Red sea deco art nano filter media mod

[Jspigs]

After seeing BettaFishMommy's thread about her mod for the mini elite hob filter I had an idea. I decided to see if I could get an aquaclear 30 filter sponge that I had laying around to fit in my red sea deco art nano filter. Turns out I was able to and it was easier than I thought it would be.

I simply put the sponge in lengthwise and called it a day. No cutting required.

The sponge fits nearly perfectly in the media area. It creates a very snug fit.

There also appears to be a wet/dry effect being created by the sponge and it is visible in the last pic.

The filter is on my 2.5 gallon bamboo shrimp tank.

Pics:






Please let me know what you think of my mod.

 

[Taysius]

I did the same exact thing with mine. It's used on a 2.5 gal for one Brig snail.

 

[fishycat]

I have the Azoo palm filter, which I believe is identical to this. Did you feel the included filter media was too wimpy? I lost a betta in my 2.5g, now I'm wondering if I should be beefing up the filter media. I just moved this tank to work, and water changes would be smaller (but more frequent if needed).

 

[dundadundun]

i think you should trim just a hair from front to back to leave a small gap before the spillway. if you do that you'll be able to use the whole sponge more efficiently. the water will be able to flow through the whole thing instead of being forced to pass through the top near the spillway to exit the filter.

since the sponge already fits snug from side to side it should still stay put which is a plus.

 

[H2Ogal]

Nice mod ... and good tip from Dun! I'm looking at the Red Sea/Azoo for a 2-3 gal. betta tank, and really don't care for the bit of fluff that's included as filter media.

AC foam is pretty darned useful. Right now, I'm using it on a Penguin 100 Biowheel, on the intake and inside the filter body. Not a very precise fit but the HOB is temporary.

 

[Jspigs]

I have the Azoo palm filter, which I believe is identical to this. Did you feel the included filter media was too wimpy? I lost a betta in my 2.5g, now I'm wondering if I should be beefing up the filter media. I just moved this tank to work, and water changes would be smaller (but more frequent if needed).

I do feel the included filter media is too wimpy. I have actually modified the filter media in this filter a few times before now.

And thanks for the tip Dun.

 

[dundadundun]

no problem jspigs and thanks deborah.

EDIT: gotta give credit where credit's due. gunner got me thinking on that one, really. all this talk about zero bypass and surface area.... :cheers: gunner, hopefully things are working out over there.

 

[fishycat]

Okay, sounds like DIY-time! Hm, wonder if scissors are adequate for trimming foam...

 

[BettaFishMommy]

happy to hear i was your inspiration!

yeah, a lot of the small/nano filters these days come with absolute crud for media. the little 'sponge' cartridge that came with my mini hob was so thin, you could hold it up to your eye and still see everything pretty darn well.


scissors for cutting sponge/foam? yep, that's what i did. got the kitchen scissors out and got to snipping! actually makes less mess from sponge bits that would happen if you used a knife.

 

[DGC]

What type of foam / sponge are these, polyurethane?. i cant get the same filter mesh that came with my cascade 300, any advise