Bio-balls

[LauraFrog]

Agreed, most of mine don't even say anything about cycling at all, and if you ask about it or their opinion on it, they seem surprised that you know, and they themselves don't know much beyond what the word means.

Bio ceramics are a lot better at filtration but much more expensive which is why bio balls are still popular, but considering that you only have to buy the ceramics once when you set the tank up, I don't think that it's too expensive considering just how good they are and how few you need. I bought 1.4kg of bio ceramics for an aquarium I'm paid to maintain - enough for a medium sized canister filter or around 60-80 gallons of aquarium - for $16. Considering how much they increase the safe stocking limit in my experience, it's money well spent.

 

[azulfire24]

The ones that I purchased were taken right out of the filter in front of me. They put them in a plastic bag full of water as if I was buying a fish. They also told me not to let them dry out as the bacteria would die.

that an awsume lfs that sells allready cycled media!!!!

i use cerimaic but only cause of the size of my tanks,, bio balls arent bad they are just not as great as cerimaic but cheeper and eaiser on the wallet in bid tanks..
a little 5 gal betta bowl dosent need the same amt of filteration as a 250 gal saltwater.... god though i do want one of them some day...... dreams dreams... hehe