Archivarium 2004

[tepro]

Hi all!
I just want to know how to DIY a filter pad for my Emperor 400, or a way where I can bypass buying the cartridges. I'm running 2 Emp 400 on my 75 gallons cichlics tank and it is getting expensive having to replace 4 cartridges a month. I been readint the posts and found comments on poly-fill quilt batting and filter floss, but don't know where I can get them. Would these 2 work or is there a better and less expensive way? Thanks in advance.

[haname]

You can rinse the cartridges and reuse them.
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Happy fishkeeping!

~Haname

[benedictj]

I second haname and would add that you probably shouldn't be changing your cartridges that often. I personally never change mine, I simply rinse them with dechlorinated water (I'm going on the same media for nearly 2 years).

The real issue with changing your filter media often is your nitrifying bacteria. A large portion of these toxin consumers live on/in your filter media. Each time you remove your media, you alter the biological filtration capacity of your tank. (which can have catastrophic results).