Decisions Decisions Decisions

So far I've read and been advised on all sorts of combination's of the title media

just a thought

Would it be possible to get a Ballot up where people could vote on their Favorite media

possibly a running sticky note for future reference

or just post here

Cheers Gaz

if i was a rich man.....I'd fill my sump with mostly ceramic rings, for they do create maximum surface for bb to grow on.
more than scrubbies, imo.
but like a said, they cost a lot, compared to the other media i have in my sump.

I can get 5kg of glass noodles for $55 au claims to be 10lt of noodles

Funny enough Noddy the guy @ the lfs told me the same thing

All noodles

cheers Gaz

I use both bioballs and ceramic noodles because I thought they performed different filtration functions (in addition to their similar bio filter role)....I know aim probably an idiod but I don't know what scrubbies are...shazza

my lFS and pleco supplier both have several large tanks running on one mega sump.
those sumps are filled with ceramic rings and i'm impressed by the ammount of rings they put into those sumps.
they will still use some chamber filled with the usual media for mechanical filtration, but the biological part is mainly done by the rings.

scrubbies are the foam thingies you normally use for cleaning pots and pans in the kitchen.

almost anything that's non toxic to your fish will provide an area to grow on. the main difference between balls/rings/scrubbers/sponge and the list goes on, is growing area. the best bio ball is going to provide micro holes, so small you can't see, its in these holes extra bio will grow.

if you have enough space to over fill your sump with cheap media, say scrubbers its going to give the same grow area as a few lb of high grade bio balls. the scrubbers may take half your sump space where bio balls would take a very small area. the results the same just space needed. to obtain maximum bio in a small space it stand to reason, use the best bio ball/tube you can buy. but if space isn't an issue is it worth it.???

I use canisters, so the internal space is limited. so for me buying quality is best. another thing worth considering is some of the bio that grow in the media will grow better in an environment that fits them best IE balls. you get 2 kinds of bio, 1st aerobic and 2nd anaerobic. anaerobic will grow better inside the small holes provided by proper media. at a cost. pond media may be a good choice for very large area sumps?

Eheim Subtrat Pro. I'm using about 10 litres of it atm in my filters.
It's quite pricey but very efficient, for the size of the media (like some sort of crunchy breakfast cereal) it has a large surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonise in and on.

You don't have to fill ALL the sump chambers with it but a small amount of it will give good results.

aus-car wrote:


Its what i have in my filters, I use about 4L in each filter

you guys make me jealous!
Never seen that stuff before and next to it being functional, i think it wouldt make my sump look sharp as well!
ceramic rings are kinda like the standard over here.

edit: i was checking up on the prizes of the eheim pro substrate and at 26 Euros for 2Liters, that's pretty expensive too.

here's an alternative i found ,which is cheap and has quite an extended surface:

www.budgetkoiproducts.nl/koi-filter/246/...isch-filtermateriaal

They sell it at 25 Liters for 12.95 Euros.
The ad states that it's the same stuff as the drinkwater companies use for housing their cleaning bacterial colonies.
I'm sorry the article is in the dutch language...
but this looks promising as well.

That looks pretty good Noddy. and very good value. Whats the surface area? its not in English

I paid £45 for 5L of Pro. the important thing is this.

The adhesive surface amounts to 450 sq. m per liter, thus biologically filtering the water.

the other problem is different companies use other methods to measure so its very difficult to compare them.

marcus wrote:


The company states that it holds 900-1000 square meters per cubic meter, if that makes any sense to you.
It says 900>1000 m2 per m3.

I am not totally sure so if wrong someone put me right on this
I think it means that 1 sq meter of your stuff will be pretty much the same as 2L of Pro. That's what I was trying to point out to Gaz size wise and space avalible choice of media can make a difference. and more so if you have a small filter.

another point that isn't so important is good media will colonise quicker and take longer to brake down. Its all relevant really. most important is buy what you can afford as long as it does the job.

Its nice to know the answer to these questions in case someone whats to know like pain in the butt Gaz