reuben.a Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 Hi guys, has anyone used this method of filtration? Would anyone be able to give me some personal experiences with it both positive and negative? after being subscribed to Fish2WaterNZ (Likoma on here i believe) on youtube for a while now, i have been inspired to try it myself because the results they get from this method really do speak for themselves. Likoma's tanks are some of the nicest freshwater tanks i have ever seen and by the looks of it this filtration method definitely works. So yeah if any of you have experience with it please let me know - I'd also definitely recommend subscribing to 'Fish2WaterNZ' on youtube. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 CrazyGeoff uses them in some of his pleco breeding tanks with good results. Its in one of his videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diyer Posted December 19, 2014 Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 I use this filter in almost all of my aquariums. Biological filtration is at a high level and I recommend it to everyone. I only have a positive opinion. See a few of my diy portable version of this great filter made of glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 That is really cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanityChelle Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 I wonder if it would work by making like a poret tube cover for the intake of a canister. It would be a mini version on the outside, with poret and noodles inside the canister too. I'm forever getting plant bits over the filter intake, so having something to catch it before it gets in would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 I have cut a hole in a bit of poret and use it as a sleeve over my canister intake for that reason. Is that what you mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSa Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 Hi guys, Sorry to disappoint you - but your filters have nothing to do with the original HMF except using a mat. His whole concept is based around a very strict balance between the required water flow, the size of the tank and the circulation per hour. These three points define the size of the pump, the dimensions of the mat and what PPI. If you bend the mat, the flow will change which needs adjusting. Here are some links to calculators: Size of mat - Click Size of pump - Click Flow rate - Click Bend mat? - Click Only if you design your HMF after these rules you will get all the benefits. If not - it's just another mechanical filter. Cheers, JaSa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanityChelle Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 I have cut a hole in a bit of poret and use it as a sleeve over my canister intake for that reason. Is that what you mean? Pretty much. When I can, I'll be getting a few sheets to replace the crap bioballs in the Nautilus, so I'll have extra bits to cut off anyway, and was trying to think ways to reuse them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 Hi guys, Sorry to disappoint you - but your filters have nothing to do with the original HMF except using a mat. Only if you design your HMF after these rules you will get all the benefits. If not - it's just another mechanical filter. Well said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 Hi guys, Sorry to disappoint you - but your filters have nothing to do with the original HMF except using a mat. His whole concept is based around a very strict balance between the required water flow, the size of the tank and the circulation per hour. These three points define the size of the pump, the dimensions of the mat and what PPI. If you bend the mat, the flow will change which needs adjusting. Here are some links to calculators: Size of mat - Click Size of pump - Click Flow rate - Click Bend mat? - Click Only if you design your HMF after these rules you will get all the benefits. If not - it's just another mechanical filter. Cheers, JaSa Fantastic links :thup: Really useful The main information that I took from the method is the rate of flow impacting the amount of BB and it's totally changed my view on filtration (I always went for the highest flow, which is efficient for mechanical filtration but not at all for biological filtration). Certainly changes your setups and how you view things like canister filter efficiency. Has alsocompletely changed all the sump plans we had made for the new large tanks and fishroom, based on the idea that bacteria mostly form in the first few Cms and avoiding heavy stacking of the media as all it does is mean you require more flow (rendering the first pieces useless)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likoma Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 All good information so far. HMFs are awesome. We use them on every one of our tanks. It just gives the most biological stability. Sanity Chelle, instead of a tiny sleeve covering your in take which can block very easily. Place a sheet of foam flush up with the front left or right side of the tank. Have it angle slightly out as it reaches the back of the tank. This makes a small triangle of open space between the foam sheet and the corner of the tank. By placing the sucky part of your canister filter behind the sheet. You will then get the bonus of a pre filter for your canister and a HMF. Off cuts of foam can be used for a multitude of things. Algae cleaner to clean your glass, a small square placed on the siphon hose preventing small fish get sucked out. Placing bits of food in the foam and sinking it making your fish work for their food.( great for compressiceps and calvus.) Its kinda like duct tape for a fishkeeper. I think its important to break up the idea of flow rates into 3 categories. Water movement, Mechanical filtration and biological filtration. Water movement in the tank is important. This moves debris around making it easy for your filter to deal with it. It also makes the fish exercise. I set our wave pumps on timers that come on for 8 hours a day with 15 minute breaks in that period. Mechanical filtration can be linked to this. The faster the water passes through your mech the sooner it will look clean. Biological filtration requires a longer contact time between the water an the bacteria. We run all our biological portions of our HMF on a 2.5x cycle rate. This gives the beneficial bacteria time to do its works. When we do any installations now we split the length of foam into a 70/30 split. The 70 portion is biological and the mechanical gets 30%. This method works very well. It is important to abide by the flow rates but don`t get frustrated with them. There is a certain amount of leeway. The rule of thumb is if its a standard size aquarium and the foam sheet covers one end of the tank a 2.5x cycle rate will work. If you are using a corner filter just ensure the length foam would cover the end of the tank. If the sheet is smaller go for a lower flow rate. A thicker sheet of foam will allow a slightly higher flow rate. If anyone is ever struggling with the implementation of an HMF , in my opinion the most reliable form of filtration, IM happy to help you out as a sounding board. Flick me a your number and Ill give you a call. Thanks for reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted December 26, 2014 Report Share Posted December 26, 2014 Hi guys, Sorry to disappoint you - but your filters have nothing to do with the original HMF except using a mat. His whole concept is based around a very strict balance between the required water flow, the size of the tank and the circulation per hour. These three points define the size of the pump, the dimensions of the mat and what PPI. If you bend the mat, the flow will change which needs adjusting. Here are some links to calculators: Size of mat - Click Size of pump - Click Flow rate - Click Bend mat? - Click Only if you design your HMF after these rules you will get all the benefits. If not - it's just another mechanical filter. Cheers, JaSa Exactly. This is the explanation that I used for my design, and it is already in English Click Here Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.