No Polishing Pads!!!

CichlidMomErin · Dec 13, 2018

I'm in the middle of a water change and started to take apart my canister filter and realize I don’t have any polishing pads! How important are they and is there an alternative I can use? I won’t be able to make it to the store until tomorrow. And the old one is nasty, I can’t put it back. What can I do? Would it be ok to run the filter for a day without them? TIA for any info

Demeter · Dec 13, 2018

I don't use them anymore in my canister filter. Now I use cheap polyester stuffing (for pillows and such). Much cheaper and a big bag will last quite a while.

Their main function is catching the smallest particles that didn't get trapped in the other media, so not a huge deal but nice to have.

Ksway · Dec 13, 2018

I'm in the middle of a water change and started to take apart my canister filter and realize I don’t have any polishing pads! How important are they and is there an alternative I can use? I won’t be able to make it to the store until tomorrow. And the old one is nasty, I can’t put it back. What can I do? Would it be ok to run the filter for a day without them? TIA for any info

Do you have any biological media in the filter ? Also what is the size of the tank and is it heavily stocked? The pads will store benificial bacteria that breaks down waste so they can be quite important they also filter out the heavier dirt. I would say just light rinse out the pads in aquarium water to get most of the dirt off and put them back in the filter. These pads can be used for a very long time without being replaced.

CichlidMomErin · Dec 13, 2018

I have bio balls, carbon filters, ceramic beads and foam filters in my canister. The polishing pad is the one that sits at the very top on the ceramic beads. It’s a 75 gallon tank and it’s got a light load, 8 fish total. I couldn’t rinse the pad, it fell apart when I tried. It was definitely at the end of its life. I just need to run it without the pad until tomorrow. I don’t want to damage my filter.

Do you have any biological media in the filter ? Also what is the size of the tank and is it heavily stocked? The pads will store benificial bacteria that breaks down waste so they can be quite important they also filter out the heavier dirt. I would say just light rinse out the pads in aquarium water to get most of the dirt off and put them back in the filter. These pads can be used for a very long time without being replaced.

CichlidMomErin · Dec 13, 2018

I don't use them anymore in my canister filter. Now I use cheap polyester stuffing (for pillows and such). Much cheaper and a big bag will last quite a while.

Their main function is catching the smallest particles that didn't get trapped in the other media, so not a huge deal but nice to have.

So it would be ok to run it without the pad until tomorrow?

Fashooga · Dec 13, 2018

You should be fine...it's not going to mess things up. It's just a mechanical filter to give you crystal clear water. Nothing else.

Ksway · Dec 13, 2018

I have bio balls, carbon filters, ceramic beads and foam filters in my canister. The polishing pad is the one that sits at the very top on the ceramic beads. It’s a 75 gallon tank and it’s got a light load, 8 fish total. I couldn’t rinse the pad, it fell apart when I tried. It was definitely at the end of its life. I just need to run it without the pad until tomorrow. I don’t want to damage my filter.

Oh you have plenty of media ! That shouldn’t be an issue at all I agree 100% with fashooga!

Islandvic · Dec 13, 2018

Yes, it will be fine to run for a day without it.

An alternative to polishing pads made for your canister is to use DIY media.

Loose PolyFil and PolyFil batting are very popular alternatives, work excellent and way more cost effective than polishing pads.

Amazon also has a large selection of bulk filter pad rolls that you cut to fit, usually 12" x 72" long for $11-$17 a roll.

You can layer the PolyFill Batting or pieces cut out of the bulk roll in your media trays, or just stuff some of the loose Polyfil in them.

Here is a pic of the Polyfil and some bulk pad cut to fit, in my Aquaclear 30 and 110 filter basket to give you an idea of how it looks.