How Important Is Bio Media?

Toby_H

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jun 21, 2007
4,128
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Charlotte, NC
I have ample experience with freshwater Cichlid aquariums being able to maintain 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite with no special “bio media”… Therefore I often suggest it’s importance is grossly exaggerated…

‘Back in the day’ we didn’t have canisters and we didn’t use bio media. So be it we did a whole lot ‘wrong’ according to today’s knowledge & standards (at least many of us did)… but once a tank was mature, keeping zero ammonia and nitrites was simple with UGFs, sponge filters and HOBs.

I commonly hear it stated that sponge filters are great little bio filters… and then I hear the same people saying that an Aqua Clear HOB is not a good bio filter because it only has a sponge for media… read that one again…

A typical HOB filter creates a lot of ‘surface agitation’ where the intake tube enters the HOB. The freshly oxygenated water is then pulled down into the HOB and through it’s media. The water that runs through “bio media” within a canister filter has not been freshly oxygenated such as this has…

The more “surface area” per volume “bio media” has, the smaller the pores in the material are. Since water has this tendency to follow the path of least resistance, I would like to suggest that the vast majority of the water moving “through” your bio media simply skims over the surface of the nuggets. This very simple principal is vastly overlooked as bypass.

I have run several 75 gal tanks with two AC 110s with no media expect a stock sponge typically stocked tanks for years on end without ever experiencing an ammonia or nitrite spike.

I am currently running a 125 gal filtered by two AC 110s with nothing more than stock sponges and two Mag 250s with micron cartridges. This tank has 2 adult Blue Dempseys, 25~35 2.5“~5” Geos, a few small Dempsey grow outs and a 12” BGK. The tank consistently has zero ammonia and zero nitrite.

Unfortunately I had to move out of the home where I had my fishroom, but up until this past winter I had a fish room which contained 5 tiers of two 50 gals stacked over a 75 gal each plumbed together as a 175 gal system. Each bottom 75 gal was filtered by one AC 110 and there was either a 500 or 700 gph pump moving water from the bottom (75 gal) to the top (50 gal) with nothing but a small sponge prefilter.

These tiers were either moderately stocked with adults or pairs or heavily stocked with grow outs. Heavy water changes were done frequently as nitrates built up fast, yet I never had any ammonia or nitrite spikes.

For the last 7 years I’ve maintained between 300 ~ 1,500 gallons of aquariums and have been reading ample material both from the aquarium hobby and beyond to better understand my aquatic systems (As I get older the fishroom has become more fun than the bar)… In my experience a mature system will not lack sufficient “surface area” to maintain an adequate bacterial colony to accommodate it’s fish load…

An exception to that theory may be a bare tank that is overstocked. I have never kept fish this way and therefore cannot speak about it’s needs from experience.

I would like to acknowledge a benefit to a wet dry filter. This not only offers increased “surface area” but offers it at a point of oxygen saturation. From the information I’ve read it is true that in this environment our bacterial colonies can/will be more healthy, grow faster and split/reproduce more readily.

The benefit I see Wet/Dry filters offering is that if for some reason the ammonia production in the tank increases, the bacterial colony can increase along with it at a faster rate. Although in reality how beneficial this is questionable, in typical conditions the bacteria we house has a “doubling rate” of 4~6 hours. Therefore it can grow quite quickly even without these special conditions.

I do not expect me sharing my understanding is going to make any revolutionary changes in the way people in general filter their tanks… But I do hope it helps a few people think their filtration through from a slightly different perspective. I feel that the filter/media manufacturers have fuels a vast misunderstanding in “bio needs” and are making a fortune from it.
 

rallysman

Polypterus
MFK Member
Aug 7, 2005
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indiana
Well said, and it's not just bio media, it's filtration in general. A lot of people have the "more is better" mentality, but at a certain point more is useless. I use wet/dry filters with 2-3x turnover per hour and have never had an issue.
 

ward1066

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 2, 2009
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kansas
rallysman;3376227; said:
Well said, and it's not just bio media, it's filtration in general. A lot of people have the "more is better" mentality, but at a certain point more is useless. I use wet/dry filters with 2-3x turnover per hour and have never had an issue.
i read somewhere there are other types of benificial bacteria in a wet dry that aren't in a canister.
 

hybridtheoryd16

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Nov 28, 2007
2,962
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kentucky
I agree with everything said.

I would hope that aquarist understand that bio media is just compacted surface area. Thats it.

The only benefit i see now with my tanks compared to 15-20 yrs ago is that they are alot more stabile.

I can remember having a 20g tank that had 6 fancy guppies in it set up for months and i went and bought 4 cardinal tetra's and caused a ammonia spike and a week long mini cycle.

And i certainly don't get that type of thing nowadays with my new age filters and media's.
 

Reel Addiction

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 17, 2009
112
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Maryland
Nice read, thanks for taking the time to post.
 

sostoudt

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 5, 2009
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va
a ugf provides plenty of biological space for bacteria to grow. its actually the strong point.

i agree it useless after a certain point but the use of increased surface media allows a heavier fish load then the tank could normally support.

btw i hope your still doing the surface area experiement. because truthfully i will be impressed if you could stock the tank to halfway what i consider a normal bioload with filters.
 

hybridtheoryd16

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Nov 28, 2007
2,962
4
38
kentucky
ward1066;3376235; said:
i read somewhere there are other types of beneficial bacteria in a wet dry that aren't in a canister.

Not different but people say that the bacteria are stronger because of the higher oxygen content in the trickle flow of a wet and dry filter.

Just another myth.

Trickling and or air stones, venturi's, etc, etc do not add oxygen.

They aid in allowing the co2 to gas out of the aquarium water. thats it. So if you have enough agitation to properly gas out the built up co2 then submerged media is just as strong.
 

dwilder

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 26, 2008
410
0
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florida
bio media is very important just what kind and how much surface area needed is greatly exagerated simple sponge filters work great some of the high surface medias are only necasary imo when space is very limited
 

dwilder

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 26, 2008
410
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florida
wet dry and trickle filters let more oxygen get to the bio media thats the benefit not the oxygen that gets into the water
 

CichlidAddict

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 19, 2006
739
3
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MN
Bio media is definitely important - it's just that in the old days it was in sponge filters and the substrate (UGF).
Canisters have replaced that because they can hold a bigger amount (thus allowing more / larger fish with a larger waste output) and they can be cleaned easier then UGF plates.
 
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