I decided to run carbon for my nanos, so I chose some Renew from Seachem. I had been using the cartridge filters, but they're expensive and get dirty so quickly.
My initial idea was to cut some eggcrate to fit into the chambers of the BioCube. Got the idea to go ahead and use the cartridge filters to hold the media bag. Oh yeah, I did this really quickly. :thumbs:
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Supplies
<ul>
<li>Renew or other carbon media</li>
<li>Upholstery or quilting thread</li>
<li>Scissors</li>
<li>Needles</li>
<li>Media bag or wedding veil material ($0.97/a yard at Walmart)</li>
<li>Left over filter that has a plastic base from something (like the BC filter or even a media tray out of a canister filter)</li>
</ul>
I used a pre-made media bag, but did get some material to make a nicer version after this one.
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Cutting open the (USED) cartridge filter. No sense in using a new one...
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The contents of the cartridge filter... gross! Throw all that away and pick off as much as you can off the plastic base. Rinse it off, and set it aside.
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I decided to get all fancy and put velcro at the top of the media bag. Quickly stitched, it looks bad, but the fish won't care.
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An idea how it will look once on the cartridge base.
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Portioned out the Renew so I could make 4 pouches. I did this because I didn't want all the Renew just sitting at the bottom of the bag.
Then I stitched most</em> of the way across so I can still remove the Renew later on.
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All filled up and spread out.
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Sew through the bottom of the media bag and loop through the cartridge base. This is just enough to hold it up.
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Sew at the top too and tied off. It isn't pretty, but it'll work.
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Placing in the tank... you can see how nasty the cartridge filter was when I took it down.
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Fits perfectly in the BioCube's slots and provides a lot of surface for filtration.
There we go! That's my crude media holder. In retrospect, I should have cut the cartridge dividers out so it would sit more flush.
You could easily use a different cartridge filter for whatever your tank is. You could also sew those little bags of Purigen and Phos-guard from Seachem to one too.
My initial idea was to cut some eggcrate to fit into the chambers of the BioCube. Got the idea to go ahead and use the cartridge filters to hold the media bag. Oh yeah, I did this really quickly. :thumbs:
Supplies
<ul>
<li>Renew or other carbon media</li>
<li>Upholstery or quilting thread</li>
<li>Scissors</li>
<li>Needles</li>
<li>Media bag or wedding veil material ($0.97/a yard at Walmart)</li>
<li>Left over filter that has a plastic base from something (like the BC filter or even a media tray out of a canister filter)</li>
</ul>
I used a pre-made media bag, but did get some material to make a nicer version after this one.
Cutting open the (USED) cartridge filter. No sense in using a new one...
The contents of the cartridge filter... gross! Throw all that away and pick off as much as you can off the plastic base. Rinse it off, and set it aside.
I decided to get all fancy and put velcro at the top of the media bag. Quickly stitched, it looks bad, but the fish won't care.
An idea how it will look once on the cartridge base.
Portioned out the Renew so I could make 4 pouches. I did this because I didn't want all the Renew just sitting at the bottom of the bag.
Then I stitched most</em> of the way across so I can still remove the Renew later on.
All filled up and spread out.
Sew through the bottom of the media bag and loop through the cartridge base. This is just enough to hold it up.
Sew at the top too and tied off. It isn't pretty, but it'll work.
Placing in the tank... you can see how nasty the cartridge filter was when I took it down.
Fits perfectly in the BioCube's slots and provides a lot of surface for filtration.
There we go! That's my crude media holder. In retrospect, I should have cut the cartridge dividers out so it would sit more flush.
You could easily use a different cartridge filter for whatever your tank is. You could also sew those little bags of Purigen and Phos-guard from Seachem to one too.
