Filter Media?

[mymindseye81]

i have a sump under my tank and i want to add finer filter pads. i work at a computer HUB station and there is tons of packing foam. i was wondering if i could add this type of foam as filter media? the foam is very tight so it would trap most undesired particles, but is the foam water friendly? here are some pics, quality sucks because its off of a cell phone but please give insight if anyone has ever done this before. thanks

 

[JakeH]

I would take some home, rinse it off really well, then put it in a bucket of old tank water for a few days to make sure it doesn't dissolve or turn the water black or something. Check the pH of the water before you put it in & after its been in there awhile to make sure its not doing anything too wierd.

 

[Toby_H]

Without knowning a ton of detail that I doubt you could find out... I don't think we could truly answer your question...

And even if you did come back with such information it would all sound like Latin to me... okay like Greek as I recognise some Latin...

I think Jake gave you good advice though. I suspect there is a very stong chance it would work fine, but would want to test it out first...

I would use it as a prefilter on a powerhead in a bucket and see how it holds up... test the PH (although I highly doubt it will affect PH)... then the ultimate test... taste the water...

 

[JakeH]

What...uuuhh....what..exactly...should the water taste like?

 

[Toby_H]

What...uuuhh....what..exactly...should the water taste like?

Hopefully water!

Since you are a LOT bigger than your fish... and you are only taking a little sip as opposed to living in it 24/7... if you think it should be safe for fish it should be safe to take a sip...

But if it tastes "chemically" this shouldn't be enough to harm you at all... but may be enough to kill your fish.

I highly doubt it will be toxic to you or the fish in any way... but personally, I'd take a sip to test it out...

 

[JakeH]

Hmmm. Never would have thought of that...