# What is better mechanical filter? Sponge or polyester floss



## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Foam pad's catch larger particulates while floss catches even smaller suspended particulates.
Would want water re-entering the tank from the filter to pass through the floss last .
As for which is better,I think which ever one you are willing to keep clean regularly.
Filter's trap the debri, but it isn't removed from the system until you or I clean the material/filter . 
Water changes help keep the water clean, but dirty filter will allow that which is trapped there to still influence water chemistry. 
I like both foam pad's and finer filter floss/polyester material.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

I find the floss filters keep me on my toes a bit more, as you can see them getting dirty. I sometimes squeeze embarrassing amounts of dirt out of my foam filters even though the water looks clear.

Your tank, generally speaking, will be able to reach a point where it can take care of its own ammonia and nitrite. But Nitrates will keep building up until you clean the filters again, only dropping with water changes, unless your plants can harness every bit of it.










When you do water changes with dirty filters, you are just adding the equivalent of teabags full of dirt back in the clean water.
I run quite a few box filters. Lately, I just fill them mostly with ceramic rings, arranged to let the water move through them smoothly, with maybe an inch of floss on top. I only clean the floss and don't touch the rings for cleaning.

Financially, the foam filters is a no brainer, you never have to buy floss or batting again.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Which is better will depend on how and what you want done. Sponge comes in lots of different pore size so choosing the one which does the mechanical to the level you want but doesn't stop up quicker than you want will takes some time to work out. Much the same can be said for different floss type pads but , in general, I feel they do clear a bit finer debris but at the expense of needing more work. 
So, in my tanks, t depends what the tank is doing which works better. For the main display, I want the water as clear as possible so I am willing to work more to clean the floss and filters but in the breeding tanks, I don't mind a bit more debris floating around as I get to work less. 
But the filters do just take the debris out of the tank and hide it in the filter. So a filter that has lots of dirt can become a nitrate problem. At times water changing is the way to go to get nitrate down but it is swimming upstream if the filter is dirty. 
When fighting an overcrowded tank and high nitrate, I do water changes and then do filter cleaning on other days to avoid a large change all at one time. I rock the boat gently and more often to avoid large upsets.


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## AbbeysDad (Apr 13, 2016)

I don't think it's an either/or choice - I use both... I have two AC70 HOB's on my 60g. Both have a thin coarse pad to trap detritus, followed by std somewhat coarse sponge, finer bio-sponge. then polyester floss for polish. I find that the sponge material is the very best bio-platform for the beneficial bacteria (in spite of any marketing hype to the contrary).


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## SpaceLord (Feb 29, 2016)

roadmaster said:


> Foam pad's catch larger particulates while floss catches even smaller suspended particulates.
> Would want water re-entering the tank from the filter to pass through the floss last .
> As for which is better,I think which ever one you are willing to keep clean regularly.
> Filter's trap the debri, but it isn't removed from the system until you or I clean the material/filter .
> ...



Would the filter floss be before or after the Purigen bag ? 

Thanks.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

SpaceLord said:


> Would the filter floss be before or after the Purigen bag ?
> 
> Thanks.


 Before.:wink2:


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