What is a Box Filter? Maybe the BEST CHEAP Fish Tank Filter?
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- What is a box filter? I get ask this question a lot so I made an updated video on the subject! A box filter is an cheap way to filter an aquarium. I have some different styles including corner box filter, round box filter, small box filter and large box filter. They all work the same way using biological media and mechanical media as a fish tank filter.
Here are the items I spoke about in the video:
Penn Plax Box Filter:
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Lee's Triple Flow Box Filter:
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Corner Box Filter:
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Poly Fill:
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Lava Rock:
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Check out my website to order fish:
www.michaelsfi...
If you have any questions or would like to buy any fish, please email me at michaelsfishroom@gmail.com
By MFR Apparel here:teespring.com/...
Facebook / michaelsfishroom
Instagram / dylandrewlukesdad
Twitter / michaelsfishrm
*Products I use or have used in the Fish Room*
API Freshwater Master Test Kit
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Tetra 6 in 1 Test Strips (I use these)
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Tetra Ammonia Test Strips ( I use these)
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Seachem Prime
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Seachem Safe
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Python Water Change System
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Bacto Surge Sponge Filter
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Cheap China Sponge
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Lee’s Specimen Container
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Prazi Pro
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API General Cure
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Ich X
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Blue Airline Tubing
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Disclaimer: This video and description may contain affiliate links. If you click on the affiliate links, I will receive a small commission, which helps support this channel and allows me to continue making content for you to enjoy.
Congratulations on your 20k subscribers
Thanks balls.
congrats on the 20k subscribers!!! super excited and you will hit 50k by new years! keep making these great vids!!! cheers!
Lol...I wish!
Saw your older box filter vid, was switching from powered filter pumps to sponge filters around that time, small LFS hadn't enough spongeys, there was a corner box filter there, staff told me it was 'old school''....got it without hesitation from the smarts gained from your explainifying, works like a charm, electrics cost way down with sponges + air pump + airline manifold. Roll on 30k! BOOP!
Lol.....that’s awesome! I’m sterling explainifying
Hiya Michael massive congratulations on 20k subscribers, you really deserve it 😊
Thanks Anna!
Old school, all day, everyday.
Congratulations on 20K!
👍💕👍
+ShelbyRae Lane Thanks!
Hey Michael! Love box filters. Big congrats on 20K! That's amazing
Thanks bro! Hope you can make it tomorrow.
@@MichaelsFishRoom Live streams are hard with my schedule
Fishman tell me about it.
Another great informative video, wish I had videos like these to learn from back in the 90's, I remember my experience being more error than trial.
But I bet you are a better fish keeper because of it!
@@MichaelsFishRoom
Without a doubt, experience in this hobby goes a long way, plus the added benefit of learning from others experience we can go so much further.
@@koaleighhomestead2606 Right on!
I remember having box filters on my tanks as a kid in the 60's. Old school for sure.
And still good!
Mike you just said what I've been saying for years. You can't beat a box filter. I have been raising fish since the 1960's and tried every kind of filter there is and always went back to box filters. One time I had 78 tanks on a central system big mistake. If you get a problem in one tank you have it in all.
With a box filter if you have small fry you leave the lid off, if your water is acidic you add some crushed coral to the filter. You can use some of your dirty polyfill to seed a new filter. YOU CAN'T BEAT A BOX FILTER.
All pet shop back then all they use was box filters,and for the display tanks the early HOB.
No you can’t!
A huge congrats on 20k :) I do hope that the 30k by year's end is realized :)
Me too!
Now I’m convinced for sure to use poly filter in the boxes, thanks.
Great! Good luck!
We used to have filters like those plastic triangle ones your showing in our fish tanks over 40 years ago as kids... and they still do the same job and have not changed at all. Still one of the better filters around. We used cotton wool as the sponge part and small rocks and the rocks were on the bottom. BTW congrats on 20K subs..
Still pretty much the same as back then! Thanks!
Very informative, and hilarious.
Thanks
Congratulations on 20k - love your videos 🇬🇧❤️🐠🐟
Thanks Wendy!
