Polishing Pads - Do You Use Them?

[WaywardSon]

Does anybody use polishing pads?

I have tried them and they work great in removing the tiny floating specs from your tank - the water gets crystal.

My only complaint is because they do crystal it up - they need changed / replaced frequently.

Any ideas??

 

[Polish]

They came with my XP1 and XP2 so I use them, tank stays Uber clean. They get filthy quick though but a quick rinse and they are good to go.

 

[Riiz]

I use bulk filter floss, its alot cheaper.

 

[WaywardSon]

I don't mind rinsing and changing them out - just concerned about opening my canister filters every week or two. I run 2 Fluval 305s on a 45 gallon tank. Won't the opening cause problems / create leaks?

 

[Riiz]

The frequency they need to be changed depends on your bio-load, feeding, etc. A canister should last many many years being opened every couple of weeks. The large sealing o-ring wont be hard to find if it does fail.

 

[WaywardSon]

If / when an O ring fails does it start as a slow leak? Hopefully?!?

 

[Riiz]

If / when an O ring fails does it start as a slow leak? Hopefully?!?

Usually, cause in most canisters, the contents are not pressurized, they are fed by gravity/siphon, so there wouldnt be anything to force the water through the seal.

 

[WaywardSon]

Thanks - how can you tell then when an O ring goes out and/or needs to be replaced?

 

[Riiz]

When you see the filter weeping and its sitting in puddle, lol.

Its also good to sit canisters in a bowl or something similar for those reasons, plus even with taps, a little water will dribble out too when servicing them.

 

[gatotsu77]

I use bulk filter floss, its alot cheaper.

Same here, I get bags of it at petsmart for something like $3.50. Inside they have a 8' x 1' strip of the stuff rolled up. I just stocked up on this stuff (3 bags) and it should last me a LONG time. As they load up, they catch even smaller particles than they once did. I had some of 'em go 2-3 months without a change. (yes, shame on me... filter flow was down to proably 65-70% of what it normally is... and I noticed the difference when I finally swapped them out, but I do my best to stay on top of water changes as my primary means of keeping the tank clean)