To floss or not to floss...

[SunnyHouTX]

Please post on if you run your Eheim 2260 or 2262 canisters with floss or just with bio media only. If you run only bio media, please post if you noticed a difference in water clarity after you quit using floss and what your maintenance interval is like compared to running with and without floss. Thanks guys and gals.

[myjohnson]

If you like a clean looking tank and like to clean filters....keep floss.

I don't keep floss in any of my canisters anymore, but I pay the price for it. My water does not look as clear.

[Totenkampf]

I use the tray type canisters now but still stuff them like I did the classics. I don't use floss or that mech cylinder pre filter garbage. Just layers of coarse pads in between substrat pro. The larger particulates don't seem to channel through as much and maintenance is easier than floss.

[SunnyHouTX]

Thanks Thai and Jeff.

I have 4ply floss under the drip tray in my wet/drys so that helps clear some of the particulates to a level I can tolerate. I'm just wondering if running the canisters with bio media only will help with a heavy bio load, given the extra media and increased flow. Thoughts?

Jeff, where can you get this course pad you mentioned?

[HERM]

I vote no floss , just cause I open my canister as least amount of times as possible . I also don't keep the clarity I would like .

[eklikewhoa]

I usually stuff my stand with filtration so it makes cleaning a bit tedious, I vote no floss...

My wet/dry is the only mechanical filter but I normally run some sort of filtration off it that also polishes. No problems so far.

[Kiko]

i do my eheim 2217 the same as toten... i load it with efhisubstrat, purigen bag, and put a coarse sponge at the top so the impellor wont get messed up by sand and stuff... city pets have the big ply sponges... idk if it'll be large enough but to can buy 2 and just cut 2 halves... oo and my eheim 2217 are hard to get to thats why i do this... lol

[aggrofishkeeper]

I put polyester pillow stuffing into my canisters.

It's $4 for a 20oz bag at walmart.


Probably hard to beat as far as bio and mech filtration for the price.

I'd probably put a gallon or 2 of Seachem Matrix/Pond in for good measure.

[Totenkampf]

Jeff, where can you get this course pad you mentioned?

i used to cut down the coarse sponges from other canisters for the classic style eheim but I know marineland sells a coarse pad at the big box stores:

http://www.petco.com/product/5539/Marineland-Bonded-Filter-Pads.aspx

they work pretty well as a cross between the sponge and floss but dont clean up like a true sponge.

the poret filter stuff looks really promising too and would probably be great for your large canister and you can buy it if different grades:

http://www.swisstropicals.com/Poret%20Filter%20Foam.html

http://www.swisstropicals.com/Poret%20Filter%20Foam%20Pricelist.html

i would like to mention that i have always done my canisters this way because i have planted tanks with smaller fish so i dont ever use wet/dry other than biowheels on shrimp tanks where i am not injecting CO2. if you are running a wet/dry with this that has sufficient capacity for your bioload then it may make sense to just run mechanical / purigen in the canister. I have been thinking about swapping the eheim 2028 on my 75 with a magnum 350 so i can get a high flow mechanical filter plus a place to put the purigen bags until i buy a TLF Reactor. That way I can use all the trays in the eheim 2075 for substrat pro and less filter pads.

[SunnyHouTX]

Thanks for all your replies guys.

@Jeff: This is for the setup in my 280 tank. I have a about 40x 6" - 7" fish and Bailey (12"), being fed 4 - 6 times a day, that create a huge bioload in there. Filtration is 2x 2262/1264 canisters and a wet/dry with a Mag 18 return. Right now, the canisters are filled top to bottom with biomedia and the wet/dry has about 16 gallons of bioballs in it. I have 4ply of floss/quilt batting over the bioballs (under drip tray) in the wet/dry for mechanical. This set up has been running for about 6 - 7 weeks now and the water is clearing up more and more, but with the reconfiguration of that one canister this week, it did get cloudy again. My goal is to handle the canisters as little as possible and have them as biomedia only. Just wondering if there's other ppl who do this.

BTW, my canisters are filled with this media:



One of the biggest reasons is to reduce weight so it's easier on my back when it comes time to service the canisters.

[Totenkampf]

well some of that poret foam may be right up your alley then! i am eventually going to try some too, so i can be all german and stuff. thats a far easier way than attacking poland.

[sunkenmetal]

well some of that poret foam may be right up your alley then! i am eventually going to try some too, so i can be all german and stuff. thats a far easier way than attacking poland.

I want to try the same thing :)

[SunnyHouTX]

well some of that poret foam may be right up your alley then! i am eventually going to try some too, so i can be all german and stuff. thats a far easier way than attacking poland.

Let me know when you want to order from Swiss Tropicals and I'll join in.

In the meantime, I'll have some sauerkraut to up my sense of Deutschheit.

[sunkenmetal]

Let me know when you want to order from Swiss Tropicals and I'll join in.

In the meantime, I'll have some sauerkraut to up my sense of Deutschheit.

Get some Dachshunds lol

[SunnyHouTX]

It takes a little longer to get them "plate ready"