So I have seen all of the youtube videos about how to make a filter baffle for a hang on back (HOB) filter using a water bottle.
However as I am sure some of you have come to realize that design has some drawbacks like that it looks tacked on and clunky, it can get in the way of a lid for the aquarium and in my case it kept interfering with the bio wheel on my filters.
so I made mine differently
I used: a fairly course sponge (Imagitarium replacement sponge), and some loctite waterproof superglue with cyanoacrylate
But any waterproof superglue with cyanoacrylate in it should be aquarium safe.
Step 1) cut off a piece of your sponge to fit along the lip of your filter's water return (I recommend holding it there in the waterflow manually for a few seconds while the filter is running to see if you are satisfied with the way it is working)
Step 2) turn off your filter and wipe the water return down so it is fairly dry (leave your filter off while you are glueing the sponge down)
Step 3) apply the superglue to your piece of sponge evenly along it to make sure it will stay secure
Step 4) Press the sponge to the lip of the water return and apply gentle pressure evenly along it for about ten seconds
Step 5) leave your filter off for a couple of minutes to ensure that the superglue has completely bonded before you start running water over it and the sponge.
Then your done and you should have a low profile filter baffle that does not obstruct a tank lid, works as well if not better than a plastic water bottle style baffle and even provides additional biological filtration.
the finished product should look something like this if you are not looking for it you would probably never even know its there I had to raise the water level in the tank just to get a discernible picture. (for some reason the pictures show up sideways)
However as I am sure some of you have come to realize that design has some drawbacks like that it looks tacked on and clunky, it can get in the way of a lid for the aquarium and in my case it kept interfering with the bio wheel on my filters.
so I made mine differently
I used: a fairly course sponge (Imagitarium replacement sponge), and some loctite waterproof superglue with cyanoacrylate
But any waterproof superglue with cyanoacrylate in it should be aquarium safe.
Step 1) cut off a piece of your sponge to fit along the lip of your filter's water return (I recommend holding it there in the waterflow manually for a few seconds while the filter is running to see if you are satisfied with the way it is working)
Step 2) turn off your filter and wipe the water return down so it is fairly dry (leave your filter off while you are glueing the sponge down)
Step 3) apply the superglue to your piece of sponge evenly along it to make sure it will stay secure
Step 4) Press the sponge to the lip of the water return and apply gentle pressure evenly along it for about ten seconds
Step 5) leave your filter off for a couple of minutes to ensure that the superglue has completely bonded before you start running water over it and the sponge.
Then your done and you should have a low profile filter baffle that does not obstruct a tank lid, works as well if not better than a plastic water bottle style baffle and even provides additional biological filtration.
the finished product should look something like this if you are not looking for it you would probably never even know its there I had to raise the water level in the tank just to get a discernible picture. (for some reason the pictures show up sideways)
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