filter

[wax]

hi i have a emperor 4oo and was wondering if i cant use the cartridge for it than what should i put in their for the filter? foam blocks? and if so does anyone know what would fit.

thanks

[wax]

anyone?

[Tropical Haven]

I don't put anything in mine, I just use them for the Bio wheels because I already have sponge filters in my tank.

[Condor]

I used to have a penguin which you could only put one type of cartridge in, it sounds like this filter is similar in concept. I ended up cutting some sponges to fit, but it never really worked very well. I use Aqua clears because they are much more flexible and I can get alot of media in them, plus they're easy to clean.

Adrian

[BAM]

I took the cartridge down to the band saw and cut the back off it and removed the carbon, and I use the coarse blue mat as my filter. I have the one that as additional empty cartridges that can go behind the regular filters I cut. For those I removed the partitions on one side of each on the drill press with a sanding wheel so I can now fit an additional filter in each. If I want, I cut the absorbant filters to fit, although gernerally I do not use anything in them.

BAM

[Apistomaster]

I think using a sponge filter in conjunction with the bio-wheel is a good idea; both separately or as a pre-filter. Another thing you can do is place a bag of hollow ceramic bio-media in the reservoir to add to the biological filtration

I also prefer the AquaClear design for HOB power filters because their design is so straight forward and no special cartridges are required. These cartridges only HOB are a scam in that they lock you into a cycle of being a repeat customer. And that adds up. It is too bad that the
AquaClear 's simplicity and convenience hasn't been combined with the bio-wheels.

In the long run, Eheim Classic canisters or any that allow you to use the media of your choice are a better value and need less maintenance. They probably pay for themselves in a year or two if you just add up the costs of replacement cartridges for that period.