Corner Matten Filter

I am putting a corner matten filter from swisstropicals in my 75 gallon tank. I would like feedback on this filter. Do you like them? Why?

 

I have yet to buy from Swiss Tropicals, but I will eventually.

Top notch stuff.

I can add one tip though for a corner mattenfilter....

I saw a YouTube video where they made a cut line in the foam sponge about an inch above the height of the substrate.

That way, the bottom portion stays in place, as the top portion is pulled out of the tank for cleaning.

The substrate statyed in place and didnt fall into the corner where the mattenfilter goes.

It appeared to make servicing the mattenfilter a lot easier.

If I get around to making one, I was going to set it up like that.

What ppI and thickness are you getting?

Are you going to run it off a pump, or a Jetlifter?

 

I have yet to buy from Swiss Tropicals, but I will eventually.

Top notch stuff.

I can add one tip though for a corner mattenfilter....

I saw a YouTube video where they made a cut line in the foam sponge about an inch above the height of the substrate.

That way, the bottom portion stays in place, as the top portion is pulled out of the tank for cleaning.

The substrate statyed in place and didnt fall into the corner where the mattenfilter goes.

It appeared to make servicing the mattenfilter a lot easier.

If I get around to making one, I was going to set it up like that.

What ppI and thickness are you getting?

Are you going to run it off a pump, or a Jetlifter?

I M running it of the jet lifter. So far I like it.
They recommended the 20ppI so that’s what I orderd

 

I love them! Simplest, most foolproof filters on the market.

Islandvic, I agree that modification might be useful, but the filter is removed so infrequently that it's not a big deal one way or the other. I vacuum the outside surface of my Mattens whenever I do a water change; actual removals of the sheet of foam for cleaning can quite literally be years apart.

Having said that, the next time I do take them out I will probably do the mod.

 

I have a mattenfilter on my 75, but not the corner one. I run it with a QuietOne 1200 pump with a piece of pvc pipe poking through the foam wall. We put a 45 elbow on it and pointed it towards the surface and I really like it. Dr. Tanner sent me a little foam scrap that lays on the bottom behind the filter wall to support it and keep the substrate from pushing it in. It wasn't really an issue for me though since I have just black pebbles instead of gravel or sand.
I like it because it is so quiet (since I don't run an air pump) and requires practically no maintenance. My bristlenose pleco and my juvenile angelfish are also enjoying browsing off the surface of the foam.

 

I have a mattenfilter on my 75, but not the corner one. I run it with a QuietOne 1200 pump with a piece of pvc pipe poking through the foam wall. We put a 45 elbow on it and pointed it towards the surface and I really like it. Dr. Tanner sent me a little foam scrap that lays on the bottom behind the filter wall to support it and keep the substrate from pushing it in. It wasn't really an issue for me though since I have just black pebbles instead of gravel or sand.
I like it because it is so quiet (since I don't run an air pump) and requires practically no maintenance. My bristlenose pleco and my juvenile angelfish are also enjoying browsing off the surface of the foam.

I think I have seen a pic of your set-up somewhere on Fishlore; nicely done!

I don't think you'd like my corner sponges and sponge walls as much. I recently replaced a battery of small air pumps with one large central one...but now the bubbling in that room sounds like I'm boiling a giant vat of water. I once thought a gentle bubbling filter was relaxing; now I'm not so sure...

 

I think I have seen a pic of your set-up somewhere on Fishlore; nicely done!

I don't think you'd like my corner sponges and sponge walls as much. I recently replaced a battery of small air pumps with one large central one...but now the bubbling in that room sounds like I'm boiling a giant vat of water. I once thought a gentle bubbling filter was relaxing; now I'm not so sure...

I've only posted it about 340523875 times. And yes, your fish room would probably make my eye twitch!!

 

Well all of this sounds encouraging. If it goes well on my 75 gallon I’ll get one for my 45g.

 

I run two 3" Poret blocks from Swiss tropical as mattenfilter in my Freshwater sump. Some YouTubers use another plastic based material (cheaper?) as a filter media in a similar configuration, but I like the Poret foam. I occasionally vacuum the mulm from the sump bare bottom everyone in a while , and didn't "squeeze out" the foam blocks for about 2 or 2.5 years after setting it up. Even so, probably didn't need to. I have a fully stocked community tank of tetras, guppies, cories and gourami.good stuff. I do wonder if having all that organic matter in the sump is good for sensitive fish like GBr or discus. Discus Hans uses mattenfilters in his shop so the answer probably is yes it's perfectly fine. But still , when everyone else is freaking out about cleaning their filters and you only need to do it every couple of years, it feels wierd, if you know what I mean

 

I got it up. And running this past Sunday. My tank is so clean. It looks really nice too.

 

Update on filter: my tank has little particles floating in the water. Filter is not cleaning the water as well as I would like. Could it be the pump I am using to run the filter? I have a tetra whisper 100.

 

Most likely you are going to need fine filter floss used with a pump to filter out that small stuff.

Build a DIY Water Polisher I built one and it works great in large tanks:

 

Most likely you are going to need fine filter floss used with a pump to filter out that small stuff.

Build a DIY Water Polisher. I built one and it works great in large tanks:

I thought the whole point of using the matten filter was that you didn’t need anything else.

 

I thought the whole point of using the matten filter was that you didn’t need anything else.

The above is just to polish the water for a few hours to get it clear then remove the polisher.