Got the reminder all set for tomorrow's Live. Can't wait. Woohooo. Free giveaways...just in time too. I just finished building a stand for my 30 gal out of plywood and will be setting up the tank tomorrow and will be using home made sponge filters that I made too. My guppies have outgrown the 10gal so I'm moving them to the 30 and keeping the 10 as a grow out tank for my fry. Look forward to tomorrow's live Michael. Have a great evening.
That sounds like an an awesome plan!
Congrats on 20K Michael you'll have 30K in a snap. Box filters 4 life!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Don! I hope so!
Man you do a great job. It even upsets me to see other channels with a lower content with more subscribers. Congrats keep on.
Btw I love the: "coughs" ... "I'm fine" lol
Lol..thanks!
Congratulations on 20K!!!🎉🎈🎊🍾⭐️💖👏🏻👍🏻
Thanks!
20 Thousand! Congrats! So happy for you.
Thanks so Much!
Congratulations on 20,000 subscribers! You must be making millions now!! Here's to 30,000!!Cheapness rules!
I remember box filters well; we still use them; now we just call them internal canister filters.
If you put the mechanical on the bottom, it cleans the water before it goes through the bio media, making it more efficient as it doesn't get clogged with dirt.
Yeah...I know...too lazy to change. Lol.
I think I've become addicted to hearing your voice. Love your content as I'm setting up to breed for profit.
Lol...my voice?
I think I would rather have the mechanical media be the 1st thing the water hits. That way most of the waste will get picked up before it hits the bio media. IMO the waste hitting the bio media 1st will clog all of those great pores thereby decreasing the efficiency of the media.
You’re 100% correct. I’m just too lazy to change it. Lol
Box filters what I recall is that water goes into filter from top down to bottom and expels through the other tube?
@@cbcluckyii4042 one of my box filters sucks in debris/water from the bottom sides and expels the water in the bubble tube, but others do work that way, from top to bottom.
I've been using box and corner filters for a long time. They are one of my favorite types to use
they are simple but good.
Me too!
Congrats on 20k. You da man.
Thanks! But just a dumb guy with a camera!
Congrat! You really deserve it
Thanks!
LEGO’s? Hmm, not much surface area, but if it works for him. Love box filters. Old school works! Cheap and easy. In fact, I’m planning to buy a bunch from Jehmco. 👍
Love the big jehmco box filters. And that’s just it, if it works for him it’s right. But he said “it works just as good as lava rock” .....no it doesn’t.
Michael's Fish Room Agreed 100%
gr8 vid michael! love from singapore! ❤
Thanks!
I would of got a snack and a beverage but you forgot to remind me you bastard.....you ruined the lives of so many of us fishy folks today lol....great vid anyways
Lol...sorry!
😂😂😂😂
Lmao!
😂
Binging on your vids and hubby’s birthday cake ! Beverage is water- (keeping it lite 🙋🏼♀️)
LOL....gotta stay hydrated!
Congrats mike!
Thanks!
Box filters rock! I build my own from stuff I get at the dollar store.
Nice!
Me too! Containers come in all shapes and sizes, which is handy for different tank sizes and especially tubs. I also have one I made from a small-ish plastic ice cream sundae container that had a lid. Just cut a hole in the center for the tube and holes on the sides of the lid and used an airline and airstone. It's not 100% as efficient as bought box filters, but it's 100% more effective than nothing. I only have a betta in the tank anyway.
It. An be very effective!
My first filter from the 60's they work really good pulls a lot of dirt.
Yes they did a good job, do you remember Angels Hair filter floss.
I still use them lol. I remember preparing mine for my new neons every few months when I “cleaned” the tank!
@@wowdad3055 Angel Hair... Gee, hope that doesn't mean we're old! What about charcoal? I thought activated carbon was a gimmick.
Hi Michael, this is Judy from Delaware, went to the get together Saturdays at Super cichlids, I bought 2 pairs of your guppies, they are beautiful, Hope your son feels better,
Lisa told me! Thanks so much and he is!
