Filter Floss vs Polishing Pad, The Same? Which One Should I Use?

Last Updated on February 18, 2022 by cmoarz

People new to the hobby often get flooded with products and new terms that can be confusing. This makes it difficult to know what product should be used in an aquarium. One of those common situations that come up is filter floss vs polishing pad, are they the same thing, and are they interchangeable?

The answer is no, they are not. Here’s what you need to know about the two.

Filter floss vs polishing pad, What’s the main difference?

The main difference between filter floss and polishing pads is micron rating or pore size. Filter floss has larger pores to catch larger debris, although these pores are still very small. A polishing pad has even smaller pores that are built to catch even the tiniest of particles and really give the water a polished clarity, hence the name.

But Doesn’t Filter Floss Also Polish Water?

To a certain extent, yes, but it doesn’t have the same polish that a polishing pad has. This is mostly because of the larger pore size that filter floss has.

With this larger pore size, smaller debris can get through filter floss such as small particles of dirt, food, and other junk. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily because this is still going to trap a lot of larger debris. It also works reasonably well for polishing the water, just not to the clarity a polishing pad would.

Filter floss vs polishing pad – Which one should I use?

You should use both!

In fact, It’s recommended if you want the most crystal clear water possible, You should be using both of these products in combination.

The filter floss gets out the larger debris while the polishing pad removes the rest of the tiny particles. In the end, you have much cleaner water to view and enjoy your fish in!

There are some things you need to know to take full advantage of this system, however, And to keep maintenance low.

Filter floss should always be placed before the polishing pad. This is because you don’t want the polishing pad to catch the larger debris and clog up instantly.

In fact, If you want to maximize everything, you should have a large pore filter sponge before your filter floss too. This will prevent the filter floss from grabbing the really big stuff and clogging up faster.

So the order should be:

large pore sponge > Filter floss > Polishing pad.

This will give you the ideal water clarity every time.

How often should I change or replace my filter floss and polishing pad?

Filter floss and polishing pads lose their effectiveness over time, so it’s important to know when they need to be replaced. This is easy to see when the water starts becoming less clear after cleaning or if water flow starts slowing down.

That’s a sign that the filter floss or polishing pad may be too full of debris and needs to be replaced.

Can you clean filter floss or polishing pads for reuse?

While yes, technically you could – It’s usually not worth doing so. Recycling these products only becomes effective in really big setups that use tens of feet at a time, which most home setups simply will not use that much in a year.

So it’s easier and cheap to just outright replace the products when needed instead as 10 feet of filter floss costs around 5$ and pads are a similar low cost.

Filter floss vs polishing pad – The End!

So remember, filter floss is a larger pore size that catches large debris while the polishing pad gets the rest of the particles. Use them in combination for crystal clear water and enjoy seeing your fish up close!