Canister filter setup

[cdfriedl]

I recently purchased a Fluval FX6 canister filter. This is a first time fish tank start up and I have yet to hook anything up.

I have done a ton of research but can not find an answer to my exact question.

Now some might call what I’m doing overkill but I prefer to go way over above and beyond as cost for this isn’t an issue.

I have a 75 gallon tank and I’m planning on stocking it well over time. I am looking at buying 4 kilos of biohome ultimate to pack this filter near full.

If you YouTube **** my filter by pond gurus I’m taking a similar approach to him except I want to leave a little room for mechanical.

There are 3 trays and here is what I want to do from top to bottom.

1st tray (on top) with fine filter pad on top and bio media stacked as high as I can to fit both fine pad and media.

Second tray (middle) completely stacked with media.

Now 3rd tray (bottom) is where my question lies. I want to add some chemical filtration (carbon) to help keep water clear and reduce possibility of Oder (using seachem matrix). So here’s what I want to do. Place carbon on top and bio media to fill the rest of the bottom tray.

Is there any issue with putting bio and mechanical within the same tray? Is there a better order? Aka bio on top and carbon on bottom within same tray?

Photo of my setup is attached.

 

[RSababady]

Welcome to the forum cdfriedl !
Pretty tank

Your question will get you a million different answers as this is a subject that people have diversified opinions on .....here is my take.

1. Pond Guru knows what he is talking about. He has a lot of good sound advice and a mass of experience.
2. If my understanding is correct, the fluval fx6 has a complicated water flow:
   1. the water flows down to the bottom of the canister filter then around and upwards through the sponge - so that is your 1st stage mechanical filter.
   2. Then the water pours down into the middle part and you want to have some fine filter pad to stop any grunge from going down into your bio media material.
   3. The next layers below the fine pad and the next two trays will be filled with your freshly bought biohome media.
   4. As far as charcoal is concerned, it needs to be change as frequently as the manufacturer declares on the packaging - otherwise it will start leaching chemicals back into the water! Your canister filter however does not need to be opened that often, so you will have to open the filter just to change the carbon and of course if you want to, the fine filter pad.
3. Most experienced tank owners only use charcoal / active carbon in the filters when their is an issue - eg, after using chemicals or medicine in the tank to remove the excess or stop the process. Personally I am not convinced that the active carbon will take away the natural smell of the tank. I have a sensitive nose, but my tank's natural smell is very insignificant and like you, I have an over filtered and over stocked tank . Whenever I have added medicine to the tank and wanted to remove / stop its activity, I use a small additional filter with just active carbon for a few days and then I through the active carbon out and remove the filter. This stops me from having to open and close the canister filters.

Hope you find this usefull

I want to add some chemical filtration (carbon) to help keep water clear and reduce possibility of Oder (using seachem matrix).

Not sure I understand you here. Seachem matrix is biomedia. It does not contain active carbon.

 

[cdfriedl]

Sorry it’s seachem matrix carbon.

Either way, I’m asking if there is any issue with mixing carbon and bio media in same tray.

Welcome to the forum cdfriedl !
Pretty tank

Your question will get you a million different answers as this is a subject that people have diversified opinions on .....here is my take.

1. Pond Guru knows what he is talking about. He has a lot of good sound advice and a mass of experience.
2. If my understanding is correct, the fluval fx6 has a complicated water flow:
   1. the water flows down to the bottom of the canister filter then around and upwards through the sponge - so that is your 1st stage mechanical filter.
   2. Then the water pours down into the middle part and you want to have some fine filter pad to stop any grunge from going down into your bio media material.
   3. The next layers below the fine pad and the next two trays will be filled with your freshly bought biohome media.
   4. As far as charcoal is concerned, it needs to be change as frequently as the manufacturer declares on the packaging - otherwise it will start leaching chemicals back into the water! Your canister filter however does not need to be opened that often, so you will have to open the filter just to change the carbon and of course if you want to, the fine filter pad.
3. Most experienced tank owners only use charcoal / active carbon in the filters when their is an issue - eg, after using chemicals or medicine in the tank to remove the excess or stop the process. Personally I am not convinced that the active carbon will take away the natural smell of the tank. I have a sensitive nose, but my tank's natural smell is very insignificant and like you, I have an over filtered and over stocked tank . Whenever I have added medicine to the tank and wanted to remove / stop its activity, I use a small additional filter with just active carbon for a few days and then I through the active carbon out and remove the filter. This stops me from having to open and close the canister filters.

