HMF FOAM

[Mr. F]

Planning out my rack set up and I feel like I'm gonna need several HMF filters. I'd like to build them, so ideally I wanna get one large piece of foam to be cut down or several small piece. Trying to find something less expensive than Swiss Tropicals. Im gonna need 8 12"x12"(or 11")x2" pieces, but I will be adding more tanks in the future. Anyone have a good source to buy bulk 30 or 40 ppi reticulated foam that's 2" thick?

[oem]

After posting on Saturday about Flipaquatics Matten filters on sale I started looking for bulk foam.  Other then E-bay or Amazon most sites were for manufacturers where you need to order $200+ worth of foam.  Petsolutions.com has 1" and 3" reticulated foam but didn't state a pore size.  And Drs F+S as well.   Flip still has those filters up on their site and are 2" with 35ppi.

[Vpier]

13 hours ago, oem said:

After posting on Saturday about Flipaquatics Matten filters on sale I started looking for bulk foam.  Other then E-bay or Amazon most sites were for manufacturers where you need to order $200+ worth of foam.  Petsolutions.com has 1" and 3" reticulated foam but didn't state a pore size.  And Drs F+S as well.   Flip still has those filters up on their site and are 2" with 35ppi.

If Flipaquatics still has them for $9.95 and 12.95 you should take advantage unless those sizes will not work for you. You might get it cheaper but like OEM said, you will have to buy in bulk.

[Mr. F]

I'm consider bulk buy then reselling the foam...

[LiveLee Aquatics]

I bought these for my new tanks. http://www.ebay.com/itm/281796095415?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Mr. F]

I bought these for my new tanks. http://www.ebay.com/itm/281796095415?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

they're a little smaller, what tank do you have it in and how well does it fit?

[oem]

Even with that E-bay deal you are still going to need lift tube, base piece, elbow and pipe.  Just thinking has anybody tried a larger piece of pipe then standard for more flow?  Without power head of course just air lift.

[LiveLee Aquatics]

1 hour ago, Mr. F said:

they're a little smaller, what tank do you have it in and how well does it fit?

They fit the standard 10g tanks just fine. 

 

53 minutes ago, oem said:

Even with that E-bay deal you are still going to need lift tube, base piece, elbow and pipe.  Just thinking has anybody tried a larger piece of pipe then standard for more flow?  Without power head of course just air lift.

You could just buy pvc tubing from any home improvement store (ex. Home Depot, Lowes, etc) which I did for myself.  I bought 3/4" tubing and 90 degree elbows. They don't cost that much.

 

[Mr. F]

Even with that E-bay deal you are still going to need lift tube, base piece, elbow and pipe.  Just thinking has anybody tried a larger piece of pipe then standard for more flow?  Without power head of course just air lift.

I remember someone posting awhile back that the larger tube caused splashing, gurgling, and was very loud. I can't remember where...

[LiveLee Aquatics]

I agree with Mr. F I found that 3/4in tubing worked well.

[oem]

Thanks guys.    Inquiring minds had to know.     Also I was wondering if local shippers of electronics might have the foam you could purchase. 

[Greenteam]

Be careful buying random foam. If you get unlucky an buying foam that has flame retardant on it you can kiss your shrimps goodbye. The bad thing is you wont know till all the shrimp start dropping dead like flies. 

 

Personally if you're doing 10g tanks then Flipaquatics is a safe bet (an cheap) for the foam since he gets the one specifically made for aquatic use.

 

As far as the jetlift tubes I tested the traditional airstone version, several DIY versions from youtube, an the $7.00 – Jetlifter™ small 4.4″ from swisstropics. Hands down I would recommend the small jetlift tubes from Swisstropics.

 

It first seems like you save money by doing the DIY tubes, but honestly in the end after buying all the PVC+ Airstones it came out to the same. The swisstropics pump out 10x better then any other I tried and were far more quite then the DIY ones with airstones. The jetlift tubes are honestly what make or break the quality of filtration a HMF filter can provide so it's honestly worth buying top quality jetlift tubes.

 

 

[EricM]

10000% agreed. I've tried every version of DIY to test vs Jetlifter, and none were even close to the performance of an official Jetlifter.

 

[Mr. F]

Thanks for all the replies guys! Now the big question: Is all this hassle worth it or should I just go for some double sponge filters instead?

[EricM]

HMF for sure! well worth the $ over sponge filters.

[Greenteam]

I like the clean look they provide & once sponge is established you will find young shrimp picking on it all the time.

 

Here's a setup I recently started working on and love it so far.

[Soothing Shrimp]

Of course, every idea has its cons, too.

 

Double sponge filters allow you to switch out one sponge to instantly start another tank.

 

Also, more than one shrimper has found shrimp in back of their HMFs.

[seaj]

I think that one of the keys to the jetlifter's efficiency is the use of the sweep style elbow. Most people use the sharp 90 degree elbow, and I think that sharp turn slows down the flow. I'm sure that the air stones slightly slow down flow too, since they occupy space in the lift tube. Perhaps a lift tube with more width at the base where the air stone is would help alleviate that. Jetlifters work super well when they are clean, but they are pretty pricey. They are designed well, and can generate real flow in tanks.

