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Poly-fil in a HOB filter


FLFishChik
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On 12/24/2022 at 8:36 AM, FLFishChik said:

So, I don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner, but I’ve been reading about other hobbyists putting poly-fil in their HOB filters. I have sponges and media rings in there now.., where would I place the poly-fil- in between?

Prefilter goes into the sponges, course to fine, then your filter floss or polyfil, then your ceramic media or other biological filtration, then your chemical media.

After 3-5 days you'd expect to see it dirty, but you can basically run it for 7-14 days without much fuss. Keep an eye on bypass and the filter not flowing when you're first learning how to use it.

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I use Poly-Fil in all my HOBs and box filters. It's my preferred mechanical filtration method. I use only it and ceramic media. I'll put it on top the ceramics. Depending on the tank, it can fill and need to be replaced quickly, or it can last a couple weeks. 

Edited by tolstoy21
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Reinforcing comments above re order of media. Coarse sponge at the bottom, with filter floss or poly-fil on top of that. Then ceramic media on top of the poly-fil. This removes as much coarse and fine detritus before the water gets to the ceramic or bio rings, so that it can do the leg work of housing lots of bb without getting clogged up. 

In terms of maintenance, I look for signs of bypass or significantly reduced flow/performance from the filter as my indicator of when it’s time to do maintenance. The coarse sponge and ceramic rings get a thorough rinse and are re-used, the filter floss gets discarded and replaced. Unless I need seeded media for another tank.

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