# Poret foam substitute



## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

You don't want to use speaker foam you want pond filter foam. I buy it in sheets at my local nursery. Any place that has pond supplies will have it.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

This caught my eye.

The price of Poret has made my eyelids curl too.

I'm not a pond guy (but I will be someday!), so the pond filter foam is totally unfamiliar to me. Is it as semi-rigid as the Poret?

I only spent a few minutes on this, but I just came across this:

http://www.webbsonline.com/Category/Replacement-Parts-Filter-Pads

It's been while since I looked into this, so I don't know how this stacks up against Poret, pricewise or otherwise.


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## dprais1 (Sep 12, 2012)

poret foam is really cheap if you factor in that it does not ever need to be replaced.

I use the more open cell foam for bio filtration and the black for mechanical filtration(it gets rinsed out every week and it really collects a lot of junk).

I also have some sheets of mattenburg?? but noy nearly so fond of that stuff...


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## jl209 (Mar 2, 2006)

Bush I actually have matalla in my sump. I have the blue and while its probably great for bio filtration it sucks at mechanical filtration. I have some floss after the matalla and I still have to change it weekly so matalla doesn't catch anything IMO. Of course there is one grade finer than I have but I'm not going to waste my money finding out. I googled and read people that cautioned against speaker/air filter foam and people that used it and said it worked great. People also say its rigid enough to use t like poret. I really only go with advice with this site though so I'm looking for examples around this neck of the woods.


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## Aquaticus (Jan 7, 2013)

The economics of foam are interesting. From what I've been told, the Poret-style polyether foam is harder to come by in the US, evidently due to federal government requirements for fire retardants, although you can find it. Angels Plus carries some. I got over my initial price shock and went with Poret from Swiss Tropicals, because I know it is purpose tested, and I've been happy with my purchases.

There are other options, too. You could use polyfill bedding in your sump. I've used that for years, and it works great, is very cheap (especially on sale), but clogs regularly and will need to be replaced. I've actually been testing two inch polyfill between plastic canvas with blackworm cultures growing in them as mattenfilters, but I'm expecting them to permanently clog eventually. They've been going for about six months now on two of my tanks.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

I also think that the poret isn't that expensive when you look at the size of the piece of foam you are getting. 

You could also try going with a thinner piece, and backing it with something like eggcrate for structural purposes. 

I don't know how accurate it is, but one of the articles I read on mattenfilters claimed that most of the bacterial colonies were in the first inch or so, and the rest of the foam was just structural.


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## Mark13 (Mar 11, 2009)

*Aquarium-safe, water-proof reticulated foam for filters*

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=4948081&highlight=#post4948081


Sources for aquarium foam (water-proof reticulated foam). And, a very good description of water-proof reticulated aquarium foam, from AngelsPlus.com:

_*"Many of these Hamburg Mattenfilter style filters have such a large surface area that they out-filter much more elaborate and expensive filters on the market. Maintenance is simple and there is almost nothing to ever break or wear out. 

PPI - stands for "Pores per Inch". So, 50 ppi means 50 pores per inch, which means they are smaller pores than 15 ppi, which is only 15 pores per inch. 

Smaller pores tend to clog quicker, but offer more surface area. Literally all pores sizes will over-filter a heavily stocked aquarium. The biggest considerations are usually how quickly it will clog or are there any new-born fry that may swim into a large pore size." *_

FYI, you can place a coarse sponge (15 PPI Coarse) in front of a medium sponge (30 PPI Medium), before a fine sponge (50 PPI Fine). This will catch large crud in the coarse 15, then smaller pieces in the medium 30, and fine pieces in the fine 50 PPI, then perhaps followed by a "polishing pad or sheet". Or, just use the 15 in front of the 50 PPI. Your choice.

*AngelPlus.com links:* 
http://angelsplus.com/FiltersCustom.htm
http://www.angelsplus.com/FiltersSponge.htm



*Other sources, some of which are round, some are rectangular blocks:*
http://www.shop.trilbytropicals.com/...9076128254.htm

http://www.shop.trilbytropicals.com/...9076128056.htm

http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategor...am-Reticulated

http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategor.../reticulated/0

http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-sup...e-filters.html


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## Techno77 (Jul 14, 2013)

I got foam from AngelsPlus.
Highly recommended.


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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

Techno77 said:


> I got foam from AngelsPlus.
> Highly recommended.


Top notch folks. Absolutely.

I looked at this photo in the Pentair link above:

http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcatego...ed?green=5E6F0E73-10FF-5009-AB76-73746560E5BB

At 1" thickness it may suit some folks' needs a little better. Just an option. It looks like the same material as the foam blocks in HOB's and canisters. 

My needs for it are probably different than most folks'. I've been trying to find a way to conveniently divide tanks temporarily. The holes in eggcrate are too big for my needs in most cases. Gonna scratch my head on this a little more.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

This is maybe 10PPM? I got a huge block of this about 15 yrs ago from a Business Customer that made filtration units for the food industry. I use it in HOBs, Canisters, DIY pond filters and here as a Matten Filter in my Aquaponic sump.
























When you consider how long good quality foam lasts the $$$ make more sense. It's also getting harder to find "clean" foam due to fire proofing regs.


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