Best Bio filtration media?

[duanes]

If they're right out of the bag I'd just rinse them well, and stick them in the barrel.
If you have some already seasoned media, or substrate, I'd put that in the barrel with the lava rock once you connect it to the tank.
Oddballs idea of the floor stripper pads, would also be great on top of the lava rock (if thats where your tank water enters) as more surface area, and they would also work as mechanical media easily rinsed in water change water.
They would keep the pores of the lava rock clear of debris that can possibly suffocate the beneficial biofilm.

 

[lunker65]

i like that idea. the floor buffing pads would fill the diameter of the barrel pretty well too. and as said above would help keep the bio media clean. i thin that i will separate the bio media into a few bags. i was thinking about using like a laundry bag that way if i need to take the media out for any reason it is much easier to remove. i like how light the lava rock is too.

 

[robham777]

Lava rock is what I used in a recent sup build. This is about 1.5 cu ft in a lingerie washing bag available at walmart for under $3. The zipper is plastic, so there is nothing that can rust. I did go back and break the lava rock into smaller pieces to increase the surface area and it took a lot of rinsing to get rid of all the dust, but at $5 for 3 cu ft it is a bargain. The was little consistency of rock size in the bag I got at the garden center.

 

[lunker65]

that looks like a pretty good idea. that is basically what i am gonna do on a larger scale. i will have to put several bags onto a barrel. speaking of has anyone made a filtration out of them plastic barrels or out of large trashcans? i am thinking of using one fot the mechanical side and then this other for the bio side.

 

[lunker65]

what about bulkheads in the sides of barrels? has anyone done this and had any leaking issues?

 

[jaws7777]

what about bulkheads in the sides of barrels? has anyone done this and had any leaking issues?

I havent done it with a trash can but ive seen others do it with barrels. Could use iniseals though. Recentlt built a filter out of 4 inch pvc and used uniseals to connect multiple towers

 

[duanes]

I tried some of the plastic trash cans, and had them rip.
I prefer the strength of barrels made for strength.
I have used the blue barrels as sumps and filters without issue.

The photo above is during a water change, and the water is low, I normally keep the barrel at "least" 2/3 full

 

[lunker65]

i was looking at using barrels for the same reason. how exactly do the uniseals work. they just looked like rubber orings is all. can they hold the pressure at the bottom of the barrel that is full of water?

 

[DeathStalker]

I use CerMedia MarinePure BioBalls - http://www.cermedia.com/marinepure.php

 

[lunker65]

they look great but i would be spending upwards of $2000 for these. how do the Uniseals work?