[EricM]

13 hours ago, seaj said:

I think that one of the keys to the jetlifter's efficiency is the use of the sweep style elbow. Most people use the sharp 90 degree elbow, and I think that sharp turn slows down the flow. I'm sure that the air stones slightly slow down flow too, since they occupy space in the lift tube. Perhaps a lift tube with more width at the base where the air stone is would help alleviate that. Jetlifters work super well when they are clean, but they are pretty pricey. They are designed well, and can generate real flow in tanks.

 

I think the biggest factor to how efficient they are is where the bubbles come out. its not just a single hole or an airstone blocking a % of the opening. its a unique design that spreads out the air across the entire opening in multiple little holes. its pretty smart concept.

[EricM]

14 hours ago, Soothing Shrimp said:

Of course, every idea has its cons, too.

 

Double sponge filters allow you to switch out one sponge to instantly start another tank.

 

Also, more than one shrimper has found shrimp in back of their HMFs.

 

but unlike finding them in a filter where they can get hurt by the impeller finding them behind the HMF really isnt a worry. i've seen them climb back over and even get a free ride right back out the jetlifter tube

[Mr. F]

Thanks for the help guys!

HMF for sure! well worth the $ over sponge filters.

This is what I needed to hear.

I like the clean look they provide & once sponge is established you will find young shrimp picking on it all the time.
 
Here's a setup I recently started working on and love it so far.

Sweet. I'm going for the same idea, side by side 10ers. nice rack. ;]

Of course, every idea has its cons, too.
 
Double sponge filters allow you to switch out one sponge to instantly start another tank.
 
Also, more than one shrimper has found shrimp in back of their HMFs.

This seems to be its biggest selling point, easy maintenance. I'm feeling like a HMF is gonna be a PITA to clean... Arghhh!

I think that one of the keys to the jetlifter's efficiency is the use of the sweep style elbow. Most people use the sharp 90 degree elbow, and I think that sharp turn slows down the flow. I'm sure that the air stones slightly slow down flow too, since they occupy space in the lift tube. Perhaps a lift tube with more width at the base where the air stone is would help alleviate that. Jetlifters work super well when they are clean, but they are pretty pricey. They are designed well, and can generate real flow in tanks.

I'll make sure I get the sweeping elbows! Thanks for the tip!
Do you think it's possible to run a pipe cleaner down it to clear out the lift tubes? I'm hoping they're not unmanageable. I would hope not as I see lots of breeders with them..

 
I think the biggest factor to how efficient they are is where the bubbles come out. its not just a single hole or an airstone blocking a % of the opening. its a unique design that spreads out the air across the entire opening in multiple little holes. its pretty smart concept.

Which jet lifter are you referring to?

 
but unlike finding them in a filter where they can get hurt by the impeller finding them behind the HMF really isnt a worry. i've seen them climb back over and even get a free ride right back out the jetlifter tube

Haha, I've seen shrimp go through tubes, it's quite funny but a little scary! I hope that it's not a struggle to keep track of my shrimp in tank vs behind the filter. Any tips on design to limit their access to the back of the HMF? I've seen people make them very high and poke the outflow through the foam. Seems like it would work well.

[Twister54]

Not sure if this is helpful, but I got my foam from this website. They have a whole range of them.

https://www.aquaristic.net/

It's a German website, I'm in the UK so the shipping costs weren't too high for me, but may be a bit different for you.
They also sell all the PVC pipes etc as well.


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[Vpier]

9 hours ago, Mr. F said:

Haha, I've seen shrimp go through tubes, it's quite funny but a little scary! I hope that it's not a struggle to keep track of my shrimp in tank vs behind the filter. Any tips on design to limit their access to the back of the HMF? I've seen people make them very high and poke the outflow through the foam. Seems like it would work well.

Shrimps going behind the filter isn't as common as you think. When it does happen its not a big deal. They do really well back there.

[EricM]

Like Viper said its a rare event but at some point we've probably all found shrimp in our filters. I wouldnt stress about it too much. if you are concerned about them getting behind your HMF you can just cut some sponge that fits across the top opening behind the HMF, but I think i'd rather have them be able to get behind vs having them try and not be able to get behind and possible dried out crawling around on the sponge.

 

As for cleaning and HMF its actually super easy. I use my garden hose with spray nozzle on it. 

[Vpier]

7 minutes ago, bostoneric said:

Like Viper said its a rare event but at some point we've probably all found shrimp in our filters. I wouldnt stress about it too much. if you are concerned about them getting behind your HMF you can just cut some sponge that fits across the top opening behind the HMF, but I think i'd rather have them be able to get behind vs having them try and not be able to get behind and possible dried out crawling around on the sponge.

 

As for cleaning and HMF its actually super easy. I use my garden hose with spray nozzle on it. 

Another fact about cleaning is Germans will run the sponges for years before cleaning them. The sponge actually preforms better when some of the pore volume is filled with a flaky brown mud that smells much like moist garden soil. That mud is what cleans your water! The mud consists of more than 50% living organisms that depend on your waste. It is a whole zoo of little critters that form a microbial community, including aerobic bacteria and archaea that oxidize ammonia and nitrite, anaerobic bacteria and archaea that can reduce nitrate.