Neat man, really cool how much every hobbyist varies even by the smallest degree!
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Best biological media
- Thread starter JwHiser13
- Start date
Neat man, really cool how much every hobbyist varies even by the smallest degree!
Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Well said, neutrino .....
IMO for the most part bio-filtration media is highly overated. Most of you probably have enough bio-filtration media to handle double the pay load that your current media has to offer. I know that I certainly do.
As an example, a LFS south of me has a 325 gallon show tank that over the years has always contained wall to wall mature cichlids. In other words there is a huge bio load in this tank. All of the fish have always appeared to be very healthy, and the water very clear.
The filtration ......... 3 old school AC 500's. (110's)
No ceramic rings, bio balls, K1, pot scrubbers etc, ...... just AC sponges, and some floss.
The maintenance routine is approx 40% weekly water change, with the filters only getting cleaned when they get really gunked up. (as in the water flow slows down)
IMO unless your tank is stocked with wall to wall fish, I think many people would be surprised at how much media volume is required to keep a tanks bio filtration running in good condition. Years ago when going to view a tank that was for sale the owner showed me his 90 gallon koi tank. (72x16x18) which held 12 koi, the smallest being 10", the largest 17". (I put a tape measure up against the big boy) Although the tank water was anything but crystal clear, none of the fish showed any signs of stress, or illness, and they had been in this tank for the entire winter. The filters didn't appear as though they had been cleaned for some time.
The filtration - two AC 500's, one positioned at each end of the tank, facing each other, and nothing more than sponges as filter media. The bio load in that tank would have exceeded any 'normal' fish tank that I had ever seen, or I suspect will ever see again. Overstocked was an understatement, yet those two old school filters, with old school media, kept the bio load (which is massive with koi) in check.
IMO unless you have VERY limited space for bio media, or have small ponies swimming in your tanks, I suspect that any of the media mentioned in this thread will provide ample surface area for proper bio filtration. In most parts of Asia you will seldom see any of the biological media seen in aquariums here in North America. Most of it would probably be considered primitive to most westerners, yet in most cases it gets the job done just as effectively at a small fraction of the cost.
