cheap(er) epiweb substitute? and engineered 'composites'

[gnathaniel]

Has anyone tried that stuff they sell at Lowe's and HD for foundation protection as a sub for Epi/Ecoweb? I was talking to my Dad about Epiweb mounting as a substitute for treefern and he mentioned seeing that stuff at Lowe's. He wasn't sure what it's made of but told me that the stuff he's seen is kind of a yellowish color. I'm about to head out to pick up some other stuff anyway and thought I'd check it out, but just wanted to see if anyone else has had experience with it. My biggest concern is that it's made of some kind of plastic that might leach or off-gas something harmful to plants, or that it might be treated w/ some kind of fungicide or algicide that's not good for plants.

Also, given what I've read about the low water retention of epiweb-type products, I was thinking of experimenting with 'sandwiching' the plastic web with thin slices of florist foam or something similar, then stitching it together with monofilament. I think this might produce a good inert mounting surface with a water reservoir for the plant while maintaining the high aeration benefits of plastic web products. Anyone have experience/thoughts/suggestions/critiques to share about this idea? Thanks!

--Nat

[ericst11]

No i have not tried that but i have thought about useing the stuff they use under a rig vent on newer homes it looks almost the same.

[Jeff9]

If you want to be sure the material you use wont harm your plants, your safest bet will be to buy filter material they use for the filter systems in ponds, its very simmilar to epiweb.

Look at some examples:

[gnathaniel]

Thanks, Jeff! I wasn't able to find at HD the stuff for foundation usage nor the similar stuff I've seen used as gutter guard. I didn't even think about looking for pond filtration supplies. I assume that this stuff must be pretty inert so it doesn't leach anything weird into people's ponds. I'll look for some of this next time I get out to a place selling pond supplies. Any idea how these materials tend to be priced?

--Nat

[Jeff9]

I'm not really sure of the price, but i assume theyre not THAT cheap either.
However, you should be able to find them in large mats or in small aquarium sized filters etc.

[Phyrex]

Filter sponge, that's a great idea. I'm going to try this out.

[calvin_orchidL]

Be sure to post your results, guys! I'm very interested in seeing how this works out

[Jeff9]

I forgot about the thread but i saw a cilinder shaped filter sponge for about 10 bucks im not sure how it compares to epiweb prices but it was like 20cm diameter and 15 cm tall, but i saw cheaper ones aswell.

I will buy one sometime when i find a better one

[Jeff9]

I picked up a 100x100x5 cm filter sponge for 10 bucks today and i will post some pictures shortly.
I looked at various filters but Epiweb is still a far better quality.
Differences:

Epiweb
Black
Doesn't float when soaked
Stronger


Filter Sponge
Can float but after i pushed them down into a pot they didn't float up when soaked.
Blue bright color
Seems to hold more moisture or larger water droplets.
Very soft material
Very cheap