Prefilter and filter sock and other aquarium barriers that are home made.

Material for prefilters.
I get mine from the haberdashery called spot light, its called wadding or Dacron, you buy it off the roll!




Ready for cutting


first up, mark out the cutting of the barrier prefilter Dacron


Then cut the barrier filter dacron sections


Cut corners ready for folding, add silicon to glue to shape required and put in place small piece of paper to make sure the silicon does not go all the way through.




Once folded onto silicon to make the shape required, sit them off to one side and they will be ready to use in an hour or so.


Fold onto egg crate you cut to act like a sliding window that will slide in and out as you need it.


This is where this one goes, it slides down into this plastic molding like a sliding window, this can be made in any size and attached anywhere, as your water exists your tank.
Bunnings sells this plastic molding.


Start it sliding down


Now it is in place as a barrier filter that is easy to slide out and clean and slide back in.

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This next prefilter is what i call a settling prefilter.
The water comes along and comes out of a pipe next to it, either directly after your barrier prefilter or after your refugium and settles out particles into the area it is placed into, in mine it is a section of storm water pipe.
To clean this one, you turn off pumps, the water level drops below the exit, then you take out the prefilter and clean it.
I just use the pressure of the garden hose spray gun and inot the washing machine after say 5 hose cleans.
Then fit back in and nothing gets past this and being that there is a barrier filter already before it catching organics, this one needs cleaning no where near as often, just when it is over flowing the top opening.

This is, what you could call, an external filter sock frame, sit yours that you make, "mine i made out of plastic pipe", sit it then roll it on the dacron to get the size you want to cut.


Mark them.


Once cut, put a bead of silicon along one side of each one


Fold it over, then push down as you go along the edge to glue down making sure you can feel the silicon come through to your fingers!


Now you have the beginning of a home made filter sock


Leave them sit of to the side to set for an hour or two.


Because i use these for many purposes, i use a rubber band at the length i  want at any given time, you can easily glue the end together with curve shape you may want to cut to the size you want


Then a rubber band at the top, these last easily two cleans.


One now on the cut plastic pipe that acts like a frame to hold the external filter sock.


Then i slide it down into my pipe and sit the exit over the pipes exit and turn on pumps


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When going away for a few days i make sure i make fresh pre filter barriers and socks.
With the dacron i buy, they block in 4 to 5 days if it is new, if used they block in two days.