Different Types Of Media

[Aqua Tom]

The time is getting very close to when I wil be instaling my new 100 gallon tank. I have a fluval fx5 monster filter tried & tested & is working fine.

It has three internal baskets of truley huge dimensions, each basket is surrounded by sponge which will be staying. 1 basket is filled with ceramic ring media, the other two are filled with large Bio Balls, all the old media has been thouroughly cleaned in boiling water to kill any nasties (it has been sitting for weeks in my shed so any benifical bacteria are long dead).

My old tank is coming out all together & being replaced by this new one so I will be transfering the filter media (ceramic rings & sponge) from my 205 to the fx5.

It is probably enough to fill one of the baskets, so what media do I ditch from the fx5 to make room?


I guess what I am asking is whats the best media, bio balls, ceramic rings, sponge or some other type?

Tom

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I've got Eheim Substrat Pro sitting in all the baskets of my FX5.

 

[ian]

Seahem matrix is imo/Ime the best media on the market. It's capable of holding 4 times that of substrat pro.

heres a good read about Matrix

http/theaquaticgazette.com/2012/03/08/seachem-matrix/

 

[Aqua Tom]

Seahem matrix is imo/Ime the best media on the market. It's capable of holding 4 times that of substrat pro.

heres a good read about Matrix

http/theaquaticgazette.com/2012/03/08/seachem-matrix/

Blimey, how much of that would I need to fill a fx5?

Tom

 

[Tizer]

A small bank loan amount.

Just chuck some bog standard ceramic rings in the trays above your old mature rings then top it off with your sponges and filter wool. Easy.

 

[Aqua Tom]

A small bank loan amount.

Just chuck some bog standard ceramic rings in the trays above your old mature rings then top it off with your sponges and filter wool. Easy.

That was my origonal plan.

Tom

 

[ian]

you did ask which is best! lol

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Most nio-media can clog. While the more surface area thee is, the more places there are for the bacteria to colonize, the other side of that coin is that also means the more spaces, the more likely they are to become clogged.

The key to healthy thriving bacterial colonies is flow. You need to be able to move the food, oxygen and carbon to the bacteria for this. The finer pored a media is, the more apt it is to clog, the more clogged it gets, the less bacteria it will support. So there is a tradeoff between available surface area and open flow. The result for me has been to use the lowly cheap sponge where ever I can. I use sponge filters, sponges in power filters, sponges as intake prefilters, sponges in canister baskets too.

However, the best bi-media is likely the bio-wheel. Contrary to aquarium myths this is not because it gives a good water air exposure process but because it encourages the biofilm in which the bacteria live to remain thin. As the biofilm depth increase it becomes harder for thing to penetrate deper into the film and it also makes it more likely the film will be ripped apart some and pieces will become free floating rather than attached to a hard surface. the bio-wheel encourages the bacteria for form extensive and thin biofilms which will be much "sturdier".

I find becase it is so easy to clean sponges by rinsing, it is easy to maintain good flow through properties for the bacteria. I even replaced the Eheim noodles with sponges in one basket and eventually will do the same in my other Eheim.

 

[Plecc]

Seahem matrix is also my fave,
But it is expensive, I wouldn't want to fill an FX5 with it
also a vote for ceramic rings!
Personally if i was to loose anything in that setup to make space it would be a layer of bio balls.

 

[Dazzler666]

I had this same query previously so in my three baskets in my APS 1400 I removed the carbon once after a few weeks and just added ceramic rings AND bio-balls so I gave a basket of each & one basket mixed along with the usual filter media .... So far so good!!! ☺

 

[drobbyb]

+1 on the sponges. While they don't provide as much surface area as ceramic rings, they have many advantages. The biggest being they are easy to clean. If a ceramic ring gets clogged deeper than surface deep, you might as well throw it away. If a sponge gets clogged, you can easily clean it to restore flow through it by gently squeezing it. Did I mention how cheap they are?

 

[Plecc]

Isn't there a way you can recondition ceramic media?
I seem to remember reeding somewhere that its possible.

 

[drobbyb]

I'm sure it is. I would suppose using a bleach/water solution would do the trick, but you would kill all of your beneficial bacteria in the process on the affected rings.

 

[StandbySetting]

I'd go for what's cheapest and provides the best flow rate, the quantity of bacteria you'll need will never exceed the capacity of the filter media.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

There's no debate required. Sponge.

Everything else is smoke and mirrors.