Aquarium filter wool...Your thoughts plz.

[thomasina]

I want to try some Aquarium wool for my filter. One question I have is: once the wool is dirty, does it clog? When you change the wool, does it not ruin the bacteria and cause a re-cycle problem? Any advise or questions you have would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Slade]

Yes the wool eventually clogs and needs to be replaced. When you change it you'll lose the BB that was in the wool. You should have other media in your filter with BB that will repopulate.

 

[Pipedreamer86]

I just rotate and dont change all the floss at once. Half at a time. Plus there are the pot scrubbers and biorings too

 

[thomasina]

Thank you both for your help. So if I get this correctly, I should use some of the floss in the filter, maybe two pcs. and leave one in there when I remove the second. Also leave the ceramic rings and charcoal in there. Maybe replace half the sponge with the floss? And this will keep my bacteria at a level that will keep it right? This is really a science!! Who knew!!??

 

[jcolon]

Out of curiosity, are you planning of using filter floss that's sold at LFS's or are you 100% polyfill .. Aka.. Pillow stuffing? They're both basically the same, but I find the latter to be a whole lot less expensive and a typical 20oz bag will last you several months.

If your running ceramic rings and sponges in your filter, you can replace the floss all at once. There'll be enough BB in the rings and sponges to prevent a mini-cycle.