Louie Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Would like to replace the sponge intake on my eheim 2213 canister filter with pantyhose because the pantyhose just seems easier to clean as far as rinsing under tap water and I can not do the same with the sponge , afraid it will kill lots bacteria and cause problems in the tank . I have been squeezing the sponge 'clean' in a bucket of tank water , once every 2 months but it doesn't get completely clean this way. Does anyone use regular pantyhose , if so will it protect baby shrimp from being sucked up like sponge filter? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hit up h4n on here, he has stainless steel mesh filter guards that would work perfect, look better, and not need replaced like the pantyhose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc4PC2 Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Yeah, I like the stainless steel mesh over the intakes. I also use a media filter bag over the intake. They are easy to put on and take off. If you get like the aqua 30 to 50 white media bags, they are light, and you can just tie it on the intakes or cut them and put them over intakes or anything else so fry don't get in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkcobra Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Panty hose clogs very fast. I tried squeezing media in tank water when I entered the hobby some 10 years ago. And gave up on it quickly, it doesn't do a good job and it reclogs quickly. What I use to clean sponge/floss media is a ShowerBreeze. It's an oral irrigator, costs about $20, and hooks up behind the showerhead. There's a version for sinks too. Used at the lower settings, it's good for making your dentist think you floss regularly when you don't. And reversed a few periodontal pockets as well. At the higher settings, you don't want it anywhere near your mouth, it's a super high pressure water jet. Which I found some handy household uses for, including cleaning media. With a few minutes of blasting and squeezing, all that accumulated gunk is gone. This will pretty much wipe out the bacteria, of course. But so long as it's not the only media, and I don't clean all the media at the same time, I've never noticed any mini-cycles or other issues. Squeeze out the chlorinated tapwater before putting the media back in, and maybe add a drop of Prime to the tank. If you have any doubts whether you've wiped out too much bacteria in one go, monitor ammonia levels for a day or two. Using this technique, I haven't yet needed a stainless steel prefilter, so I haven't tried the ones h4n sells. But if you prefer that route, I've heard nothing but good things about them, from many sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4n Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Ya most people are either sponge or ss filter guards I like my ss filter guards haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 If you use double sponge filters, clean one sponge one week, and wait for another couple weeks to do the other. It's a Shrimper 101 error to squeeze both TOO clean, and at the same time. The bacteria can't multiply fast enough and you wind up with dead shrimp...Did it more than once when first learning. UGH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted March 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Thank you everyone . I also plan to set up two more tanks and sent h4n a pm. I like his shrimp guards which in truth I did not think they truly prevented baby shrimp from being sucked down since they are so tiny but good to know they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc4PC2 Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Amazon sells the stainless steel tubes that fit right over the intakes and look nice, but they are kind of spendy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted March 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Thanks Doc4PC2, I am ordering from Han as everyone loves his shrimp guards . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc4PC2 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Yeah, they sound perfect, and you can't beat the price. But they won't fit my Bio Wheel 100 intake, plus the intake is square. I put the white filter media bag over it with these very small clear bands, that you can't even see, and it looks good and works well. The bio wheel is spinning the water is flowing great, and there is no way a fry could get in. Louie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted March 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Funny that you would say that because I sent him today an extra intake I have for penguin 150 filter to see if he could make it for that. The 100 model which you have is the same intake size . The penguin 100 and 150 models are popular for shrimp tanks up to 20 gallons . If he is able to make it , I am sure he will sell. I plan on setting up a few 20 gallon tanks for different types of shrimp I want to house by themselves using the penguin 150 filters and if he can make it for those filters that would be better than a sponge or mesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc4PC2 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Let me know if he can make them fit the Penguin 150 filter. If it fits that, then it should fit the Penguin Bio Wheel 100 Filter intake too. Maybe I could pick up a couple of them from him too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4n Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Surprise!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted March 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 That is certainly going to beat , having to rinse the sponge close to weekly . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc4PC2 Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 That is what I need, a custom fitted mesh for two Bio Wheel 100 intakes and the Bio Wheel 200 intake. The have this split with the slits on the upper end and the bottom like it show in the upper left hand corner. That looks like it was made for that square intake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4n Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 That is a square filter guard I made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted March 18, 2014 Report Share Posted March 18, 2014 once again, awesome! h4n 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Doc, It is the filter intake which I sent him from an extra penguin bio-wheel 150 which is same size as the smaller 100 model . Thus he made what I needed. I am glad that he posted the pic because I am not good at that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc4PC2 Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Yes, it looks like the same size, the 200 is shaped different, and both have the slits on the top piece too, so both have to be covered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 I see no reason why the upper one couldn't slide up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc4PC2 Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 That's true, you could just have two of them, slide one up, and put another on the bottom piece, or take the top piece off entirely. You can do that on the BioWheel 200 for sure. Timothylem 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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