The History and Evolution.
Around 1994 when we first started to keep Discus, our supplier at the time, Steve Dudley (Euro Discus Manchester) suggested we use a carbon block filter to prepare the water.
We bought one from Purity on Tap.
As our business developed into selling Discus we sourced the components ourselves forming an excellent working relationship with Fileder Filter Systems.
Over the last 28 + years there have been a number of upgrades and developments in the cartridge technology and manufacturing process, each time improving the dirt holding capacity, Chlorine, Chloramine, dissolved metal content and the flow rates.
We called our filters HMA "Heavy Metal Axe" You'll see numerous mention of the term HMA on the Internet, many considerably cheaper than ours.
But are they ?
Are they supplied with Pentair / Spectrum consumables that are labelled and fully water regulation compliant, or are they unbranded or even worse GAC carbons that will be spent after just a few hundred litres has passed through them and possible leave carbon fines in the water that will irritate your fish ?
The latest filter cartridge from Spectrum, the 2023 FIBREONYX PFBC carbon offers chlorine reduction up to massive 190,000 litres, double the flow rate of the 2013 PCB carbon and costs from just £30.72 to replace should you ever need to. (0.0001616 pence per litre!)
Available to remove Sediment, Chlorine, Chloramines and an option should your property have any significant amount of lead pipe in the water supply. (Not applicable if built after 1970)