Printed Hamburg Matten Filters

Printed Reefing Solutions has developed a printed Hamburg Matten Filter for your aquarium.  These are corner filters and they work well for shrimp and fish alike.  Many hobbyists like to use HMF’s for fry tanks.  They make great filters and now they are available pre-made and also custom to suit your tank.

The Hamburg Matten Filter works much like a sponge filter does but they have more surface area.  Air is pumping into a lift tube and moves water up and out the enclosed area making mechanical filtration the first step, trapping dirt and detritus in the porous sponge filter material.

Beneficial bacteria living on the Poret foam filter material go to work turning ammonia into nitrites then nitrates.  Fish waste produces ammonia which is toxic to fish and invertebrates and must be broken down into less lethal nitrates in the nitrifying cycle.  The HMF does an excellent job doing this.  The filter uses 1″ thick 30 ppi Poret filter media from Swiss Tropicals.  The standard filter return tested at a maximum of  60 gallons per hour.

The bottom of the filter rests on the bottom of the tank regardless of substrate or depth.  Each filter is custom made to the customers’ tank needs.  The height of the wall at the bottom of the filter is adjusted before being printed to meet the customers substrate depth needs.  If you aren’t using sand or gravel in the bottom they can be placed at the bare bottom level.

This way if you want a 1″ substrate depth it can be made with the filter windows longer allowing for more filter. If you want a 4″ depth substrate then the filter windows are made smaller. This way when you remove the filter material for cleaning you do not have to worry about disturbing the substrate.

In addition to the version that you silicone into place there is also a magnetic version that can be added to existing systems or just used as is if you want to easily remove the filter for cleaning.

Another thing to note is that the air diffuser is designed into the pickup area of the tube.  There is no need for an air stone. The water flow return pivots allowing you to point the flow where you want it.  There are a couple different sizes available also. One model allows for the placement of a heater behind the filter to keep it out of site and tidy up the look of the tank. The other is a more compact model and has no room for a heater but it takes up less tank space.

Printed Reefing Solutions makes these filters using all ABS material for the printed parts.  They’re available in 7 other colors besides black in case you want to add some color to your tank. They are suited for most any aquarium setup and will work on almost any tank.

Once the basic filter is chosen and purchased,  Matthew Grant at Printed Reefing Solutions will contact each customer via email and provide them with a drawing that shows the main dimensions. Once the drawing is approved by the customer the filter is made. This allows the customer see what they are getting and to make any necessary adjustments that they may need for their particular setup. The personal touch has really fallen away in todays marketplace and in this case the customer gets what they really want, and something that does not compromise what they really need.

The files to the filters are not provided as those are proprietary. If replacement parts are needed simply contact the website and you can get you what you need.  Although the design is basically the same, custom 3D printing each filter allows exactly what the customer needs. So the process is very individualized.

You can find out more about Printed Reefing Solutions Hamburg Matten Filters and other 3D printed products at the website www.PrintedReefingSolutions.com.

Photos courtesy Printed Reeding Solutions