# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories >  Mattenfilter concept

## felix_fx2

Hi all,

was researching which type of filter to use in my 2nd diana tank setup when i came across this.

Mattenfilter (DIY)
Source: http://www.kornels-welt.de/blog/2007...-mattenfilter/


Source: http://www.tlh-info.de/service/eck-hmf.html


Wondering any bro's here have used this filter before. Maybe even know if there is a off-the-shelf version which i can purchase.

Link where i initially saw it: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...n-concept.html

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## BFG

The sponge should be available off the shelf. You need to diy the sponge holder.

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## illumnae

I've recently used them in my 4x1x1 tanks. I bought a large black sponge and bent it to fit at the 1x1 side like a 'C' shape. It worked really well, considering I had a colony of 7 large hypancistrus/peckoltia in each of the tanks together with dithers.

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## felix_fx2

> The sponge should be available off the shelf. You need to diy the sponge holder.


You mean i can buy it off the shelf in LFS like NA?
Sponge holder no problem to me, hardware shop my next block.

it would be a great plus point if NA stocks large sponge, i live toa payoh  :Grin:

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## xaine

My take is that for gravel/planted tank, it would be better to have the sponge split into 2 parts (bottom and top). Taking the sponge out to wash and putting it back would be a big task if you have gravel pushing against the sponge.

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## Shadow

what so special about this filter? cheap maybe but it take out space of your tank.

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## ranmasatome

well.. if you're breeding fishes, i feel this filter is the way i'd go.
Its special not only because it is cheap but also its filtering capabilites is only dependant on what kind of pump you decide to run it on. Further more, you can double up the pump to mix air into your water. Also mulm gathers below and is benificial to have a good colony of bacteria in the tank. 
Of course esthetically, it sucks! but functionally, as in all fish breeding. We want to give the fish the best environment and water quality and this filter not only does it cheaply and well. But is also good for water aeration and bacteria/small organism cultivation. All dont within a tank and it still filters the tank and doesn't let the solids mix with where the fishes are residing.

Quite an ingenious idea i'd have to say.

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## felix_fx2

> My take is that for gravel/planted tank, it would be better to have the sponge split into 2 parts (bottom and top). Taking the sponge out to wash and putting it back would be a big task if you have gravel pushing against the sponge.


Bro i agree with the hassle involved with the changing.
have a look at the ones i found.

This one looks really good if placed in reverse like a rockwall.


Acrylic Frames for mattenfilters

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## khtee

I like this. What's the minimum tank size requirement. Where can I get this Acrylic Frames for mattenfilters? What pump is best for this setup? Can advise? Thinking of setting up a 2 ft tank for this.

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## illumnae

There is actually some math behind calculating what pump to use. I got to go dig, but there's a formula where you take tank volume, size of sponge, thickness of sponge and i can't remember what other variables and you calculate the size of the pump. They're all supposed to plug into an equation to arrive at a range of values for an "ideal" setup. you can't simply just choose to run a strong or weak pump and achieve optimum filtration from this.

As to what is so special about this filter, the theory is that in a standard filter, alot of media space is actually wasted. Only the first few mm/cm of all filter media can properly colonize bacteria, as the bacteria needs an oxygen rich environment to function. Hence, while our branded media contains alot of surface area, most of the surface area is wasted. A proper mattenfilter is efficient (depending on thickness) as essentially the whole sponge is your biofilter since both sides are expose to air, so assuming that "x" is the number of mm that can be used, a sponge the thickness of 2x is all that's needed. Hence, in theory, the mattenfilter is as good as your canister filter in terms of efficiency.

I probably didn't explain it too well but that's the gist of it

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## felix_fx2

khtee: i am also trying to see if any LFS selling them anot, especially the rock wall one  :Laughing: . but i don't think have minimum for tank size, its the sponge and pump that you use as illumane mention.

illumnae: you got any idea if such things are being sold in LFS? if not will have to DIY from Clay+Cable gutters

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## illumnae

I didn't use those, I used it on a 4x1x1 tank, so I cut my sponge to about 30x40cm and just wedged it on the 1x1 side

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## Fuzzy

For the Acrylic holder, you can plot out the measurements yourself and bring the plans to any of the acrylic shops in Bras Brasah book centre. 
Print out the above picture and bring along also so they have a rough idea of what you're trying to do.

Alternatively you can find shops that do signage and acrylic work around Kelantan lane. They can all do it for fairly cheap.

Also another idea is get glass cut to size then just silicone in place to hold the mat. I may consider this method when I redo my 2ft CRS tank.

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## rainman

> I didn't use those, I used it on a 4x1x1 tank, so I cut my sponge to about 30x40cm and just wedged it on the 1x1 side


Hi, apologies for bringing this thread back from the dead, but can anyone let me know where I can find this type of sponge to use? thanks in advance!

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## illumnae

I got mine from C328. I'm pretty sure most LFS will have it

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## rainman

thanks for the reply bro! will check them out this weekend.. cheers!

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## rainman

> I got mine from C328. I'm pretty sure most LFS will have it


Hi bro, just got the sponge from c328.. thanks! just curious, what are you using to power the air flow? i'm using an airpump and was wondering if the flow rate is sufficient. thanks!

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## stormhawk

Air pump is not sufficient for this filter, unless in much smaller tanks. If you did use air pump to power it, you are better off using a standard sponge filter. Switch to a small powerhead instead, to maximise the flow rate of the water passing through the sponge filter.

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## illumnae

There's a formula actually to calculate the flowrate of air needed. It's based on surface area of the sponge and volume of water. I'll try and dig it up.

I used a hiblow 20 to power 2 4x1x1 tanks. I split it into 8 outlets 4 for each tank of which 1 was for the mattenfilter. The flow can't be too weak but it can't be so strong either or it won't work

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## rainman

> Air pump is not sufficient for this filter, unless in much smaller tanks. If you did use air pump to power it, you are better off using a standard sponge filter. Switch to a small powerhead instead, to maximise the flow rate of the water passing through the sponge filter.


I was trying to avoid using submersible powerheads as i was worried about raising water temp. or is there an external way to power air flow other than air pumps? BTW, my tanks are only 25L.




> There's a formula actually to calculate the flowrate of air needed. It's based on surface area of the sponge and volume of water. I'll try and dig it up.
> 
> I used a hiblow 20 to power 2 4x1x1 tanks. I split it into 8 outlets 4 for each tank of which 1 was for the mattenfilter. The flow can't be too weak but it can't be so strong either or it won't work


thanks bro, i've actually seen the calculations on the flowrate needed.. though it did give me a major headache. haha.

thanks again for everyone's help!

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