Scrubbies and bio balls are most efficient when used in a 'wet dry' situation. This is because they allow air to flow into the media which feeds oxygen to the bacteria.
Sintered glass and ceramic nuggets have much much more surface area (per volume) but the pores are so small they will not allow air to get to them in a wet/dry environment. Which is why they are superior in submerged situations but are less beneficial in wet/dry.
To give a fair response to the primary question in this thread you first have to decide which type of filtration you are discussing media for. As different filtration methods perform best with different media types.
Also, no one here has yet to mention plants as a media type. I think "cleansing" the water that one step further (removing nitrates) gives them a huge benefit that none of the medias discussed here offer.
Sintered glass and ceramic nuggets have much much more surface area (per volume) but the pores are so small they will not allow air to get to them in a wet/dry environment. Which is why they are superior in submerged situations but are less beneficial in wet/dry.
To give a fair response to the primary question in this thread you first have to decide which type of filtration you are discussing media for. As different filtration methods perform best with different media types.
Also, no one here has yet to mention plants as a media type. I think "cleansing" the water that one step further (removing nitrates) gives them a huge benefit that none of the medias discussed here offer.