Hope you find this usefull

This is helpful. My wife has the sensitive nose.

Sorry it’s seachem matrix carbon.

Either way, I’m asking if there is any issue with mixing carbon and bio media in same tray.

Sorry I missed this message before replying. There is good information here. It confirms a lot of what I have heard on YouTube.

I guess the main question really should be can I place multiple types of filtration within the same tray of a canister filter. Examples being bio media with; carbon, purigen, etc..

Is there any issue with having both in the same tray?

 

[RSababady]

Is there any issue with having both in the same tray?

Technically no. Not that I know of. Just a hassel if you do eventually want to separate them. You could use an active charcoal bag to separate one from the other in the same tray. This way they won't get mixed up.

 

[Skavatar]

Sorry it’s seachem matrix carbon.

Either way, I’m asking if there is any issue with mixing carbon and bio media in same tray.

you can mix and match within the same try but ultimately mechanical should be first, then bio, then carbon. i'm not familiar with the actual flow of the FX6.

 

[cdfriedl]

Thanks for the responses. RS has the fx6 flow right. His description is exactly how it works. So mechanical media goes in the bottom tray.

RS, that’s a good point. I was planning on putting my carbon or purigen in a mesh bag but I am thinking that putting my biohome ultimate and carbon in their own bags is beneficial.

Do you guys have a mesh bag you prefer to use that holds up really well?

 

[Patric]

Not part of your original question, but just a side note: Biohome is very expensive. Have you looked at Seachem Matrix? It appears to be at least as good as Biohome for a fraction of the price. I know the Pond Gury is pushing that brand hard and I believe that is something he was part of developing.

 

[RSababady]

Do you guys have a mesh bag you prefer to use that holds up really well?

I don't reuse them. Once I take them out, I throw them away with the active carbon.

 

[cdfriedl]

Not part of your original question, but just a side note: Biohome is very expensive. Have you looked at Seachem Matrix? It appears to be at least as good as Biohome for a fraction of the price. I know the Pond Gury is pushing that brand hard and I believe that is something he was part of developing.

Thanks for the feedback.

It’s funny you mention seachem because after all my research it came down to biohome and seachem.

I watched a video that showed a liquid absorption test for both the seachem and biohome ultimate.

I even saw the same test performed on several other biohome media’s.

The biohome ultimates absorption was incredible. It was so fast due to the porosity of the media. When seachem was tested it wasn’t even close.

Not saying seachem is bad it has really good reviews. Unless there is a better test for determining porosity I’m okay with spending more than necessary for my tank to ensure I choose the absolute best.

I do appreciate the comment though because keeping budget in mind is very important and you start to run into this cost/benefit ratio.

 

[Cichlidude]

Not part of your original question, but just a side note: Biohome is very expensive. Have you looked at Seachem Matrix? It appears to be at least as good as Biohome for a fraction of the price. I know the Pond Gury is pushing that brand hard and I believe that is something he was part of developing.

Totally agree and Matrix has 40% more surface area than Biohome for less money.
Here are the numbers for square feet per cubic foot. The larger number the better for anaerobic bacteria to grow.

 

[fldspringer]

Sometimes I have to question. Just what scientific means did that chart information arise from. Start with lava rock. A solid cube would have a surface area of 6 sq ft per cubic ft. That figure of 16 is faulty, plain and simple. I don't use Lava rock, but it would be better that that!

Surface area, while important, isn't the supporter of anaerobic bacteria. It lack of oxygen. If oxygen is available, the aerobic bacteria will dominate. Think low flow so new oxygen supply is lower. Oxygen levels fall and aerobic bacteria can get a start. The thought behind Biohome is the flow through the tight, dense noodles lowers the flow enough to deplete interior oxygen levels enough to support anaerobic bacteria.

I have an entire 4 tray Sunsun stuffed with 1 gallon of MarinePure balls, 8 lbs of Boihome, plus a full tray of Substrat Pro. The mechanical is accomplished in a filter "booster" on the intake of the canister filled with different densities of foam. Does it work for Nitrates? Not as of three months into the test.

Biohome is freeking expensive. Is it worth it? Not yet as far as I can see.

Matrix is pumice. I question that figure on the chart too.

Greg

 

[Cichlidude]

Sometimes I have to question. Just what scientific means did that chart information arise from. Start with lava rock. A solid cube would have a surface area of 6 sq ft per cubic ft. That figure of 16 is faulty, plain and simple. I don't use Lava rock, but it would be better that that!

