# Filter media



## bhavik (15 Apr 2018)

I’m looking to get some new filter media for my fluval 205 filter atm I’m using what came with standard with the filter which is the ceramic media
What could I use to replace these as they are becoming brown and possibly blocked
I was thinking of get some k1 media would that work?

Thanks


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## Tim Harrison (15 Apr 2018)

I don't think you need to worry, I'm sure what you have already, brown or not, will still provide enough surface area for bacteria. 
I'd save my money and spend it on plants. They do a lot of the filtering for you. Either way there is no need to spend a load of money on expensive media, pan scrubbers will do just as well...


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## Zeus. (15 Apr 2018)

A big plus with the pan scrubbers is you still get good flow.


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## Andrew Butler (15 Apr 2018)

Tim Harrison said:


> pan scrubbers will do just as well..


Are you getting in here before Clive does Tim?


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## Tim Harrison (15 Apr 2018)

Andrew Butler said:


> Are you getting in here before Clive does Tim?


Great minds think alike...
I've used them myself in the past, they work really well.


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## bhavik (15 Apr 2018)

I see would I just use this to replace the ceramic media? 
I’m assuming it would act as both mechanical and biological as well?
Also would this get blocked more easily?


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## Gill (15 Apr 2018)

Scrubbies - great media, provide sooo much surface area to colonise and won't clog easily. Have used them many times in hobs, externals etc.


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## Zeus. (15 Apr 2018)

Ceramics do have a much higher surface area for bacteria than scrubbies, but ceramics reduce the flow more than scrubbies, whilst scrubbies will trap detritus which is easily removed when cleaning the filter. The largest surface area for breakdown of toxins is the roots of our plants in our tanks. Which is why good flow/output from our filters is more inportant than massive surface area from ceramic media in well planted tanks. Flow is KING esp in high tech tanks with CO2 diffusion being 10,000 times slower than in air.


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## dw1305 (16 Apr 2018)

Hi all,





bhavik said:


> What could I use to replace these as they are becoming brown and possibly blocked





Tim Harrison said:


> I'm sure what you have already, brown or not, will still provide enough surface area for bacteria.


They will still be fine, just give them a good rinse. You can try microwaving them if you still aren't happy.

cheers Darrel


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## Millns84 (16 Apr 2018)

There's more than enough surface area on practically anything you can throw in there. Cheapest option is to keep whatever media's already in there as it'll do fine. You could always give it a clean in tank water if you're concerned about it being clogged. 

If you're determined to spend something, Superfish Cystal Max is the cheapest sintered glass media I've ever come across, providing 275 m2 per litre of surface area. Not strictly necessary in a tank where plants are a factor in the filtration but at £7.00 per litre you could do worse!


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## Gill (16 Apr 2018)

I would highly recommend having a look at bio home filter media from the pondguru. 
For the surface area nothing matches it. Have  been using it for a while now. And it is amazing stuff. 

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk


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## Millns84 (16 Apr 2018)

Gill said:


> I would highly recommend having a look at bio home filter media from the pondguru.
> For the surface area nothing matches it. Have  been using it for a while now. And it is amazing stuff.
> 
> Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk



I've got a tray of this in one of my canisters after being given it free. Seems to do well but every bio media I've ever tried has also performed... Including bio balls which get slated, but the merits of maximising available surface area in a planted tank become a bit pointless in a planted tank.

I've never been able to find any information on the surface area of Biohome either, the site states porosity between 42-50% but nothing to compare it to other brands.

For what it's worth, the different types of sintered glass media that I'm aware of have the following surface areas:-

Eheim Substrat Pro - 450m2 per litre
Sera Siporax - 270m2 per litre
Superfish Crystal Max - 275m2 per litre
Fluval Biomax - 600+m2 per litre (from memory?)


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## Gill (16 Apr 2018)

Think Rich talks more about it in the videos he uploads on his channel. 
I am also using a Sintered glass one from Wharf. And Also Performs well. Just swirl it in a jug of tank water every so often.


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## Zeus. (16 Apr 2018)

ceg4048 said:


> Well, I mean how much bio load capacity do you need? Nylon Scrubbies have a total surface area of about 400 sq. ft per cubic foot (about 7.5 gallons). If you chop them up you get even more. The branded sintered media typically have about 120,000 sq. ft per cubic foot. Activated carbon has about as much or more as the branded media.
> 
> Do people realize that plants are bio filters? That they do more than any bio-media can possibly dream of doing?
> 
> ...



Taken from *bio media for fluval 305*


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## bhavik (16 Apr 2018)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,They will still be fine, just give them a good rinse. You can try microwaving them if you still aren't happy.
> 
> cheers Darrel


You say microwave them how would that gel and you mean microwave the actually ceramics pieces?

