Odyssea CFS 500 Can-filter review and circumference modification

I think you should reconsider becasue when your talking about fine filtration your talking thin layer 1/2 inch not thick 3 inches like the sponge. the outside of the polishing batting will capture allot of fine particles but once inundated will pass dirt onto the the thicker sponge, its job to absorb the dirt not stop it where colonized bacteria can do there job. Take a good look at my 365 day old FX5 circumference batting's and sponges, note how the sponges continues to absorb the dirt after the polyester has been saturated. In essence the sponge is porous to hold and retain the dirt and bacteria while cleaned water continues to pass through, this is what you want. Too fine a sponge that thick and it will clog and stop water flow after the 1st inch of penetration. If the fine sponge was a thin outer layer like the Mag 250 fine blue sponge it would work. Thick layers on a circumference filter need to be porous to work right.

There is allot that can be overhauled and redesigned we both know that. But for me having "been there and done that" on other machines. Now in my old and wise age I want to utilize what is already there to the greatest extent possible so that the Mod and DIY is fairly simple, and besides the engineers who build these machines usually have it 80-90% right already. Make too drastic a mod and your defeated the purpose of taking something cheap and making it a little better. But hay if your young and full of curiosity, on the contrary and by all means go for it, I always did when I was young and it really taught me allot about machines and how the work.

taksan said:

What have you done there? Inserted another layer of polyfilter that looks to be wrapped the outside of the FX5 pads in the baskets ???
Those FX5 pads fit fairly tight don't they?

Click to expand...

Yes thats poly-batting in front of the sponges and yes it works great for polishing, and the sponges are tight but only at the basket blade points but that goes without saying.

Hay Iv said it before and Ill say it again. I have collected 6 over the past 2 years and they do have some awful, terrible, disgusting, and regrettable points. They awful quiet, terribly powerful (900 GPH), awful efficient, disgustingly cheap, and mostly regrettably not operated correctly by some.
:rofl:

Update

Well I have the CSF500 hooked up to a new CL 60 acrylic I picked up for $10 that I am cycling for my sister's autistic son. The actual cycling is being done by my seasoned Sunsun 302 I pulled off my 100 Oscar tank along with half a dozen feeder fish to accelerate the process. Also a piece of sun dried Mesquite wood as I have noticed that new wood in its fungus stage detoxifies nitrates for a few months, how this works I not sure but I believe that in the first few month the log bark is deteriorated by a different bacteria that causes denitrification. Anyway back to topic you can see the CSF500 under that tank and it runs very silent, primed easily with just filling with water where the bottom submerged motor in insta-primed and does the rest. The CSF500 really makes a visible current of water in the tank and you can feel the strong out-flow through its huge 1" inside-diameter nozzle, by comparison my Sunsun's small 3/8 inch diameter out-flow nozzle felt weak by comparison. The out-flow so strong on the CSF500 I had to remove the spray nozzle to lower the pressure and point the outflow at the panel. Even so I had some sand excavated sand off the bottom the next morning. I tell you one thing, the CSF500 has allot more outflow then either my Sunsun or my Magnum 350's.

Here is the funny true story, the sand I used was left over from a my 210 tank project and had previously rinsed and boiled months ago and stored a large pot in the garage. Apparently my 2 cats had been using it as a letterbox on occasion as there were only a few cat turds in there and easily removed. However the sand also had the telltale smell of dehydrated cat urine. Since the sand was otherwise clean I couldent imaging how cat ammonia would hurt and thought theoretically it should help. Well the tank was pretty cloudy so I hooked up the CSF500 first before the Sunsun and after 12 hours the tank was sparkling clear which means the circumference sponge and primarily the poly-batting outer layer is doing a great job. I think the CSF500 is going to make a very good primary filter for tanks 125 to 150 gallons IF modified. It seems to me to be the combination of the large 300 square inch circumference design mod which is easy to do with a pair of scissors, and the extraordinary high flow due mostly to its bottom submerged motor design which pumps water rather then draw water like lid top dry prime motors. Anyway unless there are unforeseen issues about the CSF500 that havent occurred yet, so far I think CSF500 has taken top place above the Sunsun as my most "all around" effective, easy to clean, affordable, and powerful, clone circumference design filter available. For the price if modified, I really think its a winner and knocks the ball out of the park.

PS- the stand you see is not the stand I will be giving my nephew as it is being refinished. The stand you see below is modified furniture. Notice my weak attempt to duplicate matching center legs, but I think once matched stained they will look OK.