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Filters
Mar 31, 2016 12:31:18 GMT -5
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Post by shortrun on Mar 31, 2016 12:31:18 GMT -5
What would be a good filter for a homemade bait tank? About 20 gallon. Thanks
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Filters
Mar 31, 2016 14:04:09 GMT -5
Post by coheasion on Mar 31, 2016 14:04:09 GMT -5
Filter material? If so, I would go to your local pet store and buy some activated carbon filters for home aquariums. They make them in sheets and you can cut to your size. $7-8 and you can get multiple filters out of it that lasts quite a while.
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Brian
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Filters
Mar 31, 2016 17:35:56 GMT -5
Post by Brian on Mar 31, 2016 17:35:56 GMT -5
I think most of us just use sheets of polyfill polyester stuffing. It's with sewing stuff at walmart, target, etc. It is available loose in a bag or woven into a matt. Don't get the loose stuff.
I may be wrong, but for day fishing I think activated charcoal is of limited value. You're really just trying to filter out slime, scales, etc...
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Filters
Mar 31, 2016 21:36:12 GMT -5
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Post by shortrun on Mar 31, 2016 21:36:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the information.
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Deleted
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Filters
Apr 1, 2016 18:28:24 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2016 18:28:24 GMT -5
In terms of filters, I find sponges to be the best because you can cut them to fit tightly and you don't have to continually replace polyfil. Just simply rinse them with water and step on them to clean during the day. And you can throw in a bit of baking soda to control smell. Additionally, baking soda helps by adding alkalinity to the water.
My favorite sponge to date is a masonry sponge from Lowe's (thanks LiveBaitJunkee). This thing is a beast and will really clean up the water by removing turbidity and all the other crap. Within in a few hours, dirty lake water gets pretty clear. I also add various other sponges with different porosities just because I enjoy cleaning water.
In terms of activated carbon, I will not refute that it is probably not needed for a day trip. But... If you like to see shimmering crystal clear water in your tank, activated carbon is a wonderful polishing agent. The black crap or soot from the charcoal muddies up the water and binds to very small particular matter making it easily absorbed by your filter material.
Thus, if you enjoy the science, go nuts. If you just want to keep your shad alive for a day, I still think sponges are cheaper and easier to work with than polyfil.
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Filters
Apr 1, 2016 19:06:53 GMT -5
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Post by shortrun on Apr 1, 2016 19:06:53 GMT -5
Thanks. I work in a carbon plant. May try some just to do it. What would be a good material to put the carbon in? Nylon stockings?
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Brian
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Filters
Apr 1, 2016 19:10:13 GMT -5
Post by Brian on Apr 1, 2016 19:10:13 GMT -5
Do you have to prepare the sponges ahead of time? I just tear off a piece of polyfil, poke a hole in it for the standpipe and stuff it in the filter box. Goes in the trash when it needs to be changed. Wasteful but cheap and close to zero effort
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Post by striperjohn on Apr 1, 2016 19:13:35 GMT -5
Thanks. I work in a carbon plant. May try some just to do it. What would be a good material to put the carbon in? Nylon stockings? Petsmart and others carry 12 inch long white bags that work great for charcoal.
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Deleted
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Apr 1, 2016 19:17:40 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2016 19:17:40 GMT -5
Thanks. I work in a carbon plant. May try some just to do it. What would be a good material to put the carbon in? Nylon stockings? Nylon would work great. Keep in mind that the longer the water contacts the carbon the better it will work. You have to get the soot to touch the water, then you have to filter the soot. The easiest way to clean water is to just put the carbon in the bait side. However, then you have to wait a few hours before all that water is filtered. The balanced way to do this is to put your carbon in your filter box about half way down. Idea here is to keep shad slime off your nylon so that it won't clog, then have filters below it to filter out the soot. It's a long term science project that can always be better.
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Post by striperjohn on Apr 1, 2016 19:27:14 GMT -5
If you use nylon stockings the edges of the charcoal will eventually cut holes in it. Read the charcoal directions and wash the soot out of it prior to putting it in your filter box. I use 2-12 inch bags loosely filled so you can fit them around the tube in your overflow tube at the bottom of your filter box. Place your fiber filters above them to keep scum off them. My filter will clear up sml mud water and shad crap in about and hour and a half. Crystal clear.
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Deleted
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Filters
Apr 1, 2016 19:30:52 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2016 19:30:52 GMT -5
Do you have to prepare the sponges ahead of time? I just tear off a piece of polyfil, poke a hole in it for the standpipe and stuff it in the filter box. Goes in the trash when it needs to be changed. Wasteful but cheap and close to zero effort Same thing with a sponge. Just poke a hole. But a masonry sponge will last for years. Heck... My sponge that came with my tank is still part of my stack.
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Deleted
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Filters
Apr 1, 2016 20:13:18 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2016 20:13:18 GMT -5
If you use nylon stockings the edges of the charcoal will eventually cut holes in it. Read the charcoal directions and wash the soot out of it prior to putting it in your filter box. I use 2-12 inch bags loosely filled so you can fit them around the tube in your overflow tube at the bottom of your filter box. Place your fiber filters above them to keep scum off them. My filter will clear up sml mud water and shad crap in about and hour and a half. Crystal clear. I personally like the soot for quick water treatment. If you throw that soot in dirty water then filter it, the water will shine. Thus, I don't religiously clean my activated carbon as recommended by the directions. I do however, give it a quick rinse before each application (mostly to clean my bags that hold the charcoal) and am happy to see some black residue leaching out of the bag. A black filter below my charcoal at the end of the day makes me a happy camper. Again, using charcoal is probably not needed. In fact, shad would probably like muddy water better. I just like to tinker with crap!
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Post by striperjohn on Apr 2, 2016 5:58:18 GMT -5
Hey Yam I'm pretty much convinced that you'd try to improve a steel ball bearing.
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Deleted
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Apr 2, 2016 6:25:26 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2016 6:25:26 GMT -5
Hey Yam I'm pretty much convinced that you'd try to improve a steel ball bearing. Ha... I sure didn't learn to read so that I could follow directions. Honestly, you should try this. Activated carbon works due to its high surface area to volume ratio. The bigger the pieces, the less this ratio. In fact, after your bigger pieces have lost their magic, you can get more life out of them if you crush them up. This frees up new area for adsorption. Using the soot is no different than using powdered activated carbon which is commonly used as a pre-filter treatment option for water that has high organic content. The directions on the box assumes you don't know any of this and want you to come back to buy more after a few weeks.
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Post by striperjohn on Apr 2, 2016 8:17:08 GMT -5
I bought a 22oz container from petsmart 3 years ago for 19.00. I filled 4 12inch x 3 inch bags with it. I am still using it today. I rinse the bags off after every trip. My filter box is layered like this; 2 bags if charcoal Cover them with 1/2 box of Fluval prefilter cylinders cover that with two layers of fiber filter material-fiber fil polyfill etc Good to go. When you come in rinse everything with a hose and dry for next trip.
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