Surface area, while important, isn't the supporter of anaerobic bacteria. It lack of oxygen. If oxygen is available, the aerobic bacteria will dominate. Think low flow so new oxygen supply is lower. Oxygen levels fall and aerobic bacteria can get a start. The thought behind Biohome is the flow through the tight, dense noodles lowers the flow enough to deplete interior oxygen levels enough to support anaerobic bacteria.

I have an entire 4 tray Sunsun stuffed with 1 gallon of MarinePure balls, 8 lbs of Boihome, plus a full tray of Substrat Pro. The mechanical is accomplished in a filter "booster" on the intake of the canister filled with different densities of foam. Does it work for Nitrates? Not as of three months into the test.

Biohome is freeking expensive. Is it worth it? Not yet as far as I can see.

Matrix is pumice. I question that figure on the chart too.

Greg

Well here is the info for lava rock.

Lava Rock:

The truth about Lava Rock is to click here.



Lava Rock from Pondguru: Starts at 4:15

Here is some info for Matrix.

Matrix is extremely porous so the majority of its surface area is internal. The pores allow water to penetrate throughout the media but restrict its flow. Aerobic bacteria colonize near the surface where oxygen is plentiful, but use up the oxygen leaving the interior anaerobic and allowing denitrifying bacteria to thrive.


Each liter of Matrix provides as much area as 170 liters of plastic bio balls. Plastic bio-materials (balls, pot scrubbies, K1 media) should not be used in static filters. They provide very little external surface area for nitrification and only work in large external moving bed media filters or wet/dry external filters.

Biohome does not make this claim. But OK.

Tons of info in the Internet, just search away...

 

[cdfriedl]

Well shoot I bought 4 kilos of biohome ultimate due to internet reviews and it’s internal porosity.

Take a look at this video and let me know what you think about the absorption difference between biohome and matrix and whether or not that matters

 

[Cichlidude]

Well shoot I bought 4 kilos of biohome ultimate due to internet reviews and it’s internal porosity.

Take a look at this video and let me know what you think about the absorption difference between biohome and matrix and whether or not that matters

Looks like it sucked it all inside instead of the outside. Don't really care if is sucks the liquid up as both are submerged anyway. To each his own, but pondguru also says total surface are is most important. Just thought we would give the scientific test data above.

Here are the full videos. Part 1

Part 2

EDIT: Oh, for Matrix you only need 500ml per 100 gallons. For Biohome, you need 1 full liter per 26 gallons.

 

[cdfriedl]

So do you think the ultimate will be good or is it just that I overpaid for similar performance?

 

[Cichlidude]

So do you think the ultimate will be good or is it just that I overpaid for similar performance?

It will work just fine. Most will say you overpaid. I wouldn't worry about it. Enjoy your media and fish.

 

[Skavatar]

Matrix is extremely porous so the majority of its surface area is internal. The pores allow water to penetrate throughout the media but restrict its flow. Aerobic bacteria colonize near the surface where oxygen is plentiful, but use up the oxygen leaving the interior anaerobic and allowing denitrifying bacteria to thrive.

that's my thinking, that's why I went with the larger Pond Matrix. my 1st tray is mechanical, polyfill and a filter pad. tray 2 is old media (biomax ceramic and sponge) and half Pond Matrix where most of the O2 will be used up. tray 3 all Pond Matrix, hoping for some anaerobic bacteria. tray 4 all Pond Matrix, hopefully no O2 left and having a lot of anaerobic bacteria.

i've only been using it for a little over 2 weeks and right before my weekly water change a few days ago my nitrates tested yellow 0ppm. will test again in a few days. I can't totally contribute the 0ppm nitrates to the Pond Matrix yet, b/c the week before I culled 3 of the 9 goldfish in that tank.

 

[cdfriedl]

Well that’s good to hear. I paid 87 out the door for 4 kilos of biohome ultimate.

So that’s like 9 lbs. my main concern is having great bio support to prevent any potential spike.

 

[grump299]

HI and welcome to fishlore. As stated before everyone has their opinion on biological media but no one is wrong. You use what works for you and that’s what counts. Biohome is a great bio media works as well as any of the others. I myself use pond matrix but that’s what I found works for me.

 

[Islandvic]

Biohome and Matrix is large enough not to need a bag.

If you use carbon, it does need a bag.

