temporary diatom filter

[tropicfishman]

ok, diatom filters are expensive which makes me want one lol I havea brand new still in the box aquatech 20-40 power filter, I was thinking about getting a mesh bag like 100 micron and filling with its diatace powder and letting it run a couple of hours to polish the tank, do you guys think this willwork since it will only be a temporairly used item?

 

[JeffreyL]

diatom

A cautious maybe. I am not sure a HOB filter can force the water through bag of diatomaceous (or however the heck you spell it) earth. It is pretty 'dense' stuff. One thing you might want to do is put some diatom powder in the mesh bag and see if it leaks powder. Say run water thru it. Even 100 micron mesh may not be small enough. If it works, give it a try in the filter. Watch it close though. The bag may float up or the filter might spill over. If it does work ........ cool!!!!!

 

[newfound77951]

I doubt it will work. Most likely the water will go around the bag of powder, since most HOBs aren't closed systems and don't produce much pressure, and the water will naturally take the path of least resistance. Also, I'm not sure 100 micron mesh will hold all of the powder, either, and if it doesn't, you'll have a mess in your tank (harmless, but still a mess). The filter bag on most diatom filters looks almost solid, similar to Tyvek, which is impervious to water except under high pressure, when it becomes a very efficient filter.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Won't work. The diatom powder is around a few microns, and will only get all over the tank. If you put in a 100 micron bag, you are looking for a disaster.

 

[tropicfishman]

dang I was hoping I was on to a good idea lol