Best bio filter media

[Hybridfish7]

I have recently inherited my dad's eheim ecco pro 300, and as a canister, it has the typical compartments. This is coincidentally my first canister, what should I put in said compartments? should I just get filter floss and ceramic balls and call it a day?

 

[Luke tomkinson]

biohome media is amazing can hold anaerobic bacteria but takes time to build up

 

[kno4te]

I have recently inherited my dad's eheim ecco pro 300, and as a canister, it has the typical compartments. This is coincidentally my first canister, what should I put in said compartments? should I just get filter floss and ceramic balls and call it a day?

What ever is easier for you to get and is affordable. I use seachem pumice and lava stones. Mainly lava stones now from Home Depot. One type of media isn’t Better than the other.

 

[duanes]

Since bio-media is simply a surface for beneficial bacteria to live on, and they don't care what that surface is, the idea one is better than the other is highly suspect.
I have used lava rock, ceramic rings, Scrubbies, and never found one test better than another.
Its all about how aerated the water is that passes over it,



If when you test for ammonia a nd nitrite, and the numbers are zero, your media is doing a good job.
The bristly ends of old toothbrushes could be as useful as anything else.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Poret foam. I have three running EHeim Pro II cainisters (2026 model). On the advice of Dr. Tanner of Swiss Tropicals, I filled the last one I set up with 100% 20 ppi Poret foam. This was a bit of work to cut it to fit the media baskets and leave no space where the water could go though without going through the foam. I do not have the coarse blue Eheim filter pad nor the fine white one, just the Poret.

I clean my other two canisters, with more traditional media, twice a year. I too over three years for the flow to slow on the one with the Poret before the output slowed to where I could notice it, and then I had to do the first clean.

I also use the Poret for tanks where I have Hamburg Mattenfilters and I almost exclusively use Poret foam cubes instead of the more traditional sponge filters.

Poret foam is not cheap, but it is worth the cost in terms of the resulting filtration capacity and the fact that it reduces the amount of work it takes to maintain it.

 

[celebrist]

The best media is whichever one encourages you to do regular maintenance

 

[esoxlucius]

A good first stage mechanical media is just as important as your second stage bio media. A poor first stage of filtration will result in a clogged up inefficient bio section.

Filter floss and/or varying grades of sponge for the former, and for the latter, as already mentioned, there are numerous types of media which are all very good.

 

[jjohnwm]

A good first stage mechanical media is just as important as your second stage bio media. A poor first stage of filtration will result in a clogged up inefficient bio section.

Filter floss and/or varying grades of sponge for the former, and for the latter, as already mentioned, there are numerous types of media which are all very good.

Agreed, the efficiency of any biomedia will be improved by effective mechanical filtration. You want the water entering the biomedia to be not only highly-aerated to encourage the growth of bacteria, but also devoid of any solid particulate matter which will quickly clog the media. If the mechanical stage is cleaned regularly and no water is allowed to bypass it and enter the bio chamber unfiltered, then the biomedia can go many months or even years without attention.

The biomedia will eventually require rinsing to remove the bacterial sludge which gradually accumulates. This is a bit of a PITA with a canister, so the better your mechanical pre-filtration the less often you'll need to address this messy job.

As duanes stated, bacteria grows on any surface. As a cheapskate DIY-er, I use cheap media that might not have as much surface area per volume as expensive high-tech substitutes, so I must devote more space to them, but in my DIY sumps that's not a problem. If I were inclined to use a canister, then I'd absolutely use Poret foam. Not cheap, but easy to cut to whatever size and shape your media baskets require, lasts practically forever, and will give you maximum utility from the relatively small small biomedia volume provided by the filter.

 

[celebrist]

I use poret foam for "baffles " in my sump so I can have different sections and increased bio. I really like it

 

[Hybridfish7]

I use poret foam for "baffles " in my sump so I can have different sections and increased bio. I really like it

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I like the stand, did you use 2x4s or 3s or did you just plate it with thin strips of plywood?
Back on topic though, is it possible to have a clog from sponges that are too dense?