Cheap Filter Cartridges

sponge and white poly felt.

sponges man, way cheaper and easier.

I am guessing Gill Blue just took some pieces of sponge and then the equivalent of filter floss/pillow stuffing and "stuffed" them into the filter cartridge portion of the filter. I used to do this. Word of caution, do not overfill the area with sponges/floss as it could cause the filter to overflow (learned from experience). This can also happen if the filter media gets over clogged (also from experience).

Blue Bonded filter pad. Looks like hvac filters.

Bonded poly batting like for quilting - sold at Walmart and the like works well too

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I've been using these cut to fit pads for the last few years inside canisters and stuff.

It wasnt until probably the last year I started using them in my aqueon HOB. they have the benefit of this little blue holster thing that held the factory filter cartridge.

I'm not too familiar with the penguin/emperor filters. And how these would fit in.

You can always cut a piece of white needlepoint mesh or gutter guard to size and put that in front of the pad to make it keep its shape maybe? I did this with a tetra filter once.

:edit:
FYI these blue pads are fairly coarse and arent the best for water polishing

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I took this foam, cut t to fit the inside of the penguin, then cut a piece of felt and went from top to bottom, across the bottom, and back to the top with the felt, and slid it down in.
no filter floss.