Nano Aquarium Canister Filters

[techman81]

ASG Mini arrived today. Out of the box, I am not impressed.

The inlet and outlet hoses are siliconed into the quick-connect fittings, rendering them useless. Hose replacement will be difficult at best.

Outlet
View attachment 12226

Inlet
View attachment 12228

The hose to and from the pump appears to have a smaller-diameter hose as a spacer. The pump is velcroed to the canister body.

View attachment 12229

I ordered both the Orchid and Bulb Lily Pipe Holders along with the ASG Lily Pipe Holders. The lily pipe boxes have been cannibalized for the suction cup holders.

Here are some photos of the Tru filter connections. The pump inlet plugs directly into the filter quick connect. I think the pump is an off-the-shelf pump that they used heatshrink on the barb fittings to fit both the quick connect and the 9/12mm hose, but it seems to work well after a test run at the sink, no complaints yet. The input quick connect has an adapter, smooth on the quick connect end and barb for the hose on the other end. I never intended to use the vinyl hose that came with the filters but rather some 9/12mm gray silicone tubing.

Also in my test run, I can confirm that the pump is very quiet on all settings and in fact, nearly silent on the 2 lowest settings.

 

[VJM]

I was thinking this morning about media for very small filters. Does anyone have opinions/experience with running only sponges? It seems like it might be a better way to provide increased surface area in such small canister bodies, but I have not tried it.

 

[Koan]

I was thinking this morning about media

Lots of people use just pot scrubbers

Question of the Day Post in thread 'Hobby Hacks - your best tips, tricks and time-savers!'

Jan 24, 2025

Pot scrubbers for filter media. Good surface area to support large microbial communities and good flow through, so not limiting turnover. And cheap.

Old credit card to get rid of algae between the glass front and substrate.

Using a funnel with tube attached to add fresh substrate in an established tank when still full of water. Very good for getting it exactly where you want it without mess or disturbance.

Turkey baster with hose attached to disturb mulm in those awkward places and syphon it out at the same time.

Similar method for trimming moss. Attach hose to scissors...

• Tim Harrison

• 

 

[techman81]

I was thinking this morning about media for very small filters. Does anyone have opinions/experience with running only sponges? It seems like it might be a better way to provide increased surface area in such small canister bodies, but I have not tried it.

There are some threads discussing canister filter setups and you'll find that a number of folks here including @Dennis Wong, use only foam even in their large canisters. The thinking being that in heavily planted tanks, expensive biomedia doesn't really provide much benefit over foam. I have a lot of matrix on the shelf so I plan to keep using it until I run out, but then might just stick to foam on the next builds to see how it goes.

 

[Dennis Wong]

I was thinking this morning about media for very small filters. Does anyone have opinions/experience with running only sponges? It seems like it might be a better way to provide increased surface area in such small canister bodies, but I have not tried it.

yea, I only use sponge for planted setups nowdays. I find I get better water polishing with it (as in with 100% sponge, rather than mix with ceramic media) without needing the use for purigen type media.


View attachment 4ft short 1.mp4

 

[VJM]

So interesting, you guys! Makes sense to me. It’s hard to cram any meaningful amount of matrix in these kinds of filters, and there are a lot of gaps and wasted space.

I don’t know why pot scrubbers worry me more than aquarium labeled sponges. I guess I worry a bit about how fastidious the manufacture is for a cheap product that is supposed to be food safe. But the designated aquarium sponges are probably not any more carefully made.

I may give all sponge a go for the coming build and see how it goes.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

I also use 100% sponges, no bio media. Use really fine sponges and clean them every 2-4 weeks.

 

[Koan]

Use really fine sponges and clean them every 2-4 weeks

Is this with the Netlea pre-filter on all your canisters? Or do you just have that on the one pump system?

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Is this with the Netlea pre-filter on all your canisters? Or do you just have that on the one pump system?

Just one netlea prefilter and an inline return pump on all of my setups currently!

 

[VJM]

I also use 100% sponges, no bio media. Use really fine sponges and clean them every 2-4 weeks.

Is that only fine sponges or lots of fine sponges + some medium and coarse? If it is all fine sponges, do you notice a big impact on flow? It might actually be helpful for me if it did knock down the flow some, as these are going on very small tanks (Mini M and UNS 30c and 5s). Even the smallest filters tend have flow to spare for these tanks. Any brands you recommend or like?

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Is that only fine sponges or lots of fine sponges + some medium and coarse? If it is all fine sponges, do you notice a big impact on flow? It might actually be helpful for me if it did knock down the flow some, as these are going on very small tanks (Mini M and UNS 30c and 5s). Even the smallest filters tend have flow to spare for these tanks. Any brands you recommend or like?

If I'm using a true canister filter like an Oase Biomaster, I usually run all fine sponges, including the prefilter sponges.

Finer sponges will clean the water far better, but will also require more frequent cleanings (every 2-4 weeks).

On my two large tanks right now, I don't have "filters", just a Netlea Prefilter and an inline return pump. The Netlea Prefilter (especially the large) has a very fine sponge, probably 80ppi or finer.

If I don't clean it for a month at a time, yes I notice flow slowing down. However, it's easy to detach the entire prefilter because of the quick disconnects built in, carry it to the sink, beat the everloving crap out of the sponge in the sink until it runs clean and clear, then reinstall.

For a nano canister filter, if it were me, I'd run fine sponges and clean it every 2-4 weeks as part of maintenance.

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As a side note, I believe fine sponges are a GREAT way to remove organic waste from your system. Fine particles being caught build up in your filter over time, and you can remove them all in one go. I purposefully use my sponges for this purpose- to capture DOC/waste, and allow me to manually remove it.

 

[techman81]

Is that only fine sponges or lots of fine sponges + some medium and coarse? If it is all fine sponges, do you notice a big impact on flow? It might actually be helpful for me if it did knock down the flow some, as these are going on very small tanks (Mini M and UNS 30c and 5s). Even the smallest filters tend have flow to spare for these tanks. Any brands you recommend or like?

So what nano filter are you going with since you canceled the ASG order? There are some DIY nano canister builds on Youtube.
DIY nano Canister Build 1
DIY Nano Canister Build 2

 

[techman81]

So interesting, you guys! Makes sense to me. It’s hard to cram any meaningful amount of matrix in these kinds of filters, and there are a lot of gaps and wasted space.

I don’t know why pot scrubbers worry me more than aquarium labeled sponges. I guess I worry a bit about how fastidious the manufacture is for a cheap product that is supposed to be food safe. But the designated aquarium sponges are probably not any more carefully made.

I may give all sponge a go for the coming build and see how it goes.

Several Youtube reviews of the Tru canister filter shows them using a little biomedia but mostly filling it with rolled up filter floss.

 

[VJM]

So what nano filter are you going with since you canceled the ASG order? There are some DIY nano canister builds on Youtube.
DIY nano Canister Build 1
DIY Nano Canister Build 2

For the upcoming office tank, I already have an Oase 100 Thermo, so I will try all fine sponges in that.

After that, I have a Mini M build I want to put on my desk at work, and that is where I was thinking about putting the ASG. I’ll probably put my Temu knockoff of the Zoo Med on that and wait for the tariffs to end to buy a Tru for it.

Then there is the 5s, but that is a ways out and will need a pretty gentle flow.