# Another coffee filter alternative



## Guest (Jun 30, 2006)

So, I've tried excelior, coffee filters and parchment paper in my ff cultures. While they all worked, most of the larvae still pupated on the plastic surface of my container with only a fraction on the other surfaces. So, I was thinking what else I can put in that resembles the plastic surface and came up with... transparency sheets. I haven't tried them yet, but has anyone here used them before? Most offices must have these things lying around collecting dust after the introduction of LCD projectors. Mine has boxes of them. I'll give them a try and report back in a few weeks.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

It'll be interesting to see how that goes. Do post back. 

When you used coffee filters, about how many did you use? I ask because having been a filter user for a while, I've found that increasing that number of filters eliminates many of the problems people have with them.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

vinyl window screening. works great


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

defaced said:


> It'll be interesting to see how that goes. Do post back.
> 
> When you used coffee filters, about how many did you use? I ask because having been a filter user for a while, I've found that increasing that number of filters eliminates many of the problems people have with them.


I agree, I accordian fold the filters, then fold them in half, and stick them into the media...time consuming, but results are very good, there is no room for the filters to collapse, since it is pretty much wall to wall filters with very little space between.

Let us know how you're method turns out...


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Use the larger filters and 2-3 per container, and like Mike said it eliminates most of the issues.


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## marcop (Jan 8, 2006)

I've tried the transparency sheets in combination with the coffee filters, best production so far. Thanks for the tip.

Best Marco


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

Did you try them alone, without the coffee filters?
I use the large coffee filters, 5 at a time and don't have any problem with them collapsing. Any less than that and sometimes they collapse. They are still one of the cheapest things around, especially if you get them at Sam's in a big restaurant size box.


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

I like to use at least a dozen per container. The maggots seem to prefer to pupate on the top lip of the filters, so I maximize that space.


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

I was wondering, of all the people that use the coffee filters, do you cut offthe top of the funnel shape made by the filters, to allow the maggots passage through the top?


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

After a week or two, the material that's been in contact with the medium will become so saturated that the maggots can burrow through it, so there's no need to cut any out.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

And as the cluture matures, the rest of the filters will get like that. Once the culture is done, it's mushed up enough that the culture can be put down a garbage disposeal without any problems. 

I did a count on the number of filters I use per culture, and it's around 25 which is half of a stack.


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

defaced said:


> I did a count on the number of filters I use per culture, and it's around 25 which is half of a stack.


25 per culture!?!?! I thought I was getting crazy stepping it up to 6! How do you fold them to get that many into the culture?


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

That is an aweful lot of filters Mike. Unless your culture is very wet, 5 or 6 should do fine.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

More filters is better...If the filters have room to fall over, eventullay they will, then you just have a clump of gooey filters.

I never counted mine, but I'm guessing I use around 10-15, accordian folded, then folded in half...


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## hoyta (Jan 18, 2006)

*h*

thanks alot for this info! i've been using only 2 filters per culture. thanks alot!-adam


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## FrogOnMyToe (Jun 23, 2006)

What about plastic filter sponges for aquarium filters? Some of the foam cartidges would fit perfectly ina 32oz deli container and are rather ridgid, there is A LOT of surface area on them, and theycould be washed in hot water and bleach [or whatever you prefer]

I don't mean the sponges that are like cleaning sponges, but there are some that have a lot of holes in them and are more firm.

Like this:


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

The problem (I have) with the bulkier items used for surface area is that at some point they tend to "come loose" from the media and fall into my dusting cup and essentially ruin the flies in the powder cup and culture. I've experimented with plastic screen, cardboard, excelsior, coffee filters, nothing, and just about anything else that can fit into a 32 oz. cup. I keep coming back to the coffee filters... I should clarify that all the items I used worked just fine for the flies. I just find that the other items create more of a mess for me (especially when I try and keep of finger on the item so it doesn't fall out and all the fruitflies run up my arm instead of into the dusting cup). 

Try them all and use what works best for you... if you find something that really works great, tell the rest of us!


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## FrogOnMyToe (Jun 23, 2006)

I have a big roll of this VERY hard plastic net/foam/stuff used in wet-dry filters for saltwater tanks about a decade ago. I'm going to cut it to fit in a delicup and try it out.


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

I’m currently looking for a source for expanded polyethylene sleeveage. This is the stuff you see around the fancy pears in the supermarket. I think it would work great and it should be dirt cheap. I spoke to a manufacturer yesterday. He said that he would have a local rep contact me. I haven’t heard from the rep yet though. If it is cheap, and it works, maybe one of our entrepreneurs will consider purchasing a bunch of it, and making it available to the general fruit fly culturing public.


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## Alfy111 (Aug 6, 2005)

has anyone ever tried using wax paper? Well I use 2 crumpled up paper towels and it works great. I have tried excelsior and coffee filters and I think the paper towels work the best. A lot of people say they collapse but they really only collapse after the culture has gone about dead. My cultures normally last for a good 2 months. I guess the only reason I started to use paper towels is because when I ordered 2 cultures from Patrick at saurian he used paper towels in his and there were loads of flies.


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## rain- (Jul 28, 2006)

I tried filter foam pieces and some plastic filter floss (Eheim Ehfifix) and well, the flies like to hang around on the filter foam and filter floss, but almost all the pupae are on the sides of the bottle. This is how it looked 5 days ago, and this is how it looks like today (I started it at 29th of July). Maybe I should have added more of the filter foam and the filter floss.


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