The bottom tray can have a bag of carbon and loose biomedia together.

For your top fine pads, may I suggest layers of Polyfil batting, cut to size. It works well for me.

How do you plan on stocking the tank?

FX6 is plenty for a 75g.

 

[Patric]

Well that’s good to hear. I paid 87 out the door for 4 kilos of biohome ultimate.

So that’s like 9 lbs. my main concern is having great bio support to prevent any potential spike.

That's a great price. It is $50 for two pounds on Amazon. Would you mind sharing where you bought it?

 

[86 ssinit]

That's a great price. It is $50 for two pounds on Amazon. Would you mind sharing where you bought it?

I found 3lbs biohome on eBay for just under $50. So I’m interested too.
Just bought the same filter and am looking for info. On it too. Haven’t opened it yet so anything helps.
On my tanks I use both biohome and matrix combined. Works for me . But I’m using hobs and not to worried about nitrates. I change water weekly. Not to sure how the anaerobic could grow with an hob. Just to much light and oxygen going through it.

 

[cdfriedl]

Here’s the site. From California. Direct from manufacturer.

I loaded a photo of my order.

Biohome and Matrix is large enough not to need a bag.

If you use carbon, it does need a bag.

The bottom tray can have a bag of carbon and loose biomedia together.

For your top fine pads, may I suggest layers of Polyfil batting, cut to size. It works well for me.

How do you plan on stocking the tank?

FX6 is plenty for a 75g.

This was helpful. I plan on stocking over time and probably will max the adult size inch per gallon method. So 75 inches total for adult size of fish combined.

Do you have a link for the fine media where I can get a good price?

When I said I’ve been YouTube obsessed I’ve also been google obsessed. I have probably spent over 80 hours researching and looking for deals to squeeze every penny over the last 2 months. Trying to close the gap of novice to intermediate fish keeper quick.

I really like this forum the dialogue on this thread has been great.

This was helpful. I plan on stocking over time and probably will max the adult size inch per gallon method. So 75 inches total for adult size of fish combined.

Do you have a link for the fine media where I can get a good price?

Maybe a dumb question. I see giant rolls of polyfill batting and they have bags of shredded batting. I think I’ve seen some fish keepers stuff the fluffy stuff on the top so they don’t have to cut.

Do you have a preference? I posted photos of both to make sure I’m looking at the right stuff.

 

[Skavatar]

we use both. mostly personal preference but for some filter housing with an odd shape its easier to just grab a handful and stuff it in the filter housing, while other filters its better to cut to fit.

 

[Cichlidude]

Not to sure how the anaerobic could grow with an hob. Just to much light and oxygen going through it.

Well almost all HOBs are black in color just for that reason, no light, except Aquaclear. Not real sure about how much oxygen, but the previous post #14 answers that question.

 

[fldspringer]

Well here is the info for lava rock.

Lava Rock:

The truth about Lava Rock is to click here.



Lava Rock from Pondguru: Starts at 4:15

Here is some info for Matrix.

Matrix is extremely porous so the majority of its surface area is internal. The pores allow water to penetrate throughout the media but restrict its flow. Aerobic bacteria colonize near the surface where oxygen is plentiful, but use up the oxygen leaving the interior anaerobic and allowing denitrifying bacteria to thrive.


Each liter of Matrix provides as much area as 170 liters of plastic bio balls. Plastic bio-materials (balls, pot scrubbies, K1 media) should not be used in static filters. They provide very little external surface area for nitrification and only work in large external moving bed media filters or wet/dry external filters.

Biohome does not make this claim. But OK.

Tons of info in the Internet, just search away...

I really don't have a dog in the fight. The figures just seemed to be out of wack.

The extremes on the page are lava rock at 16 ft^2/ft^3. If you took an acrylic block and could cut it into 1" cubes the surface area would be 72 rather than 16. Lava rock would exceed that by at least a factor of two I would guess. Its not a home for anaerobic bacteria, but the figure stated is off by roughly a factor of ten.

The figure I calculated for pumice (which is what Matrix is) came out to be less than half of his figure (which relied on manufacturers claims).

Is Matrix better than Lava rock? Yes, absolutely!

Is Matrix better than Biohome? Who knows? Both the figures supplied are dependent on manufacturers claims. Both are good and amoung the best choices available. I have a gut level feeling the Biohome would surpass Matrix in surface area, but it would take an independent testing laboratory with expensive equipment to try to answer that.

