CFS 500 Finally Arrived

[Kyle_91]

Well here it is guys n gals..., the CFS-500 canister filter. I know about 5/10 people who use this filter are upset about it because of the nozzles, o-rings, locking nuts cracking and braking, etc. And the other half say they couldn't want anything better for the price..

(Please excuse the cell phone pics lol)

When I unboxed, I wasn't missing anything and everything went right together with no problems at all..

- Here is the inlet and outlet:

As far as inside the canister, the filter media only included the white thick filter sponge, a black filter pad and a floss blue filter pad for the very top.

All in all, its a great working filter and quiet. So far, the only problem I had was to just get used to locking down the nuts at the top EQUALLY when tightening down the lid, but it shouldn't be a problem as long as you do it in a fragile motion...

*I do have a few questions about the filter media:
- Does anyone recommend any other type of filteration media that I could put in?
- The replacement sponges and pads are kinda hard to find, the only ones I found were on ebay and they were still small and not as thick as the ones in the box.
- Would bio balls and filter pads be an okay option?

And here is my tank and setup (cell pic):

 

[Redearsunfish]

Cool review. I like the pics!

 

[Kyle_91]

Cool review. I like the pics!

Thanks!

Would you recommend anything besides the sponge and the filter pad to put in the filter?

 

[Oughtsix]

Bio Balls are pretty much useless in a canister. The beauty of bio balls is there ability to break streams of water down to drops of water for maximum water surface contact with air in a wet dry filter. In a canister you might as well just toss in an old hair brush rather than spend money on bio balls.

I don't have a CF500 but I thought the beauty of the sponges were there dual function of mechanical filtration + bio filtration? I also thought they were well liked because they can be cleaned and reused an indefinite number of times? If you feel you need more bio filtration I would recommend bio rings way over bio balls. But I think you are better off with the sponges that came with the filter and would loose bio capacity by removing the sponges and replacing the volume with rings.

 

[Kyle_91]

Bio Balls are pretty much useless in a canister. The beauty of bio balls is there ability to break streams of water down to drops of water for maximum water surface contact with air in a wet dry filter. In a canister you might as well just toss in an old hair brush rather than spend money on bio balls.

I don't have a CF500 but I thought the beauty of the sponges were there dual function of mechanical filtration + bio filtration? I also thought they were well liked because they can be cleaned and reused an indefinite number of times? If you feel you need more bio filtration I would recommend bio rings way over bio balls. But I think you are better off with the sponges that came with the filter and would loose bio capacity by removing the sponges and replacing the volume with rings.

I've been trying to find the specific thickness of the sponge that can fit inside the canister but I can't, would you recommend any sites?

This is what I've found so far:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CFS-Caniste...920?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45fa1e53a8

 

[Oughtsix]

I've been trying to find the specific thickness of the sponge that can fit inside the canister but I can't, would you recommend any sites?

This is what I've found so far:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CFS-Caniste...920?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45fa1e53a8

That seems like a heck of a good deal! Are you just looking for a second set so you can swap in the clean set then clean the used set after putting the filter back together? I would not! I would just rinse the current set in tank (or non chlorinated) water to remove the big chunks and put them back in. You don't want to kill/remove your bacteria colony every time you clean the filter. I have sponges that are many years old and still going strong... They don't need to be replaced very often!

 

[WckedMidas]

sponges should last years. You could always do bio sorb . ehiem media ceramic rings exc what ever you prefer. But its a new filter the media in it should last long time.

 

[Mr.Catfish]

Do the filter mods found here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forum...erence-modification&highlight=odyssea+cfs+500 And it will be hard to be this filter.I have one modded on my 150 and it is a beast. I cleaned it for the first time two weeks ago after 6 months of use. It didn't need it but wanted to check things out. It was really dirty inside but still had really good flow.Just rinse the sponges out no need for other media. I love this filter.I will be getting a second one for my 135 and modding it also.

 

[Kyle_91]

Do the filter mods found here http://www.aquariacentral.com/forum...erence-modification&highlight=odyssea+cfs+500 And it will be hard to be this filter.I have one modded on my 150 and it is a beast. I cleaned it for the first time two weeks ago after 6 months of use. It didn't need it but wanted to check things out. It was really dirty inside but still had really good flow.Just rinse the sponges out no need for other media. I love this filter.I will be getting a second one for my 135 and modding it also.

Thanks for the input, I actually read that specific mod right before I bought the filter and was considering doing it.

The reason why i got the filter pads listed above was a "just-in-case" kinda thing and wasn't really sure how often to clean the sponge and the pad.

Other than the filter media, my water is pretty clear

 

[Kyle_91]

Bump,

Does anyone know where to get "part b and c of the sponges inside the canister?

And I know im overstocked, should I just put my 400 gph H.O.B. filter as well?