Polyfilter

This has been discussed before, I think, the article discusses the benefits of the product but states that it can be revitalised!! True or false?

saltaquarium.about.com/od/productreviews/gr/prpolyfilter.htm

Kev.

TBH i think its a load of balls, it would lose a hell of alot of its effectiveness by rinsing it, i mean if it acts like carbon surely it will have a max limit at the end of the day its something like a catalyst which does only have a certaiin effective life cycle no matter how much one tries to rinse it out

it's good for removing meds but i'd use it for nothing else other than that (although i only really do water changes), the best biochemical filter is the natural bacteria in a well established tank IMO

I think once it turns dark brown/black it loses it's ability to absorb nasties. I wouldn't chance trying to revitalise it. It's said that it doesn't release anything back into the tank and I haven't had any problems just leaving it in the tank long term as it eventually becomes colonised benefical bacteria.

Have only started reading about Polyfilter since Kev's link was posted. I saw it in the shop but just thought it was a brand of filter floss. Is it really all that guys? Is it worth getting some to have in reserve? I have read that it is probably a bit expensive to use all the time but good for emergencies.

I don’t use that particular product…..but only because I use something else, and Polyfilter is a tad expensive.

However, I do see some interesting comments about polyfilter claiming the impossible.

What Polyfilter claims is not impossible or magical……it claims to do what has been used and made for donkeys years by people like myself in chemistry labs for either protecting chemists against ammonia OR for specifically made catalysts in making chemotherapeutic drugs in the purest practical form.

It is possible to design specific molecular sieves for so many things and for different purposes.

Regeneration is a possibility that can be designed within the construction of these things; the method of regeneration varies from sieve to sieve but needs to follow precisely what is recommended by the manufacturer.

Ian

from what i understand from old instructions i had for polyfilter it can be revitalised by putting it in a salt water solution for 24 hours if it was used in a freshwater setup, and if in a marine tank freshwater for 24 hours, it doesnt like lets say some of the seachem products go back to its original colour but i have put it in a light bleach solution for a further 24 hours to solve that and rinsed very well and put in a solution of easylife before reusing, i have done it with mine a few times and it seems to still work as it did originally imho... then again maybe its my imagination

This is one of the good things I love about People, the ability to have an open Mind,
Thanks Seamus.

Kev.

your welcome Kev, hope that helps, as for the open mind i cant have an open mind as i lost it years ago when i started fishkeeping

Seamus

How good is this polyfilter? If salt can dissolve all the impurities out of a polyfilter surely some filter based on salt would be much easier and i dare say cheaper. What say ye.
phil

its bloody brilliant stuff but expensive

@Pkearney….as I said I don’t use this product for various cost reasons, but the principle of these type of things (nothing new about it) is they based upon a molecular sieve/zeolite properties (just as ion-exchange resins have similar properties).

The salt doesn’t dissolve the molecules adsorbed onto or into the matrix but displaces what is adsorbed….usually it is by electrical means, but it could also be via simple physical displacement (depending upon the exact nature of the material). I promise I will not go into the science of the possible actions (I would have to make all possible guesses on this as I don’t have any polyfilter at hand to look at it)

The old resin water softeners work on the same basis; de-ionisers work on the same basis; ammonia adsorbing clays work like that.

When working in designing and making chemotherapeutic agents, some of them are very sensitive and difficult to make in large quantity: but by making a special molecular sieve (like this type of filter is most likely to be) we could custom make all the reacting molecules be adsorbed onto the internal surface of the material to make reaction easier and quicker…..then we would add some other chemical to make the material release what we wanted. No magic, just good technology.

Ian

i find polyfilter a very good product esp for troubleshooting or to put a final polish to water for particularly delicate or newly arrived species. i have never tried to revitalise it and just discard when spent and replace with new.

There are a few brands of poly-filter and 2 main ones we come across.
One made by undrworld (the one with the fancy packaging) and the other by poly-bio marine (the one with the clear packaging).

Now you would imagine the one made by poly-bio marine is aimed at and best used for marine aquariums.
But IMO this is not the case.

I have used both and found the bio marine stuff doesn't work very efficiently in salt water, even though the name suggests it should do.
If you first give it a good rinse and a few squeezes in fresh water it works a little better. But not much.

I find the underworld poly-filter dose exactly what is says it can do.
I have tried both side by side in both fresh and salt water and the underworld stuff won hands down.

To compare it to carbon, well you cant really. They both work differently.
For one IME carbon can leach back in to the water and i wouldn't leave it in a filter for any more than a month.
As for poly-filter it doesn't leach back in to the water, so you can just leave it.
Also it will still work (a little slower) even if it is just sitting in the tank.
IMO euro for euro good quality carbon would cost more in the long run.

I would always have some handy just in case. Especially if you use tap water and suddenly notice the fish acting a little strange straight after a water change. Just bang some in the filter, you never know what nasties you can introduce from the tap water.

Just my experience and 2 cents

@Platy..........A good side-by-side comparison test done there.

As Platy252 says.....recommendation as a back-up even if we think our water is 'perfect'.

I would be be quite particular about conditioning my water and in my filtration system (and I'm a big advocate of water changes, and a bit of a purist).....but I always have similar things at hand: I have changed recently to using the JBL NitrEx and their AmmoEX as my emergency resins (and also use JBL Manado in some cases): I have confidence in my water systems, but anything can still go wrong.

These things are also great for breeding tanks especially for fish that do not like too much water movement (eg bettas, gourami, soil-diving killifish) where they can be placed within the substrate (or as the substrate).

In fact, the use of these types of materials may even be less stressful in some situations of system collapse than the alternative of a massive or complete water change to solve a problem.

That reminds me....I was supposed to get some more NitrEx yesterday.

ian

Good reviews of this product. I had heard of it before.

Do people buy it online or can it be bought in a LFS?

Grab it quick online or via LFS, because by all Accounts, the company that makes it is going out of business.



Kev.

which company kev, as there are a few forms of polyfilter out there, some better than others

Underworld or their parent company went bust but they've been bought out by someone else so nothing should change as far as I know.