If your canister filter needs some new mechanical filtration then Poret foam is for you.
Canister filters are a popular choice for many people. They work by sucking water out of your tank using gravity. The water enters the water tight canister filter and passes through mechanical filter media which removes large dirt and debris. The visibly clean water is then forced through the biological media to convert the toxins. This water is then returned to your aquarium. For best results we suggest that the return pipe is above the water level to create surface agitation. This oxygenates the water which is very important for you fishes health.
If the biological media of your canister is something like ceramic rings, Seachem matrix or Eheim products it very important to prevent them from clogging up with mulm. This is why mechanical filtration and regular cleaning is so important. If the outer surface area is clogged up with mulm, the water is not able to reach the inner surface area of the biological media. All that awesome surface area becomes redundant.
Poret filter foam is an excellent choice for replacing the mechanical stages of your canister filters. In fact the blue foam found in every Eheim filter is Poret foam.
Our product is easy to cut and will last for ages. Simply decide on the correct density for your situation. If you have very mess feeding fish we suggest you start with a coarse foam like the 10ppi. Always set it out going from the coarsest to the finest material. Staging the filtration means you don't have to clean it as regularly because it will block less. Over time the filters piping will become blocked like an old mans arteries. Its a good idea to give them a clean to prevent this.
All they have to do is place a single sheet of Poret foam into their tank. Using the canister filter to move the water through the HMF is easy and has the added bonus of filter redundancy. We suggest having the outlet part (sucky bit) of the canister behind the foam sheet and nice and high so that you don't suck out the beneficial mulm from behind the HMF.
The benefits of this is massive. Longer cleaning intervals and real biological stability. We filter all of our aquariums using the HMF and swear by the system. Why not get the best of both worlds and combine these two techniques.
Many of our customers have adapted their canister setups to make use of the Hamburg Matten Filter (HMF) technique.
Frequently Asked Questions FAQ`s on Canister filters using Poret filter foam
If used in conjunction with an external canister filter, is the air uplift tube still needed/recommended? The use of additional air uplift is not necessary as long as the flow rate of the canister filters is around the 2.5x cycle rate of the tank volume. Never trust the branded flow rate of your canister. When manufacturers measure the flow rate on your canister it will be done with the canister being level to the body of water, and with no media in it. Once you drop the canister below the tank and fill it with restrictive media the flow rate will drop.
How do I work out the flow rate of my filter? No matter what type of filter you have its a good idea to regularly check the flow rate. Simply time how long the output of your filter takes to fill a liter jug. Lets say it takes 5 seconds for the jug to fill up. Dividing 60 seconds by five tells you our flow rate is 12 liters per minute. We multiply that by 60 minutes to find out how many liters are flowing through our filter in an hour. 12 x 60 =720 liters per hour.