That's how I found out about you I was looking up on Box filters... And some video you did about a old HOB Filter that you through some kind of plant in....
Nice! That was a while ago!
Keep it up man, ur going strong!!! 👍
Will do!
Can bad bacteria get into the lava rock? Let’s say the lava rock was cycled before and been sitting out in the air outside for months . Can they be reused as a cycled tank media or no?
As long as it dries 100%, I would use it again.,
Can't wait for live stream tomorrow
Me nether!
I made a filter for my goldfish out of a cottage cheese container. It's good so far.So I made one for one of my guppy tubs too.
Love your DIY!
Is it still working and how ??
@@StephanieQuiroz-ps9nl Yes it is still working. Keeps my goldfish tub clean. I used a soldering iron to melt holes all around it an in the lid. Put dish scrubers and pillow batting in it. hooked up to a pump.
Betty Crocker frosting cups - no holes & no lid. Just media packed around a lift tube and
'hey-presto!'. Cory's feeding about the top look like truckers at a roadside diner.
20K, Mazel Tov!!! I look forward to tomorrow night's livestream. I had Salmon, Rice and Salad for dinner. Diet 7up... My first fish arrived today. Pygmy Hatchets for my Nano 55 tank.
Thanks! Mazel Tov to you on your new fish!
@@MichaelsFishRoom Master Breeder Doug is going to send me some Roebuck Reds.
Ok this is for my pleco I know it is not related to the vid but do you think wax beans would work too
Never tried them. But it should be ok.....
Thank and good job hitting 20k subs 🥳🥳🥳
Would you use the round big filter for a 10 gallon aquarium with guppies?
What round big filter?
Hi Mike, Is there any reason that you don't remove the green algae inside the filter when cleaning? I'm going to get the Lee's Triple Flow.
No need too. It provides nutrients.
@@MichaelsFishRoom Right now I'm fighting brown algae. It's all over my plants now. How can I get rid of it?
I used to use dirty filter cartridges from a hang-on-the back filter to cycle new tanks. I'd just drop them in. Fish fry and snails would eat the gunk on the pads. And they'd eventually pick them clean. One man's mulm is another man's dinner.
That is the same as moving a used sponge or box filter!
@@MichaelsFishRoom -- My sponge filters never had the same thick layer of gunk on them. I guess the pores were too big.
dudev The BB is in the filter.
@@MichaelsFishRoom -- I know, I was talking about the gunk layer on the filter pad as food for the fry and snails. It's the icing on the cake, so to speak.
Ah... box filters. Have to love them. Ran my breeding room for years on them. I'm now running sponges (cheaper cost) but should have gone back to box filters. I used gravel in the bottom to weight them down. Way easier to see when they get too dirty compared to black sponges. I feel as though they polished the water better than sponges to.
Me too. Sponges aren’t great for mechanical filtration.
@@MichaelsFishRoom I jumped back into the hobby quickly with both feet, 21 tanks, 20 of which are breeding/rearing tanks. I got a deal on sponge filters, thinking not such a deal now. I might start replacing them with box filters.
James Hande I wouldn’t replace them, if use them both.
@@MichaelsFishRoom Good idea, thank you Michael.
James Hande 😉🤔
Can you use any lava rock or does it need to be for aquarium, does anyone make lava rock with some additive or something that might hurt fish?
Real lava rock is inert (has no effect on the water) I would only buy natural Lava rock.
What’s your minimum KH and GH for guppies? They like hard water right? I’m at 7gh and 3.5kh right now
I haven’t checked in a while, but a good rule of thumb is “the harder the better”!
When a manufacturer makes the claim that a particular filter is good for X gallons of water you have to ask how they know what your stocking level is. Bioload and water volume are 2 totally separate things, you cannot assess the filter based just on water volume.
Exactly!
Is box filter is the best than other filter
Best? Depends on a many factors. It is best for me in my set up.
Round filter looks to be from JehmCo? Picked up at the world famous BCAS auction perhaps....
It is from Jehmco! And either at Bucks or NJAS!
Made the comment before you mentioned it....lol
Had to be from BCAS. NJAS does not have dry goods at auctions.