Just questioning those figures on that chart, that's all.

Greg

 

[Islandvic]

Anything hyperlinked from me, says the word LINK.

All other links are auto-generated ad-links by the forum server......

cdfriedl , I have bought both loose fill and the batting version of Polyfil.

I prefer the batting style myself. I just cut it to shape, for my 4 Aquaclear HOB's and my canister.

Here are links to 2 different types of fine filter pad media from Amazon tjay o ibave used which come in 12x72in and 12x120in rolls, and .

I prefer the roll that is white. It is a lot denser and thicker than the green roll.

Both can be reused a few times.

When intake them out and they haven't fallen apart yet, but still very dirty, I rinse the pads and soak in very mild bleach solution.

This burns off the organic matter built up on the pad.

It then rinse again and let them soak in a heavy concentration of dechlorinator and water.

Similar method as recharging Purigen, except at a lot lower bleach concentration (1:10 - 1:20 range).

I will save the cleaned for next time if they are salvageable.

Layers of the poly pads + layers of Polyfil (batting or loose fill) is a great combo for fine mechanical filtration.

Also, you're right about watching YouTube videos. An hour can go by watching various channels about the hobby and learning a lot of cool stuff.

 

[cdfriedl]

Really good info. I watch a lot of Cory and Richards videos. Another channel is KG Tropicals.

I’ll have to take a peek at a few of those other channels.

I think you laid out the info very well. If I decide to be lazy I guess I could just toss the batting once it gets rough lol. It’s pretty cheap.

 

[Patric]

Maybe I will use Biohome on one tray and Matrix on another? Still have some time to research that before the aqua scaping is done on my new 125G.

I bought my first aquarium in January of this year and it has been a steep learning curve for me, but I love this hobby and study it endlessly. I really like Thomas on Big Als Pets Youtube videos. Learned a lot from them. His Mega Build was a huge inspiration for my 125.

 

[cdfriedl]

Maybe I will use Biohome on one tray and Matrix on another? Still have some time to research that before the aqua scaping is done on my new 125G.

I bought my first aquarium in January of this year and it has been a steep learning curve for me, but I love this hobby and study it endlessly. I really like Thomas on Big Als Pets Youtube videos. Learned a lot from them. His Mega Build was a huge inspiration for my 125.

Big als is good and for Fluval fx6 parts prices are unbeatable.

One thing I have learned is how to shop the deals. Here are a few tips.

1. Wait for holidays if you can but if you can’t sign up for email newsletters for chewy, Petco, petsmart, big als, and any other site you think is good. This will give you random promo codes and sales announcements. Sometime you can even stack promos. (You can also google search the name of the store and add promo or coupon code after to find deals)

2. Find apps for gift cards. Two apps I use are Raise and gift card granny. It’s a little extra work but you can sometimes score big.

3. This goes with point 2. Look at the websites themselves for gift card promos. Big als pets had a mother’s day sale of 10% off gift cards. They also offer a first time purchase of 10% off your entire order. Stack deals like this.

4. Always price check even use amazon. Often times stores will price match. Even if you buy something and a week or so goes by and a competitor has a lower price on something you bought, go to the store you bought it from and see if they will offer an in store credit for the difference.

5. For things you know you are going to replace on a continual basis sign up for auto ship. Simply delay the shipment on items you find on major sales in between shipments. This allows you to always save a few extra bucks on repeat buys. Make sure to do an audit of the major sites auto ship prices every few months to ensure you are getting the best price.

Some of these tips might be basic but hopefully a few of them were new to some.

This may not have been the original intent of this post but I think this thread has really covered a few different topics and saving money I think is at the top of everyone’s list.

 

[Skavatar]

Well almost all HOBs are black in color just for that reason, no light, except Aquaclear. Not real sure about how much oxygen, but the previous post #14 answers that question.

IKR, I just upgraded 2 of my Tetra 20I internal filters to 2 AC50's. I had some flat black spray paint left over from my 55 or 75 gallon diy concrete tank stand build. So I put 2 coats on the back and sides of the 2 AC50s. since my tank is right next to the window and gets some direct sunlight in the morning.

 

[Cichlidude]

IKR, I just upgraded 2 of my Tetra 20I internal filters to 2 AC50's. I had some flat black spray paint left over from my 55 or 75 gallon diy concrete tank stand build. So I put 2 coats on the back and sides of the 2 AC50s. since my tank is right next to the window and gets some direct sunlight in the morning.

