BEST MEDIA AVALIABLE!

mu_2176

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 15, 2010
65
0
6
Bossley park, Sydney, Australia
hey,
just want to know what are the best media with a high surface area avaliable on the market today, i've read through the http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?88677-Beginners-Guide-to-Filter-Media.

i have a rotating arm sump and plan to pack it full of goodies!

I am thinking clayballs (cheap, effective and good surface area, also good for plants when ya need to throw them out)
Matrix, substract pro, mr aqua porous rings, Biomax and some jap matting and sponges

Will need much help on this one lol!

thanks
 

twilight zone

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 12, 2011
567
0
0
somewhere in the zone
For koi ponds, the cheapest would be the black lava rock. It is very porous, cheap to buy, and works very well. Like any filter, it should be designed properly to be maintained on a regular basis.
 

Ajno

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 18, 2008
482
0
0
Tri Cities WA
Eheim Substrat pro is the best by far. Spendy too though
 

Kanta

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 19, 2009
1,897
1
68
36
Omaha
Bio matrix
 

rhodes_96

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 26, 2009
629
1
0
Australia
Eheim Substrat pro is the best by far. Spendy too though
substrate pro is average !

What sets top tear filter media apart from the others is the ability to colonize anaerobic bacteria which consume nitrates, reasonable on the cost, high efficiency for the amount of media required and never needs to be changed. While substrate pro is efficient, it doesn't meet the other criteria.

Seachem matrix /pond matrix is one of those medias which meets the above criteria.
 

mu_2176

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 15, 2010
65
0
6
Bossley park, Sydney, Australia
thanks for the replies,

@rhodes- what criteria doesn't substrat pro meet? Not having a go at you just interested.

Tank will be moderately stocked with 8x manacapuru Red back/Red shoulder angelfish, 6x TRUE geophagus tapajos orangeheads, 8x Geophagus Rio branco, 6x Peruvian Altums and some plecs and tetras.

I will need media efficient enough to brake down bio load, convert ammonia into nitrates and be able to have a sustainable colony of bacteria.
 

rhodes_96

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 26, 2009
629
1
0
Australia
thanks for the replies,

@rhodes- what criteria doesn't substrat pro meet? Not having a go at you just interested.
1. expensive per volume of media
2. Needs to be replaced according to eheim
3 has not been shown to colonize anerobic bacteria to be effective in nitrate reduction.
4 clogs faster especially if you follow eheim filtration setup in canisters.

It's still a good media on smaller setups, I would class it in the same boat as bio max.
 

ozzyboo

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 25, 2010
190
0
0
Surrey-UK
1. expensive per volume of media/ In the UK a litre of matrix is around £16-£17 and substrate pro is £12-£14,how is that more expensive per voloume.Yes I am well aware that seachem say you only need 500 ml per 200l of water,How can seachem say such a thing without knowing the stocking type of setup and various other variables.
2. Needs to be replaced according to eheim/I have eheim media that is over 8 years old and still doing fine,I think it is more a marketing thing re replacment.
3 has not been shown to colonize anerobic bacteria to be effective in nitrate reduction./The only people I have seen stating this is seachem with a study that they commissioned which said there media was the best and had more surface area than any of the others and that it had the right size pores for anerobic bacteria.I would be interested to see anyone that has used matrix pro for the purpose of nitrate reduction in a canister filter setup
4 clogs faster especially if you follow eheim filtration setup in canisters./how long do you go between cleaning your filters? I clean my eheim 2078e once every month and I have not noticed any reduction in flow due to media clogging.

It's still a good media on smaller setups, I would class it in the same boat as bio max.
Most people consider substrate pro to be one of the best media's available,and there are a fair few eheims running eheim media that have no problems at all.I would imagine that if there media was only good on smaller setup there would be a lot of people with problems with water parameters because of using eheim media.
I have personally used eheim media for as long as I have been keeping fish and have never had any problems with my water parameters in that time.
 

CharlieTuna

Gambusia
MFK Member
Sep 18, 2010
444
0
16
Colorado
I'm currently using SeaChem Matrix and I'm very happy with it.
 

rhodes_96

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 26, 2009
629
1
0
Australia
1. expensive per volume of media/ In the UK a litre of matrix is around £16-£17 and substrate pro is £12-£14,how is that more expensive per voloume.Yes I am well aware that seachem say you only need 500 ml per 200l of water,How can seachem say such a thing without knowing the stocking type of setup and various other variables.
2. Needs to be replaced according to eheim/I have eheim media that is over 8 years old and still doing fine,I think it is more a marketing thing re replacment.
3 has not been shown to colonize anerobic bacteria to be effective in nitrate reduction./The only people I have seen stating this is seachem with a study that they commissioned which said there media was the best and had more surface area than any of the others and that it had the right size pores for anerobic bacteria.I would be interested to see anyone that has used matrix pro for the purpose of nitrate reduction in a canister filter setup
4 clogs faster especially if you follow eheim filtration setup in canisters./how long do you go between cleaning your filters? I clean my eheim 2078e once every month and I have not noticed any reduction in flow due to media clogging.

It's still a good media on smaller setups, I would class it in the same boat as bio max.
Most people consider substrate pro to be one of the best media's available,and there are a fair few eheims running eheim media that have no problems at all.I would imagine that if there media was only good on smaller setup there would be a lot of people with problems with water parameters because of using eheim media.
I have personally used eheim media for as long as I have been keeping fish and have never had any problems with my water parameters in that time.


I could go on and on and answer all your replies and show evidence to correct what you have said but that would just be stupid as the whole point is to help each other. The truth is their is nothing wrong with substrate pro, it's just that there are better options available. If you do your own search you will find what I am saying is factual.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store