After buddying-up with a
LFS owner....he let me in on a filter trick I would like to share with this board
for those of you using PowerFilters that hang on the back of your tank.
Instead of buying Mfgr filters....he sold me a big swatch of white-felt. I'm pretty sure this white-felt filters down to the micron-level....since its very dense. I think its very very fiberous polyester...its extremely dense and porous.
I use the black plastic frames that the Mfgr filters are attached to and remove their crappy filter material with a knife.... I then cut the white-felt to match the black plastic frame. With the black plastic frame inside the PowerFilter the white-felt is held against the frame by the water pressure / water flow.
Once a week I take out the white-felt filters and rinse them with hot water...to get the gunk out. Then I boil the white felt for 10-15 mins on my stove to get rid of the rest of the gunk. And no...boiling the white-felt doesn't harm it because its sturdy and dense material. And yes... I use a dedicate pot just for these filters as my wife would kill me using a regular cooking pot. The gunk you boil out is...well... never mind....
I reuse these white-felt filters over and over again for like 3 months. It save a ton of $$$ from buying Mfgr filters....
and honestly I think it does 3times a better job!!
A big swatch of this white-felt that lasts me over a year, is only like $20.
Thought I'd share something that really works for me...and cheaply.
