# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Water polishing



## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Looking through some results here from a search I did, I found an idea about adding floss to a filter rather than using the micron cartridges for 'polishing.' Ekim was talking about trying it out.

My question is: I have an aquaclear with 2 sponges. I have small particulates in the water that never seem to go away. If I was to add some floss to the ac do you think it would help? I don't want to buy a micron filter unit. Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.

Bert.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Looking through some results here from a search I did, I found an idea about adding floss to a filter rather than using the micron cartridges for 'polishing.' Ekim was talking about trying it out.

My question is: I have an aquaclear with 2 sponges. I have small particulates in the water that never seem to go away. If I was to add some floss to the ac do you think it would help? I don't want to buy a micron filter unit. Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.

Bert.


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## gsmollin (Feb 3, 2003)

Adding filter floss to an AC is dangerous because if the floss loads up with detritus and humps up in the filter, and the water strikes the lid of the AC, it can cause a leak down the back of the filter. I have had this happen, and it's a real mess. I do use a stack of bonded filter pads under one sponge in the AC. This does not give what I consider to be "water polishing", since there is a bypass in the sponge. It does seem to work better than an AC with sponges-only, and with the filter pads trapped under one sponge, there is no chance of a piece of floss getting loose.


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

Every time I see the title to this thread it makes me chuckle. Water Polishing. Sounds like some punishment a Drill Instructor would give to a stupid recruit. Kind of like digging square holes in the dry sand.

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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I had never heard of this term until I started reading these types of boards. I know what you mean though. I just couldn't come up with a short descriptor for what I was asking.









BTW, I had e-mailed Hagen and asked them the same question. They replied saying that using floss in the bottom should work fine for what I wanted. Now I have to make sure my CO2 doesn't cause the floss to push up, since I do add my CO2 to the filter intake.

Bert.


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## Ptahkeem (Feb 16, 2004)

hey bert
you mentioned that you add your co2 to the filter intake. does the filter get noisy from doing this? also ive been using filter floss on my ac and it seems to work fine although i do have to clean the filter often due to debris clogging up the filter floss.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

ptahkeem,

It doesn't sound any different with or without the co2. It has a slight rattle on its own which gets quieter if I remove the lid, but I don't like to run it without the lid.

Bert.


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

OK, I'm kinda lost (newbie). What is filter floss. Can someone post a link for me.

TIA

------------------------------
http://www.geocities.com/kfh227- go there and see my future fish section to see what I have planned for my next 100+ gallon tank.
Note: I havn't maintained the site lately.


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## gsmollin (Feb 3, 2003)

Filter floss is polyester fiber fill. It's used to stuff pillows and stuffed toys. I buy it from my LFS in big bags. WalMart has it cheaper, but I can't vouch for the purity.

I use it in the Magnum 350 and get fine water polishing, almost the equal of the micron cartridge, and much cheaper and easier. After the flow gets cut in half, just pull it out (yuck!) and throw it away.

In the Aqua Clear, there is no media container to restrain thr floss. As it gets loaded with dirt, and the back pressure goes up, the pump will tend to push it back in the media chamber. It can then hump-up in the center. The freeboard in the AC is very small, and if the humped-up floss gets close to the lid, water will strike the lid. The water flows back to the joint between the lid and the housing, and water tension pulls it through the lid joint, and it drips down the back of the filter.

If you use floss, be sure it is in the lower position, and put a sponge over it to trap the floss in position. I use bonded filter pads, cut to size. They are a bit more expensive, and have to be squeezed out, like the sponge, but I'm afraid to put floss in that filter after such a mess.


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