That's how to do it. BTW I had to look up IKR and found out it's just another TLA.

 

[cdfriedl]

I should add one more thing.

If you really want to maximize your deals you have to use an app called e bates. I will share a link here.

It is 100% free. You login, search for the stores you want to shop from, click on the stores through the app first and you get free cash back.

I know chewy and Petco we’re running 4% cash back a little bit ago but tons of stores including amazon are on here.

Note: if you click the link and sign up, both you and I get a bonus after your first purchase.

I was surprised at how many people didn’t know about this and it’s a great way to earn back a few extra bucks

Make sure you always start with the e bates app first. If you don’t then the sites won’t link and you won’t get cash back. This is the hardest part to remember when shopping online lol.

 

[JonJal]

I use biohome ultimate and while it is extremely expensive it works fantastically.

 

[RSababady]

This is one of my questions! I'm currently medicating and was wondering that myself! TY

If the medicine instructions state that to dose for five days in succession then inactivate using carbon, then that is the way to do it. Some medicine can be left in without removal using active carbon - it really depends on what the instructions of the medication say.

Sorry if I disrupted the thread....slightly

 

[StarGirl]

If the medicine instructions state that to dose for five days in succession then inactivate using carbon, then that is the way to do it. Some medicine can be left in without removal using active carbon - it really depends on what the instructions of the medication say.

Sorry if I disrupted the thread....slightly

I dosed once with Pimafix. Then read it doesn't really do anything. I haven't added any more. Do I even need to worry about it? I did a water change Thursday. My glowlights have cotton mouth going on I don't know how to fix it. And I hijacked the thread.....lol

 

[RSababady]

I dosed once with Pimafix. Then read it doesn't really do anything. I haven't added any more. Do I even need to worry about it? I did a water change Thursday. My glowlights have cotton mouth going on I don't know how to fix it. And I hijacked the thread.....lol

Ask a moderator to move the post to a new thread, or copy the posts across to a new thread and delete your old posts.

 

[Slacker]

Thanks for the responses. RS has the fx6 flow right. His description is exactly how it works. So mechanical media goes in the bottom tray.

RS, that’s a good point. I was planning on putting my carbon or purigen in a mesh bag but I am thinking that putting my biohome ultimate and carbon in their own bags is beneficial.

Do you guys have a mesh bag you prefer to use that holds up really well?

Sorry to chip in so late with this but just noticed that you seem to be misunderstanding the FX6 water flow path.
1st it enters at the bottom of the canister the. Flows up through the outer sponges until it reaches the top. It will then flow back down through the middle trays.
Therefore you would want to put mechanical media, such as a fine sponge right at the top. Then bio media in the middle and chemical at the bottom.

 

[cdfriedl]

Sorry to chip in so late with this but just noticed that you seem to be misunderstanding the FX6 water flow path.
1st it enters at the bottom of the canister the. Flows up through the outer sponges until it reaches the top. It will then flow back down through the middle trays.
Therefore you would want to put mechanical media, such as a fine sponge right at the top. Then bio media in the middle and chemical at the bottom.

I may have miss spoke at one point. Planned on mixing bio and a pack of carbon on the bottom tray.

The main question I had on here was could I mix carbon and bio in the same tray.

In the end this discussion yielded more good information than I originally expected.

Thanks for clearing that up with a simple, yet detailed response.

 

[Islandvic]

cdfriedl Yep, KG Tropical puts out some good videos also.

"Tazawa Tanks", "wild fish tanks", "Steve Poland Aquatics" are also very good channels to use as a resource.

There are too many good channels for the hobby to remember.

As to the batting you mentioned, the Polyfil brand of batting I always discard and replace.

The 2 rolls of bulk pads from Amazon I linked can usually be rinsed under the faucet to get clean enough to reuse at least once or twice.

The bleach/dechlor method is reserved for when they are filthy. By that time they have compressed and not as thick as they were originally.

I will stack some of those old layers along with layers of new pads in my canister.

I do this because my canister trays are not perfect circles or squares and have a tube going through the corner, whick makes cutting new ones a PITA.

This is not to be confused with the Polyfil brand, which I throw away and put more in.

To dechlorinate bleached items or when I refill my 75g, I use Seachem's Safe (powdered version of Prime) which is even more ridiculously concentrated than Prime. Only 1/4tsp dechlorinate 300 gallons of tap water!

Also, thanks for the tips on those websites/apps for discounts !