BEST MEDIA AVALIABLE!

jft

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Aug 24, 2010
458
35
61
PA
in the end it comes down to what works for you, both substrat pro and matrix would be my top two choices.
 

jcardona1

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 5, 2007
11,491
40
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42
South of Heaven
I don't care what Seachem says, you will not be able to grow anaerobic bacteria in any sump or canister filter to consume nitrates. I've yet to see it happen in the real world. If it only it were that easy. There's a reason people still rely on algae scrubbers and denitrators to reduce nitrates. If you REALLY could reduce nitrates by using a certain type of media, then we'd all have 0 nitrates. But you can't, so we don't ;)

And lava rock is a horrible choice for bio media. It isn't porous at all. Might as well save some money and use smooth cobble stones for bio media.
 

Jc1119

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 27, 2010
4,432
19
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Orlando fl
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.
Not doubting you at all, but here in the states 5l of substrat pro goes from anywhere from $54.99 to $90.00. Pond matrix goes for $24.99 a gallon(about 4l).

I use substrat pro, matrix and pond matrix and all work just as well IME. Just depends on how much you want to spend and where you live.

I also have media that been in service for almost 6 years without replacing. I never replace bio media. Just rinse in tank water every few months and place back in your filter.
 

lipadj46

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 11, 2011
936
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queensbury
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.
Matrix can only act as a denitrifier if used in a slow flow reactor (under 100gph) otherwise you will not get any anaerobic denitrification say in a high flow canister filter. I like seachem matrix but you can't make orange juice out of poodles.
 

Jc1119

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 27, 2010
4,432
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0
Orlando fl
Matrix can only act as a denitrifier if used in a slow flow reactor (under 100gph) otherwise you will not get any anaerobic denitrification say in a high flow canister filter. I like seachem matrix but you can't make orange juice out of poodles.
Poojuice lol.

This is exactly what I'm going to try on my new tank. Xp1 feeding a phosban 550 throttled back to about 20-30 gph filled with pond matrix. Don't know if it will function as a denitrifier but that's what I aim to find out....
I figure it's worth a shot
 

mu_2176

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 15, 2010
65
0
6
Bossley park, Sydney, Australia
rhodes, please feel free to provide evidence, ain't stoping ya, no harm in doing so mate, everyone will benefit from it
MAtrix in australia per liter is roughly $15-$25 substrat pro is around $20-$30 per liters.
 

Spiritofthesoul

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Dec 3, 2010
4,692
18
38
32
Singapore
Just use a mixture of media (Seachem, Hagen, Eheim, JBL, Sera.... etc), Problem solved
 

mu_2176

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 15, 2010
65
0
6
Bossley park, Sydney, Australia
^exactly what i was thinking.

Was thinking about using Aqua clay (clay balls, from local nursery), nylon pot scrubbers, Seachem Matrix, Eheim Subsrat Pro, Eheim mechPro, Jap mat. dacron, hagen/fluval bio max, mr aqua porous rings and biohome if i can get any lol
 

ozzyboo

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 25, 2010
190
0
0
Surrey-UK
I don't care what Seachem says, you will not be able to grow anaerobic bacteria in any sump or canister filter to consume nitrates. I've yet to see it happen in the real world. If it only it were that easy. There's a reason people still rely on algae scrubbers and denitrators to reduce nitrates. If you REALLY could reduce nitrates by using a certain type of media, then we'd all have 0 nitrates. But you can't, so we don't ;)
This is one of the things I was trying to get at in my previous post,I have seen or heard no eveidence that matrix pro will perform the function of converting nitrate to nitrogen,in a canister/sump filter setup, as seachem state it will.If rhodes has any evidence then I would genuinly be interested to see it as I am sure many others would be.


Was thinking about using Aqua clay (clay balls, from local nursery), nylon pot scrubbers, Seachem Matrix, Eheim Subsrat Pro, Eheim mechPro, Jap mat. dacron, hagen/fluval bio max, mr aqua porous rings and biohome if i can get any lol
You may want to have a look at pumice gravel or crushed pumice,if available, as it has a huge surface area as it contains lots of voids and internal structure,In fact matrix has always look very similar to pumice gravel to me.
I see you have mention aqua clay,a lot of the planted tank guys use this as a base substrate for planted tanks,bonsai planting media is also popular,any of the backed clay medias are popular for there CEC (cation exchange capacity) which may be of some benefit if you are planting at all.
 
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