Should I use filter cartridges?

[Brickosaurus]

So I watched a video from a channel called Fish For Thought. And the video was saying that filter cartridges are a scam. And a waste of money.

So should I stop using them? I'm currently used two filters, one is an Aquatech 20-40. And the other is a Tetra 20-30. Both use cartridges.

I also heard someone say that you can just rinse out the cartridges and stretch them out that way. Is that true?

If I should switch then what would be the best filter media that would fit my filters. (And where can I get it)

 

[duanes]

When I used filters that required cartridges, I always just rinsed them out until they fell apart.
Its not that cartridges are a scam, its just that there are many other ways to accomplish the act of filtration that don't require replacing stuff so often.
I happen to like cutting Porret foam to the size required, because it lasts forever, can be used as bio and mechanical filtration(both at the same time), and is user friendly to rinse or hose off.

I've been using the same Porrett filter .block for about 4 years, and expect it to last many more, without replacement

 

[Brickosaurus]

When I used filters that required cartridges, I always just rinsed them out until they fell apart.
Its not that cartridges are a scam, its just that there are many other ways to accomplish the act of filtration that don't require replacing stuff so often.
I happen to like cutting Porret foam to the size required, because it lasts forever, can be used as bio and mechanical filtration(both at the same time), and is user friendly to rinse or hose off.
View attachment 1509045
I've been using the same Porrett filter .block for about 4 years, and expect it to last many more, without replacement

Thanks for the information!

So it would be safe to rinse the current filter cartridges I have? Instead of buying new ones?

And the porret can be used without any electronics? Is it supposed to be a primary source for filtration, or as a secondary source?

 

[Brickosaurus]

Thanks for the information!

So it would be safe to rinse the current filter cartridges I have? Instead of buying new ones?

And the porret can be used without any electronics? Is it supposed to be a primary source for filtration, or as a secondary source?

Oh wait. You mean the porret foam is a replacement for traditional filter cartridges? I know it's a Lot of questions, but here can I get it?

 

[duanes]

Many aquarium products are aimed at aquarists that want ease and simplicity in the hobby.
Take out a cartridge, and slip in a new one. For me that wasteful.
I don't like over consumption in any area, so I look for products that can be used over and over again, without replacement.
Porret Foam is that kind of product.
Most biiomedia is over kill, old toothbrushes and lava rock are as good as anything else
But there are also many products aimed at hobbyists that are basically BS.
One is aquarium salt,
NaCl is NaCl, if I have need to add salt, I go to the hardware or grocery store, and buy 50 lbs for maybe $5.
.
Many products used in filter plumbing that cost (what I consider overkill) can be replaced with hardware store PVC for pennies on the dollar.

I stopped buying commercial filters over 30 years ago, and make my own out of old tanks I get for free or almost, and I get quadruple the filtration and flow compared to expensive canisters and doo dads.
In fact I have been able to filter 5 or more tanks, on 1 sump and and a single pump.
And by doing it this way, I can change the water on all 5 tanks at the same time, with the flip of a hardware store valve, and it takes all of 5 minutes to change a few hundred gallons.
If I do need a siphon, I make it out of an old plastic bottle and some tubing, or if I need to scrape some algae, put a razor blade in a slot on PVC

 

[tlindsey]

When I buy new HOB filters I use the cartridges for awhile and eventually replace with foam.

 

[celebrist]

Thanks for the information!

So it would be safe to rinse the current filter cartridges I have? Instead of buying new ones?

And the porret can be used without any electronics? Is it supposed to be a primary source for filtration, or as a secondary source?

Rinse your cartridges off for as long as you like while you find foam to replace them.

One of the cartridge gimmicks, imho, is the dab of activated carbon that when used prophylactically masks any potential issues and allows you to under filter...as long as you keep replacing the cartridges

Edit: my poret foam is nine years old and I clean it once a year, still going strong

 

[jjohnwm]

I have some Poret foam which functions as biomedia in the sump for my 360gallon tank; it has been lightly rinsed/cleaned perhaps twice in the past three years and is still perfect.

Much more impressive to me is the fact that I have several more slabs of Poret foam, cut to fit inside the prefilter chamber of that sump and other filters, which have been cleaned probably 500-600 times in that same time period. These are intended entirely for mechanical filtration and prefiltration; a cleaning consists of high-pressure water and vigorous squeezing and rinsing until the water runs clean. The prefilter in particular I like to clean daily, although if away from home it can go days or weeks without. Nevertheless, these foam pieces have been physically pummeled and manhandled many hundreds of times, and they too are still completely intact and solid.

Replacement cartridges are perhaps not a "scam" but they are definitely a marketing device intended to benefit the manufacturers of the filters that utilize them rather than the end users of those filters. If I purchased one of the filters that uses them, I would certainly use the cartridge which was provided, and after a couple of weeks would gladly throw it away and reach for my Poret foam and a set of shears to cut what I needed from that point onwards.

 

[Cardeater]

Aquarium co-op s old video turned me into just modding my filters that previously had throwaway cartridges.

This is the original video

When I first started doing it, I didn't understand that I'd be fine with just some sponges and filter floss In my filters (I had an old Whisper with cartridges and Hot magnum that had disposable filter pad and activated carbon). I just rinse off the hot magnum filter sleeve and I put matrix where the activated carbon filled.


In my whisper, I have one side with an aquaclear 70 sponge. That works great as I can put that into an old filter on a 10g I have for a hospital tank/QT tank. I had a fully cycled QT tank when I got fish from Imperial Tropicals from.a Black Friday sale. I moved a sponge filter I had in my main tank, and I moved the whisper aquaclear sponge and the filter floss.

Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have bought this matrix and this other expensive filter media. I'd just use sponges and/or foam pads bc I have so much media going on in my main tank that I didn't need to waste money on all these fancy filter media. Back in 2018, I wanted to "maximize" by buying this expensive media which again, is unnecessary. I have intake sponges going, sponges on my power heads and all the matrix/ehein pro (sic?) In my formerly cartridge filters.

 

[Brickosaurus]

I have some Poret foam which functions as biomedia in the sump for my 360gallon tank; it has been lightly rinsed/cleaned perhaps twice in the past three years and is still perfect.

Much more impressive to me is the fact that I have several more slabs of Poret foam, cut to fit inside the prefilter chamber of that sump and other filters, which have been cleaned probably 500-600 times in that same time period. These are intended entirely for mechanical filtration and prefiltration; a cleaning consists of high-pressure water and vigorous squeezing and rinsing until the water runs clean. The prefilter in particular I like to clean daily, although if away from home it can go days or weeks without. Nevertheless, these foam pieces have been physically pummeled and manhandled many hundreds of times, and they too are still completely intact and solid.

Replacement cartridges are perhaps not a "scam" but they are definitely a marketing device intended to benefit the manufacturers of the filters that utilize them rather than the end users of those filters. If I purchased one of the filters that uses them, I would certainly use the cartridge which was provided, and after a couple of weeks would gladly throw it away and reach for my Poret foam and a set of shears to cut what I needed from that point onwards.

Where is the best place to get porret foam pads. Are they sold at pet or fish stores?