What Is Mature Filter Media?

[Zanygrin]

I have two tanks but they do not have fish nor filters. They contain amphibians: a fire belly newt and the other has an axolotl. Can I use some of the substrate from those tanks as mature media?

 

[micko]

Shouldn't those tanks be filtered anyway?

Mature media is when the filter pad, bio balls or ceramic rings from a mature (fully cycled filter been running around 6+ months) are used in a new filter to speed up the process of cycling the new filter.

There is a way it can be done with gravel I think but I'm not sure where I read it and have never done it myself so cannot comment on that.

 

[Zanygrin]

Shouldn't those tanks be filtered anyway?

Mature media is when the filter pad, bio balls or ceramic rings from a mature (fully cycled filter been running around 6+ months) are used in a new filter to speed up the process of cycling the new filter.

There is a way it can be done with gravel I think but I'm not sure where I read it and have never done it myself so cannot comment on that.

They did have filters but they failed many years ago and had never been replaced. The newt is 13 years old and the axolotl is over 7. Seems to me they don't miss the filters much, Thanks for the response; I'll keep digging around to see if I get anything on using the gravel (no pun intended).