# Filter floss in pre-filter



## jameson_uk (31 Mar 2018)

Follow from https://www.ukaps.org/forum/index.php?threads/52299/ which I figured was a new topic.

Everything I read about filter floss says it is bad and it will clog up, affect flow and kill your filter.  What I can't figure out is whether filter floss would provide any additional benefit over a normal sponge in a pre-filter.

I have the Eheim pre-filter and have space to out in a extra section.  I am wondering whether filling this with floss would achieve anything worthwhile (an extra section is a few £ and floss appears to be pennies if you buy it in rolls so cost isn't really a factor).  I figured that even if this did get clogged then the other two sections would work just as they do now so nothing lost.


----------



## foxfish (31 Mar 2018)

Thing is you can do whatever you want 
Floss is very good at removing very fine particles & therefore clogs very quickly but, generally speaking, water clarity is not a problem in most planted tanks so floss is not needed.
Of course you can try out your idea to see if you are happy with the results.

I don't quite understand what you mean about adding another section but that also sounds like a flow killer.


----------



## jameson_uk (31 Mar 2018)

foxfish said:


> Thing is you can do whatever you want


Can you tell my wife that 
I am struggling to form an argument as to whether putting floss in a pre-filter would be any different to adding it into a canister.  I guess it would clog up quicker as in a canister you would have other mechanical filtration first but as it is far more accessible it is easy enough to replace.  I guess the issue is whether without any filtration before the floss would it just clog up in seconds and become effectively useless?



> I don't quite understand what you mean about adding another section but that also sounds like a flow killer.



The Eheim pre-filter comes with two compartments that click together.  You can add more if you want.  Can't see how making the pre-filter bigger would kill flow.


----------



## Zeus. (31 Mar 2018)

It would clog up faster in a pre filter than if used lasted in the canister.

It could clog up so fast it could massively reduce flow in prefilter. Son used it once fitted it then went away for week, came back to filter blocked and massive amounts of BBA and the rest. Tank never really recovered for him.


----------



## AverageWhiteBloke (31 Mar 2018)

It all depends on how often you want to clean it I guess. Obviously after coarser medium a lot of the bigger stuff has already been removed. Using it as a prefilter it has to grab everything so will clog quicker. In a prefilter though you can change it without pulling apart the main filter. 

If you use floss as a prefilter only the first exposed surface is going to grab everything even the small stuff so everything behind there is pretty much useless. Think of the battle of Stirling bridge where the English forces out numbered the Scottish 4 to 1 so the Scottish forces fought them on a bridge. Doesn't matter how many men you have if only the ones on the bridge can fight and at that point they are evenly matched.

Once the flow slows down due to floss in the prefilter the water gets depleted of oxygen so the main filter media is not as effective. If you have Floss as a prefilter it needs cleaned a lot. Post bigger medium the oxygenated water has ran over it before it hits the slow moving floss.

Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk


----------



## sciencefiction (31 Mar 2018)

You know, I just remembered I used to have an Eheim pre-filter and tossed it out in the bin eventually. It was clogging up way too much too fast and was messing with my filter's flow. I find a hard type coarse sponge a way better pre-filter than the "designer" ones, plus it's way easier to clean. The sponges that came with the Eheim pre-filter are also horrible soft type sponges that went bad/soft very fast and would literally clog in days. I also think the plastic plays a role in the fast clogging too.. It is also a sore to the eye as much as a rectangular sponge pre-filter...



Zeus. said:


> Son used it once fitted it then went away for week, came back to filter blocked and massive amounts of BBA and the rest.



Mine constantly clogged as well, hence I tossed it. I think the point of  a pre-filter is to filter out the bigger stuff. The fine particles are normally mulm that won't disrupt the bio-media that much. If fine particles pass through the pre-filter they also pass through all the other media as well and tend to settle at the bottom of the external rather than clogging the bio-media.


----------



## AverageWhiteBloke (1 Apr 2018)

sciencefiction said:


> It is also a sore to the eye as much as a rectangular sponge pre-filter...



Same for me, good idea in principle but couldn't handle all that going on in eye shot.


----------



## foxfish (1 Apr 2018)

AverageWhiteBloke said:


> If you use floss as a prefilter only the first exposed surface is going to grab everything even the small stuff so everything behind there is pretty much useless. Think of the battle of Stirling bridge where the English forces out numbered the Scottish 4 to 1 so the Scottish forces fought them on a bridge. Doesn't matter how many men you have if only the ones on the bridge can fight and at that point they are evenly matched.


Crikey mate, that is some analogy ....


----------



## Keith GH (2 Apr 2018)

jameson_uk

With any filtration when you have different mediums it's advisable to start off with a very course medium and the last as it is sometimes said polish the water is usually the finest to remove any fine participles still in the water.

I often changed a little a time if it was filter floss or as required if it was a eg fine sponge.    I washed all the filter medium on a monthly basis.

Keith


----------



## AverageWhiteBloke (2 Apr 2018)

foxfish said:


> Crikey mate, that is some analogy ....


Haha, I know, don't know where that came from. I was trying to think of an example of how having loads of something isn't always better unless you are getting some use out of it. It sort of fitted, I was trying to qet across the first small surface is doing all the fighting and the stuff at the back being idle. 

I do often use the analogy at work though. Soon as a project starts getting behind they'll often start shouting we need more resources. More often than not what we really need to do is work smarter and get organised. Doesn't matter if you have a thousand men if 90% of them are standing doing nothing..like Stirling Bridge.

Seemed to fit here as well, I was two thirds down the way of a nice Chianti at the time though 

Sent from my STH100-2 using Tapatalk


----------



## jameson_uk (2 Apr 2018)

The Eheim pre-filter has separate sections which each act independently (hence why if one was blocked it shouldn't make much difference).  The only way to have to have different grades would be to wrap sponges inside each other but given the size and shape this would be difficult.

I hadn't really thought about only the first bit of floss being effective and I guess this really clarifies my thinking that floss wouldn't really achieve anything in this situation.


----------



## AverageWhiteBloke (3 Apr 2018)

jameson_uk said:


> I hadn't really thought about only the first bit of floss being effective and I guess this really clarifies my thinking that floss wouldn't really achieve anything in this situation.



At least it made sense to someone


----------



## AverageWhiteBloke (3 Apr 2018)

When I use the analogy through work more manpower often isn't the answer. Get too many different trades climbing over the top of each other and it becomes counter productive. Get the right people in at the right time in the right order and you can do far more with far less....a bit like filter medium


----------