 

The best filter is a dirty filter, is an old fish keeper's saying. And it's true. The mattenfilter needs a few weeks or months to seed. Even a brand new Aquaclear won't polish your water. Once you have mulm and biofilm in the mattenfilter itself you will notice better mechanical filtration. I would use a separate filter as mentioned above in the meantime. My mattenfilter is now three years old. My water is Crystal clear within an hour or so after a water change these days.

 

Oh. I see. Still learning. Thank you guys.

If I get a power head to make the filter mentioned above which one do you guys recommend?

 

If I get a power head to make the filter mentioned above which one do you guys recommend?

This is the exact one he used in the video and the one I bought. Fits a water bottle perfect.



Takes about 3 mins to make. Cut the bottom of the bottle off, stuff it with fine floss. You are done.

 

Nice, I have a 75 gallon tank and my SwissTropicals poret sponge and jetlifter arrived the other day - just waiting for the stand to show up so I can assemble the tank. Should be fun!!!

 

Nice, I have a 75 gallon tank and my SwissTropicals poret sponge and jetlifter arrived the other day - just waiting for the stand to show up so I can assemble the tank. Should be fun!!!

It is a nice filter

 

You can get Aquaclear Powerhead plus Quick Filter attachment and run that instead. (Non DIY version). Will set you back about $45 .

 

You can get Aquaclear Powerhead plus Quick Filter attachment and run that instead. (Non DIY version). Will set you back about $45 .

WHOA, this is very interesting to me bigdreams, never knew about this. I take it with the attachment it should not suck up any baby fry/snails/shrimp and what not?

Would this powerhead:



And this Quick Filter:



It says you can clip two or more together as well, this sounds EPIC!

Thanks so much!

 

Yeah that would work, that's what I was referring to. You can find replacement filter pads in bulk (24 pack) on Amazon too. If you run it constantly you may clogging up after a week, depending on how cloudy your water is . I used it when I first setup my dirt tank, and don't use it that much anymore. Good to have on hand .

 

So it came bigdreams, but how in the heck does it attach? The powerhead came with a rubber attachment, but I can't get it to connect with the filter device, either with or without the rubber attachment thing. What am I doing wrong? Thanks!

 

The rubber attachment is for use with undergravel filters. You don't use that . You should be able to attach Quick filter directly to the powerhead. Make sure the "internal" plastic crating that goes into quick filter is aligned so that you can actually push it in onto the powerhead. You don't want the plastic grating end on the topside of the quick filter and it will get in the way. HTH

If quick filters opening is too big for powerhead, the quick filter should have come with an "insert" that should fit the powerhead better

Actually it looks like you added that insert already try removing the insert from the Quick filter cap, it should work. You don't need all the pieces that come with the powerhead/filter.

 

Thanks bigdreams! I will take a further look when I get home. But on the Quick Filter box before I left, it looked like it was saying to put it over the strainer piece. But the pump did not even come with a strainer piece. Shouldn't it have? Seems very weird that it did not - there would be nothing to keep huge things from going up into the powerhead.

Thanks!

 

That is strange ... My powerhead 20 came with a strainer, I think my powerhead 70 did not... Can't remember. Was the pump box properly sealed? It could be some models have strainers and others don't. The more powerful may be meant to be attached directly to a 1inch lift tube (coming from undergravel filter).

 

Box seemed sealed proper bigdreams, and looking at the product on amazon I can't see where it comes with a strainer. I guess I don't care as long as I can get the quick filter thing hooked up - will try again when I get home and follow up. Thanks!

 

Box seemed sealed proper bigdreams, and looking at the product on amazon I can't see where it comes with a strainer. I guess I don't care as long as I can get the quick filter thing hooked up - will try again when I get home and follow up. Thanks!

Did you get it to work?

 

Did you get it to work?

Yes sir I sure did!

One in my 20 gallon:




Smaller one on my 10 gallon:




It was just like you said bigdreams, the top of that quick filter had a little plastic piece in the middle I could push out, and when I did it was a perfect fit for the powerheads. I still have not put anything in the middle of the filter where there is the excess space, I think I'm going to throw some filter floss in there for the super-polished look!

Thanks so much, I will use these things forever!

 

The filter pads that come with the quick filter are essentially filter floss, they alone will polish the water. You could put carbon, purigen, or even biomedia in the middle instead. Adding additional filterfloss would be unnecessary I think.

Good to hear it worked out!

 

Got the floss and pump and it does help. My corner filter has stringy stuff on it. I pulled some out of the water and it’s black strings. Could this be black beard algae? I guess I’m leaving my light on too much? How do I get rid of it. It’s on my plants too just not as much as on the filter.

 

Dr. Tanner sent me a little foam scrap that lays on the bottom behind the filter wall to support it and keep the substrate from pushing it in.

Thanks for that. I'm in the middle of installing a CMF and couldn't figure out what the small piece of foam was for. I may need to cut it down a bit but it looks like it should provide decent support against gravel pressure.

The other thing I've seen is using a strip of thin, flexible plastic bent between the side braces and siliconed in place to hold the substrate at bay. I was planning to try something like that as it should keep the substrate out of the filter area when cleaning the foam.

 

The filter pads that come with the quick filter are essentially filter floss, they alone will polish the water. You could put carbon, purigen, or even biomedia in the middle instead. Adding additional filterfloss would be unnecessary I think.

Good to hear it worked out!

Got it, thank you bigdreams!