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Polyether vs Polyester/polyethylene foam filters (minor rant)

Colin111 said:
I was thinking aquarium sealant if necessary with a thin bead around the perimeter and a zigzag across the middle. You'd lose minimal surface area.
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Think off plastic push in rivets
http://www.essentracomponents.com/en-gb/fasteners/rivets/push-in-rivets/push-in-rivets-fir-tree

You can use a small piece of plastic tube with a rivet at each end.. The tube obviously to create the proper width you need.. A set of 5 and place them as a number 5 on the dice in/on the mat could be sufficient to hold 2 sheats firmly together.. 🙂

Or instead
http://www.jetpress.com/Products.aspx/dlqqvgdtuk/PlasticRivetsExtenderPiece/

http://www.jetpress.com/Products.aspx/pcqgfvqb19/PlasticRivets-RatchetType/
 
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With a proviso/reminder that there is NOTHING magical about Poret branded foam, it is just standard polyether foam with an inflated price tag! Please refer to my earlier posts re 'Poret' vs polyether vs polyethylene

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hamburg-...hash=item5b507d20fe:m:mXnmT6kWWVdygC_UfEg70jQ

This envobee-shrimp eBay store is stocking 'Poret' foam, which at the very least suggests it's actually polyether. For convenience it might be worth considering the extra expense of these pre-cut products. I have no affiliation with this store, I'm just pleased to see that it is at least available in a recognisable form in the UK without punters having to do a deep dive to identify decent quality foam.

Personally I'm a bit torn because while I want to support this awareness and understanding in the hobby, so we can stop the 'throwaway' mentality that comes with polyethylene sponge filters, this particular store is not great either in terms of pricing or the owner's attempts to game the eBay search engine, for e.g. applying Hamburg-Matten to a filter that clearly isn't that design in the link above. Depending on your use case you're almost certainly better off buying a large sheet of polyether from someone who isn't selling specifically for the aquarium hobby and cutting it up yourself. But for some it might be worth the extra few quid to have it arrive ready to go.
 
I'd really like to do an entire back wall, with a powerhead or two, but finding a sheet of sufficient size is troublesome- as mentioned 50x50cm is the largest I can find (e.g. https://www.shrimpcorner.co.uk/home/sponge-sheet-poret-foam-black.html)

Attaching more than one sheet together to make up the width seems unlikely, but I have wondered about using a couple of larger foam blocks either side to ensure a tight fit. Tank I have in mind is 80cm, so I could use a pair or 15cm blocks with the longer sheet wedged inbetween. Does that sound reasonable do you think? That said, I also wondered if there was a way to 'sew' sheets together end to end.

The other thing I've always wondered is about the proximity of the heater to the foam - I'm presuming that even should one malfunction and get stuck on, there's no risk of melting/burning/unpleasantness?
 
MWood said:
I'd really like to do an entire back wall, with a powerhead or two, but finding a sheet of sufficient size is troublesome- as mentioned 50x50cm is the largest I can find (e.g. https://www.shrimpcorner.co.uk/home/sponge-sheet-poret-foam-black.html)

Attaching more than one sheet together to make up the width seems unlikely, but I have wondered about using a couple of larger foam blocks either side to ensure a tight fit. Tank I have in mind is 80cm, so I could use a pair or 15cm blocks with the longer sheet wedged inbetween. Does that sound reasonable do you think? That said, I also wondered if there was a way to 'sew' sheets together end to end.

The other thing I've always wondered is about the proximity of the heater to the foam - I'm presuming that even should one malfunction and get stuck on, there's no risk of melting/burning/unpleasantness?
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Taking the last question first, I believe there are heaters available that have a PCB design that effectively ensures they fail by not working, rather than working constantly. Also a bloke I know in the USA who runs a lot (typical of the American hobby) of large tanks (100+ USG) had a disastrous heater failure that cooked his fish and so now runs several smaller wattage heaters per tank stating that, say three x 100W heaters will do identical work to one 300W heater but do much less harm should one of them fail and stay on.
I'm about to cut some of my foam down to retrofit my sponge filters and I will have some off cuts to experiment with regarding heat. I can't promise anything very scientific, but I will certainly attempt to find out more.
I think you could sew polyether blocks together with nylon thread or fishing line as its tough stuff. I also think you could skewer it together with something like a knitting needle or plastic rod. As you say the compression applied gently across the length by the sides of the tank will do most of the work of holding it in place and you'd just need to stop if bulging. Skewering it with rods would also make servicing it much easier years down the line.
That said, you might want to contact some of the german aquaristik suppliers online to see if they can supply the length you need - ironically a lot of this stuff is actually made in the UK and merely processed (cut and branded as Poret) in Germany, which is why I've always found it annoying that its relatively hard to come by. My disabled partner has recently employed a lovely lady carer who's fluent in German and I'd already planned to subvert her skills, but I can't promise when.
cheers
Julian
 
Edvet said:
Pondshops sell 100x50 cm here https://www.nikoi.nl/vijverproducten/filtermaterialen-vijver/filterschuim-vijver-filtermaterialen
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Aha! That looks pretty perfect, though spending €50 on a piece of foam does make me wince a little. I take it these are pretty rigid and won't need any major support in the tank? Was thinking about using some channel of one kind or another to keep the substrate out but otherwise just cutting it slightly large and jamming it in, with the water movement and powerheads affixed to the back pane holding it steady...
 
MWood said:
Aha! That looks pretty perfect, though spending €50 on a piece of foam does make me wince a little. I take it these are pretty rigid and won't need any major support in the tank? Was thinking about using some channel of one kind or another to keep the substrate out but otherwise just cutting it slightly large and jamming it in, with the water movement and powerheads affixed to the back pane holding it steady...
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Apologies, just realised this was covered just a few messages previously!
 
What are people’s thoughts on flow with HMFs? I suspect a high turnover/low flow is desirable, but may be wrong!

Specifically, I’m wondering if 2x 400lph Newa maxi jets will suffice on a 32” HMF, with a distance of 18” front to back. Want decent circulation for the plants, without it being excessive for the fish, whilst also being optimal for the filter. I could use a larger model and turn it down, but would rather not use the extra electricity if I don’t need to.

Cheers
 
MWood said:
What are people’s thoughts on flow with HMFs? I suspect a high turnover/low flow is desirable, but may be wrong!

Specifically, I’m wondering if 2x 400lph Newa maxi jets will suffice on a 32” HMF, with a distance of 18” front to back. Want decent circulation for the plants, without it being excessive for the fish, whilst also being optimal for the filter. I could use a larger model and turn it down, but would rather not use the extra electricity if I don’t need to.

Cheers
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The sponge will kinda block the current.Its not that high honestly its really more for lower maintenance due to more surface area so you clean it less often and also not visible because its black.Not to forget biological filtration as well.External filters are still the best if u have the budget and need the flow.
 
I don't think it will be a problem in a planted tank, because most bacterial activity will be on the plants and it's rootsystem. Only in higher tech you want to have a 'cleaner' tank, so i guess this will colide with the lower maintenance, longer stand time of the HMF, which might increase the "load" of the filter. If you manage to make it so you can change it out/clean easily there should be no problem.
 
Ended up getting some foam from this eBay seller if anyone is looking for a UK source of larger sheets. Now just need to get a piece of acrylic cut to use as a substrate retainer, will probably fabricate something which will do this but also mean I can take the HMF in and out if required. Do wish I'd gone for a wider tank than 45cm, as the foam and powerheads take up a good 12 of that.
 
If you want to see some more In depth videos on these. I would highly recommend having a look at flip aquatics. Their entire fish house is run on these filters.

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
 
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