# Alternative to store bought filter pads



## mclaren880

Hi everyone,

This past spring my fiancee and i set up an african cichlid tank, with a Penguin Powerfilter 350 and a 400 as well. We went the overstocked route, and the pads are needing to be replaced a little quicker than i initially hoped. Right now it's not that terrible, but they're all still very young and small, i fear what it will be like 6 months to a year from now.

So, my question... Do you guys have any suggestions for alternative to the store bought pads? $2.50 a piece on Amazon is adding up quickly. I've heard quilt batting works? I've also heard they can lead to cotton getting all over the tank? Does anyone have any experience with something that works well?

I guess part 2 of my question is do you guys know of any filter setup that doesn't involve replaceable media? If i could get a filter that you can just rinse off and put back, that would really be idea. Does anyone know if any canister filters do this? I'm very open to a DIY filter, and building it myself if i could achieve this. 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!


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## sschreiner5

I have a Emperor 400 and I cut the filter cartridge in half, I removed the plastic part where the carbon goes and bought a roll of filter floss from my LFS and cut a piece the same size as the filter cartridge and hot glued it to the back of the cartridge (where the plastic basket part that holds the carbon used to be). I dont use carbon and rinse the filter cartridge in used tank water when I do a water change and reuse them. I've had the same filter cartridges in my filter for about 8 months now.


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## Aeten

Buy the massive filter pads they sell at Petco/Petsmart for like $6-7, then just take a rigid plastic mesh rectangle roughly the size of the filter pad and sew a piece of filter pad onto the rigid plastic mesh product with fishing line. That's how I do it anyway; and it works great for me AND my wallet *w3


Also take a garden hose or even better a pressure washer and rinse off the filter pads (bought or made yourself) and all the dirt and guck should come off for at least 10 rinses before the pad starts to wear out.


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## SueD

The AquaClear filters are great filters, so easy to use and have media (sponges, biomax, charcoal if needed to remove meds) that can just be rinsed in tank water and replaced. I don't replace any of mine.


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## hanky

Aquarium Filter Media: Drs. Foster & Smith Bio3 Filter Cartridges
here is a link to Dr. Foster and Smith they have best price on these cartridges.

I have the emperor 400 and bought these filters for years, got tired of spending so much so I went to walmart and got a bag of quilt batting for 5 bucks, been using this for about 2 years now and never had a problem with floss in the tank, just change it as it gets bad or falls apart.
Dont use garden hose or pessure washer on the filter media, you will destroy all the good bacteria, just gently rinse it out in old tank water during water changes.
Carbon is not needed unless your removing meds.
the penguin/emperor filters come with gray clamshell media holders, I fill mine with small ceramic pellets for extra bacteria surface.


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## luananeko

Quilt batting/polyfil works wonders for me, but I use a Rena Filstar XP3, not a power filter. I've never had any issues with the threads getting blown out of the filter into the tank. $6 for a big bag of batting, I fill the top half of one of my baskets with it and replace the polyfil when it gets gunky. I could rinse it clean, but that gets messy and it needs cleaning again much sooner than if I just toss it and put a fresh batch in. I still haven't even made much of a dent in my current polyfil bag after using it for the last 3 months, and that's after I stole some of the polyfil for shipping some plants to my friend.


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## mclaren880

hanky said:


> Aquarium Filter Media: Drs. Foster & Smith Bio3 Filter Cartridges
> here is a link to Dr. Foster and Smith they have best price on these cartridges.
> 
> I have the emperor 400 and bought these filters for years, got tired of spending so much so I went to walmart and got a bag of quilt batting for 5 bucks, been using this for about 2 years now and never had a problem with floss in the tank, just change it as it gets bad or falls apart.
> Dont use garden hose or pessure washer on the filter media, you will destroy all the good bacteria, just gently rinse it out in old tank water during water changes.
> Carbon is not needed unless your removing meds.
> the penguin/emperor filters come with gray clamshell media holders, I fill mine with small ceramic pellets for extra bacteria surface.


So when you take the batting out of the bag, how do you get it nicely fit on your filter cartridge? Or do you do it that way?


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## hanky

You want to get quilt batting instead of just fiber fill, the batting is already shaped in like a sheet, so all you have to do is cut it with scissors to the size of your cartridge holder, then put it in between the frame just like a cartridge, you can use it single layer or double, I do single layer.


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## mclaren880

hanky said:


> You want to get quilt batting instead of just fiber fill, the batting is already shaped in like a sheet, so all you have to do is cut it with scissors to the size of your cartridge holder, then put it in between the frame just like a cartridge, you can use it single layer or double, I do single layer.


Easy enough! Thanks a bunch! Also, how do you find they work compared to the normal filters that you buy from the manufacturer? Do you find that it still has the "polishing" effect?


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## Auban

i a maxijet 400 powerhead with a coke bottle fitted to it. i stuff the coke bottle with felt pads from the walmart, they seem to hold up for quite a while and have a nice polishing affect. 

this is where i got the idea: DIY water bottle power filter for aquariums - YouTube


for the finest of particles in the water, i have have had a lot of success with magic erasers. i stuff them in the bottle pretty tight. they arent exactly cheap, but they can be rinsed and reused any time you need to polish the water.


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## hanky

not sure what you mean by polishing, I dont see a difference in water clarity, you could always double it up for extra filter. pick some up and try it for a few months worst thing is your out 5-6 bucks.


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## mclaren880

Thanks everyone! This weekend i'm going to get on it. This is such a ridiculously cheap way to do it. Swapping out those filters at $2.50 a pop, when the filter uses 2 at a time, was getting pricey!

Thanks again for all your help!


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## wet_and_wild

On the off chance you do need to use charcoal, get the bulk stuff from the aquarium supply store, put a small amount in a piece of tied pantyhose, rinse thoroughly, and set inside the filter. When I was doing this and rinsed it out after using, I lightly crunched the charcoal with my hands to expose fresh surfaces on the pieces.


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