Bio media ?

[tinkerman]

Lately there been alot of talk about over filtation and good bio filtration. I would like to here some opinions about what people think are the best bio filter media. I am running bio balls at the moment but was wondering if using matrix or some of the other filter brand media would be better.

[John N.]

I've always filled my Eheims with the standard ceramic rings and filter floss. I don't think it matters what the bio media is exactly, as long as its porous and offers a good surface bacteria colonies will grow. What certainly matters is the amount of flow the tank receives.

-John N.

[Brian]

I use standar ceramic rings too is the more expensive. I dont think that the bio-media is important in a planted aquarium because plants do the mos of the work cleaning the water with good CO2 and light

[Orlando]

All I use are micro pads 50 and 100 micron pads. And sponges mostly. I think in one of our tanks I have some stars and rings. Im a firm believer in over filtration and tons of good bacteria to make an algae free tank. Too bad its not working out for me right now

[Anti-Pjerrot]

With enough plants (biomass) you dont really need a filter, only circulation. But in the startup its essential.

[trenac]

I use one layer of ceramic rings. I really only use them for "just in case" or "backup". I guess it comes from my years of non-planted tanks.

[mmarino]

I'd like to know more about the best media to start a planted tank.

I've been running two Magnum 350's in a 110g fish-only set up, with carbon/ammonia media in one basket and ChemiPure in the other. Both filters have BioWheels, which I was planning to remove (or should I keep them?). I was planning to replace the carbon/chemical media with glass or ceramic media for additional biological filtration, or should I depend on the plants to pick up the load?

Do I need the extra biological filtration or should I focus on something else at the start?

Thanks, Mike

[dougz]

From what I hear (that's why I went with the Eheim 2217's), Eheim's bio and mechanical media is the best on the market..

[goalcreas]

The thing to watch out for with biomedia is that it is not easily clogged and that it still has good surface area and is porous.
I have heard the Eheim substrate pro (looks like cocoa puff's) is the best at that, but have not used it yet, but I have a new Eheim Ecco coming in the mail that has it so I will soon know.

That being said, I have used the Eufilav (crushed lava rock) and I really like it but others say it clogs easily. I have not found that to be the case, but I did not fill it to the rim, leaving ways for the water to get around.

I also really like Seachem's BioMax, and it is not nearly as expensive as the Eheim stuff which goes for about $20 per liter where the Seachem is about $11 for a 2 liter package. The eufilav is also about $5.50 per liter so you can see that I like the Cheaper stuff and as I have no problems that I am aware of, I will probably keep using it unless the GOOD stuff comes with a new filter

[Guillermo]

Eheim Classic 2250 in my 82 low-tech planted tank.

Mechanic : Ehfimech
Bio : Mix of Ehfisubstrat , Sera Biopur Forte rings and red lava rock (we call it tezontle)
Polishing : Azoo black sponges and Sera Floss.

So far so good, no complaints at all after 4.5 years using the 2250 with that media. Just my .02. In the next cleaning, I will add 2 100ml. bags of Seachem's Purigen after the floss to see how it works.

Regards

[goalcreas]

OH, I am sure you will love the purigen, it really does make the water sparkle.

[Guillermo]

I have read nothing but great comments of the Purigen, I like Seachem's products. I hope the reduction of my bioload plus the Purigen improves my water quality.

Sorry if I hi-jacked tinkerman's thread it was unintentional.

Regards

[tinkerman]

No hurt feeling at all. Reading the magazine made me curious about maybe switing bio medie. And thank everyone for there comments.

[Guillermo]

Hi tinkerman, thanks.

So... are you planning to change your bio media in the near future ?

Regards

[tinkerman]

Not sure alittle short on money at the moment, waiting for work to start up for the season. I have thought of it something with smaller holes than the bio balls. I have seen people say you can use lava rock also which would be reasonable, just not sure whats safe and not. My lfs don't stock much other than the normal stuff, they'll take my clippings but don't carry much stuff I want and don't want to order anything they keep telling me it'll be faster if I order it myself. Oh well probably be cheaper if I just order stuff on line. ritght now I'm tring to figure out what I want to stock the tank with as there are 2 fish and a couple shrimp in it at the moment. The best opsions in town are matrix and fluvals bio rings. Some day in the future i'll have to pick up some and start adding it into the rena xp4 slowly.

[Guillermo]

If you can get red lava rock you can be sure it's safe, a bunch of hobbyists in my country uses it for bio (myself included) . It has great charactheristics, it's very porous, light in weight, doesn't clog quickly, has some iron, and one very important thing... it's really really cheap. When I need some biomedia, I just by a big piece (for 3 dollars or so) and break it in pieces with a hammer, it's a lot softer than black lava rock. Or you can buy it ready to use.In my country is called tezontle, looks like this :

http://www.daytonnursery.com/Product...ava%20rock.jpg

LUXURY LANDSCAPE - MULCH STONE GRAVEL COMPOST

Santa Fe Red Lava Rock

I only boil it to be sure it's clean.

Regards

[matpat]

I would have to agree with Brian on this, at least for a planted tank. I use a Magnum 350 with a micron cartridge on my 75g tank. I have used a Fluval 304 in conjunction with the Magnum for an increase in flow but have found the Magnum 350 works just fine, with our without bio media. I think in a planted tank the fish load is usually low enough that we really don't need biological filtration. The plants seem to take care of this on their own and Magnums are also excellent CO2 reactors

For fish only tanks, I have heard lots of people complain about the Magnums and their lack of room for biological media. I think this issue is more than covered with the Magnum Pro systems and their included bio-wheels. The addition of some bio media to the Magnum probably won't hurt, but I prefer to use them with floss or the micron cartridges to keep as much gunk as possible off of the bio wheels.

Mmarino,

If you want to plant the tank and use CO2 you can either continue to use the biowheels and increase your CO2 input into the tank or remove them and go with a lesser amount of CO2.