I just got a notification for this today. Kinda annoying. I love free giveaways and missed the livestream.
I actually decided to try box filters from your previous video on them. Bought them from kensfish.com for a few bucks each. I have a Penn Plax with slits on top and sides in my 5 gallon tub of 3-4 month old mollies (there's about 6 or so) and I'm always amazed at how much it's collected. I have ceramic rings, some gravel, and filter floss. The pump, rated for a 10 gallon and split between this and a one gallon tub of bladder snails and a small baby betta, is a bit too powerful in terms of outflow, but I think that's why it's also so effective at sucking up waste. It probably helps that the tubs are barebottom.
I also have that corner filter you showed in my divided betta tank and while it seems effective, I do wish it had slits or holes on the top because sometimes I've seen small matter fall on it. It doesn't seem to be as effective as the other one at collecting waste, but that tank has gravel which collects most of it.
That sucks! YT is having some issues!
@@MichaelsFishRoom yeah, my RUclips notifications says you uploaded this an hour ago...
CheshireKat 🤦🏻♂️
Might call in sick to work to watch the live stream
It’s not that big a deal.....lol
Do they come small enough for a one gallon tank ?
Yup!
Congratulations on 20k I know you can hit your goal of 30k
All you have to do is be real
Just keeping it real!
When cleaning spectacles, recite: Spectacles, testicles, wallet & watch, I shopped at Super Cichlids, the order was bigger than Chewie’s coch!
LOL...thanks for supporting Chewys Kok!
Do you have any interesting filters or other gadgets from Japan that you use in your fish room?
Yup....search my channel for "Japanese Box Filters"
Does it matter if the biological media is above or below the inner plate, but still below the floss?
Inner plate?
@@MichaelsFishRoom the inner plastic piece that the air line attaches to. you put the Biological media on it, but in some others videos they put it under. Wanted your opinion.
kingkato21 sorry, I’d have to look at mine and I am out of town. In general you want the water hitting the Biological media last.
Are you sure about tomorrow being Thursday LOL
Nope!
Also back then filter floss was made from fiber glass = Angels Hair it a pain when you are allergic to it.
Really? I remember cotton.
adding epsom salt in the aqarium, what do you think?
Never did it. Why do you want too?
@@MichaelsFishRoom it supose to help fish to digest food and get rid of parazites... but thank you so much for response. I continue to follow your work and videos. Thank you once more :)
imagine design I’ve heard people doing it, but I have never done it.
@@MichaelsFishRoom I skip doing it for now to.... I new in the aqaristic and not experiment with that yet. :)
How did you know I have been looking for some of these? Stupid fish store doesn't carry them.🤷♀️🤷♀️👍👈
Boom AMAZON! I’ll make some bank!
Don't forget that if you have THAT kind of tank, you should put the floss on the bottom and some Activated Charcoal on top of that! ...and, as Joseph Lenahan said... You Can't Beat A Box Filter! LOL The companies that make HOBs and other types of filters don't make boxes anymore (Not that I've seen anyway), because boxes are just as good, and it's cheaper to just replace the floss, etc., and they don't make the money that they can with the pre-made replacement filters... it's just easier to slide out the old one and slide in the new one, and the prices are jacked up, AND they all have the activated charcoal in them, which isn't good for the live plants. If you don't have the live plants, then yeah, it's okay, especially since now you have to buy their chemicals and other stuff! It's always all about their profits, and the laziness of the customers! Fish-keeping isn't a lazy man's hobby... it requires a lot of attention and work! :-)
This is true. But, I am lazy and have created procedures to overcome my laziness!
@@MichaelsFishRoom LMAO ...then you're not lazy... you're smart! lol :-)
I mean, this is true.
@@MichaelsFishRoom LOL :-)
Perplexia X lol
Congratulations!!!!
Thanks!
Where do you but the box filters?
Buy? Use the links in the description.
inside of your tank or a corner .
Thank you Michael's fish room guy.
@@wowdad3055 I knew that so I did not proof read my question.
