was my personal choice as I did not want substrate behind the corner matten, I also did not want the sponge sitting on top of substrate so that any fish that could burrow through my sand was able to get stuck behind the filter. Again this was my personal choice. Matten filters do not need to be cleaned often, but you do need to keep that in mind when you're setting one up. So plan on the best way for you to be able to remove that say 6 to 12 months down the line, depending on the bio load of your tank.
So to answer your question it's up to you whether you want it to be sitting on top of the substrate or on the bottom of the tank. Just keep in mind that one is easier for cleanup in the future or the other one is a little bit more difficult as you're going to have to move the substrate when you clean the filter. I hope that answered your question in a roundabout kind of way.

That completely answers my question haha. I was thinking about the ease of removing it with soil and having to move it aside to have the filter flush with the bottom or having it sit on the top, which I thought would make it less effective as some water would get pulled under the pad?? And would be messy cleaning as you said

 

[Ceez]

The footprint for good bacteria is so much bigger with a matten.

You can hide your heater and any other media you want to put behind the matten.

You can have substrate up against the matten and you don't have to remove the substrate to clean it. You can use a spatula and pull the substrate away from the matten and than remove it you don't have to remove the substrate.

When you do water changes you siphon out the silt behind the matten and than on the fish side you can run your siphon over the front of the matten and than do a quick substrate run. If you use your siphon in this manner you won't have to remove the matten for years.

There are a few ways to make your own PVC lifters. I wouldn't advise using the method in your video. It will move water sure but there are a few ways to improve the lifter and make it push a lot more water.

if you don't want to be bothered building one yourself you can order everything from swisstropicals. He has the poret foam, the jetlifters and all.


the other thing is you need a quality air pump. More air volume means it's gonna work correctly. You want solid flow so it's pulling water through the matten otherwise what's the point?

One last suggestion. I wouldn't go above 30ppi foam and preferably 20ppi. The lower the number the more coarse the foam is, the higher the more dense. It won't clog nearly as quick and if you vac the foam off during your water changes you won't have to take it out for years to come.

Good luck