Diatomaceous earth - filter

Anybody on TASA have any experience with using
Diatomaceous earth


as a filter media?

Thanks Ferdie

 

a good read....... http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=diatomfilters

 

@Reaper - thanks .. yeah good read indeed. So I use DE for pest control in the fish room - ants etc. works like a charm. I have now ordered food grade DE as a supplement (way cheaper than the zeolite I currently drink ;-) but was intrigued by the idea of using for my tanks. Never seen such a thing in a LFS but will see if I can find a cool DIY on one.

BTW this stuff seems to cure all ... but I wonder.

 

After some more digging around it seems like this would be great for polishing the water. That led me to looking at the H.O.T Magnum - one of the only filters that can you can add DE to if it already has micron filter. Seems like opinions vary .. some say a micron filter is good enough - other think that adding some DE makes is a bit more affective. I find it interesting that so many people use it to clear pea soup (ignore that fact that I can not get pea soup for love of money - see my 3 tank compare in the algae section). Still I am not looking at doing a DIY water polisher .. that would have the ability to have DE added.

Current thinking is using a pleated sediment cartridge with a powerhead pushing the water through it .. trying to source some bits and peaces at the moment.

I suppose the real question is ... should this work, would I be able to push my water changes to months instead of weeks? i.e instead of doing WC every 3 - 4 weeks I now do them 3 - 4 months? I suppose with our pending water crisis these are options to really consider at some stage.

Later Ferdie