Can I quit creating RUclips accounts now Uncle Mike? LOL!
Congrats friend!
Lol..SO IT’S YOU! Thanks!
Congratulations on kitting 20K! Love those bloopers. I've been running sponge filters, but I got a box filter in My Aquarium Box subscription so I gave it a try. I knew how to set it up based on your earlier video. I like it. I like that you can put filter floss in it. It helps polish the water in my cory grow out tank.
Nice! MAB is donating a gift card to my live steam!
ahh that brings me back !!! i always had a problem where the tubes would brake off the base the gets inserted into the box ... and that angel hair that dam angel hair would always end up stick out of the cover in one place or another then you had to pull the filter and fix it ... i havent seen one of those in a LONG time
O that Angels hair hated it allergic to it plus mom had curtains that where made back then with fiber glass.
@@wowdad3055 its a common filler for coats pillows and even chairs back in the day not sure about now i know coats still have it
@@RoundhouseAquatics yes they still sell it.
@@wowdad3055 a sponge filter is way better though
Sponge filters are better for biological, box filters are better mechanical.
BTW pumice has significantly more surface area than Lava rock and is about the same price.
Significantly? I always thought it was about the same? But I have lava rock already, so it's free! LOL
@@MichaelsFishRoom Pumice has a typical surface area of 0,5 m2/g, corresponding to a sheet of material of 1 m2 and 0,87µm Thick. I'll try to find the exact corresponding surface area for Lava Rock.
ANTONIO MONTANA no need. I get it.
I still like your vids bro
What do you mean "Still"?
Hey~!! What kind of Pizza?? Super Supreme for me~!!
Pineapple and bacon.
20k... 💪
Word Bro!
I think I'll stick to sponges. I would be too lazy to clean box filters. Haha.
Do you clean sponges?
keepin' it real in fishy land
For sure!
Whaooo live event you bet I'll be there just to pick 😂😂😂😂😂😂 naw you now I wouldn't do that I hope lmao congrats on your subscribers milestone
Thanks! Pick away....just expect to get demolished! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣💪
BOOP'ed it
Way better than pooped it! LOL
👍😄😄😄
👊🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼💪🏼
In the 70's all moms and pops pet shops ran then only with box filter, and also breeders.
Because they are the best!
I would pack it full of sponges... Different course sponges will do the same and can be cleaned.. But I'm a no body so listening to me is a gamble 😂😂😂
I like to gamble!
@@MichaelsFishRoom are you still on for tonight at 9? Sponges will work..the odds are in your favore😉
Lacey's place yes!
Hey man, what’s in da box?? Stand by
Lol...are you standing by??
Take a shot every time he calls the box filter a sponge filter
Quick way to get drunk
@@MichaelsFishRoom 🤣🤣
Jeremy Alford 😳
I want to try one! I seen them at my LFS never gave it thought until I seen more and more people using it. Nice video dumb guy with a camera 👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks Ma! What's it like having twins?😂🤔
@@MichaelsFishRoom 🤷 idk I have 4 kids 🤣🤣🤣
Aquatic Ma 🤣🤣🤣🤣😆
Mike ,started watching your channel,but I didn't know why. I just kept coming back then I figured it out your a Jersey guy like me I understand the Jeresy humor,and if I had a big fish room it would probably look just like yours. The way you do things successful and not are just the stuff I do. I guess it's a Jersey thing,but I get it
I will continue to watch from way up in north Jersey. I'm talking High Point keep up the fun and info
Mike D.
Damn that is high up! I grew up in Bergen County though!
Angel hair hurt wow dad
Lol
Im the 91st person to Like this video👌💯🔥🔥
90th loser then! LOL Thanks for watching!
Boop
Love the boop!
No snack and beverage? Yeeez your falling apart
I am just a slacker!
Legos are expensive! Why would anyone use them as DIY filter media!
This is true.
and i bet you love pizza!
I sure do.
I was called out on facebook because i like box filters? I was told to "get a life". 🤔
🤦🏻♂️ what group...I’ll go in and set those losers straight!
Yawn im goin to ride my dyna
See ya