BlueBlade Fish
The Matten filter, also known as the Hamburger Matten Filter, or HMF, is basically a large air driven sponge filter.
The huge surface area provides enough biological filtration for highly stocked tanks, even when the tank lacks substrate or is otherwise bare.
Being air-driven, you can run many of them from a single air pump. For these reasons I run Matten filters in most of my breeding and rearing tanks.
consider a Matten filter when:
- You are running a rack of tanks, viewed from the end.
- or: At least one end of the tank is not viewable.
- or: Tanks are bare bottom (no substrate) with high bio-load.
1) 1.5 to 2" thick sheet of open cell Urethane foam, 25-40 PPI, large enough to more than cover one end of the tank.
2) 1/2" PVC pipe (height of tank + 3" for outflow)
3) 1/2" PVC 90deg "elbow"
4) "Jet-lift" or air-stone
5) Air line, air valve (to adjust flow), and air pump (air source)
Tools:
Sharp knife (to cut the filter foam)
PVC cutter/hacksaw
(Optional) Hot glue/glue gun
(Optional) Drill and 1/4" bit
(Optional) 1/2" copper pipe and file
The sponge:
Use a thick sheet of open cell foam (1.5 to 2 inches thick is best) it must be thick enough to not be floppy.
Cut the foam so that it tightly fits one end of the tank. Cut the sponge so that it is at least 1/2" wider than the tank, and tall enough to reach the trim or lid.
You can use hot glue to assemble smaller sections of foam if necessary.
Decide where you would like the uplift tube to exit, and then cut a notch or hole for it.
If you are making many Matten filters, you can use a small section of copper pipe to punch the holes.
File one end of the pipe to a circular knife edge to make a handy hole punch.
The uplift tube:
Cut a 2 lengths of PVC pipe. one a bit shorter than the tank is tall, and a second smaller section slightly longer than your sponge is wide. If using an airlift, remember to account for the length of the airlift when cutting the longer pipe, and if using an air stone make sure to leave a 1" gap between the pipe and the bottom of the tank for water flow.
if using an air stone, drill a hole in the PVC elbow and feed in your airline.
Assemble the lift to form an upside down "L" that fits into the hole or notch in you sponge.
If you use my "Jet-lift" adapter, and it fits a loose on the pipe, you can use a small bit of electrical tape as a shim.
Attach the airline (and air stone if used) and push the whole assembly into the end of the tank.
The filter is now installed. Connect your air valve and air pump and it should begin moving water.
Adjust the air flow until you are happy with the output. If you feed it too much air it will just gurgle without moving much water. Find the sweet spot of max flow, and then adjust down if needed.
To get your own "Jet-lift" check out the Links under "Buy Here"
Or contact us by email at contact@bluebladefish.com