Also talking about flow I have a spray bar as well as the just have the output filter pointed towards the plants which would better?
Is that flow good enough? I will be adding some more plants as soon as they grow out of the smaller tank

This is how it looks
http://tinypic.com/r/24vmoo2/9


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## dw1305 (16 Apr 2018)

Hi all,





bhavik said:


> You say microwave them how would that gel and you mean microwave the actually ceramics pieces?


 Yes, <"microwave the wet ceramic media">, it is meant to remove the organic media from the pore spaces.

I've never used a micro-wave, <"but we used to use an autoclave"> (basically a pressure cooker) to clean up really dirty media from the trickle filters when we worked on landfill leachate. 





Millns84 said:


> For what it's worth, the different types of sintered glass media that I'm aware of have the following surface areas:-
> 
> Eheim Substrat Pro - 450m2 per litre
> Sera Siporax - 270m2 per litre
> ...


If some-one else is buying I'll have <"Substrat Pro">, but discussion of pore space in filter media is all _smoke and mirrors_ really.

I don't think that having nitrification and denitrification in the <"same canister filter is ever a good idea">, so pore space becomes largely irrelevant.

If you have a substrate and plants you are going to have nitrate depletion, via incorporation into plant tissue and some denitrification in the substrate.

The other issue is the one that none of the sellers ever talk about is oxygen. The more oxygen you have the less filter media you need, biological filtration is very rarely limited by media volume, it is almost always limited by oxygen availability.

Pollution is quantified by BOD ~ Biochemical Oxygen Demand.

If you don't have enough oxygen ammonia levels will inevitably rise, we can argue about the level that nitrate becomes toxic and whether it is hundreds or thousands of ppm, but no-one is going to argue about ammonia toxicity.

You can tell people plants and oxygen are the key, but then you can't sell them, a huge filter stuffed full with your (expensive) media which _is "definitely better because it has more pore space"_.

If you think about the <"Thames oxygen bubbler barges"> or waste water treatment with a trickle filter, or <"rotating contactors">, it is apparent that oxygen is the prime metric.





> Consequently, in 1989 a purpose built vessel,the _'Thames Bubbler'_ came into operation. It injects up to 30 tonnes of oxygen per day directly into the River at the appropriate time and place. It is 50.5 metres long and 10 metres wide. It cost £3.5 million to build and costs around a £0.25 million a year to operate. A new oxygenation vessel, the _'Thames Vitality'_ with the same capacity as the _'Thames Bubbler'_ was launched in 1997. Both these vessels are owned and operated by Thames Water Utilities as part of an operating agreement with the Environment Agency and can be deployed within a few hours notice if it appears likely that oxygen levels will fall to critical levels. The vessels were deployed on 24 days in 2000, 30 days in 2001, 48 days in 2002, 25 days in 2003 and 29 days in 2004.


cheers Darrel


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## bhavik (16 Apr 2018)

Ok thanks for that i’ll try that next time do I have to put them in a bowl of water and then warm?

Also in terms of the flow in my tank is that good enough? Or should I connect it to that spray bar and point it towards that plants?
http://tinypic.com/r/24vmoo2/9

Thanks


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## dw1305 (16 Apr 2018)

Hi all,





bhavik said:


> Ok thanks for that i’ll try that next time do I have to put them in a bowl of water and then warm?


I think you just need a very small amount of water, the idea is that the water in the pore space boils and ejects the bacteria etc.

Cheers Darrel


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## Dontfeedseagulls (17 Apr 2018)

I spent a lot on media when I got back into this hobby. Bags of Biohome, a massive tub of SeaChem matrix and various ceramics.

I'll say they're doing their job well, though there isnt much to say. I genuinely think pot scrubbers would probably be doing just a good a job.

I never intended to go back into a heavily planted tank. Though when I found my CO2 reg and kit I thought I might as well. Felt silly knowing how good the plants are at doing their thing.


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## welshweeks (18 Apr 2018)

Regarding the reduction of flow using ceramic media etc what about stacking the siporax media vertically in the media baskets, wouldn't this possibly  reduce the chance a reduction of flow significantly?  I recently closed down a marine tank and had siporax this way in there. Just a thought


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## Zeus. (18 Apr 2018)

welshweeks said:


> Regarding the reduction of flow using ceramic media etc what about stacking the siporax media vertically in the media baskets, wouldn't this possibly  reduce the chance a reduction of flow significantly?  I recently closed down a marine tank and had siporax this way in there. Just a thought



I asked Clive a similar question his reply was just don't pack as much in. By putting less in there is less reduction in flow. I took about 3/4 of my ceramic out and all was fine.


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## Tim Harrison (18 Apr 2018)

I use just enough media to cover the base of each compartment, no more. You don't need a lot with a heavily planted tank and low bioload.
Also, I binned the floss pad, it didn't do anything for water clarity, and it impeded flow.


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