BIOHOME

[maynardwix]

I have been told that BIOHOME is the best filter media for bacteria growth. I am using BioMax right now butdon't know if I should get some of the BIOHOME for my tanks. Has anyone used it, and if so, what is your opinion of it compared to some of the other medias out there.

 

[maynardwix]

Here is the site discribing BIOHOME, if you don't know what I am refering to.

http://www.reinbiotech.com/biohome/biohome.jsp

 

[brianp]

I am sure that this material would work adequately as a support for biological filtration. However, what we’re really talking about here is “accessible” surface area. Regardless of what the manufacturers claim about their media’s sa, it is only relevant if the water can make contact with most of the media’s surface as it flows through the media bed. Irregularly shaped particles (such as Matrix) are essentially faceted objects. That is, they have “sides”, and when placed into a container, it is far more likely that the sides will make contact, rather than the edges. As soon as two sides make contact, that surface area is essentially lost. So, while each irregularly shaped particle may have a large amount of sa per particle, the sa of the entire particle bed may be relatively low. The same is true with ceramic cylinders. As soon as the end or side of one cylinder makes contact with the side of another cylinder, those surfaces become poorly oxygenated. For the surface contact of water and a particle bed to be optimized, every interparticulate water channel within the particle bed must be identical. In other words, the flow of water must look the same regardless of where it is within the media bed. This is only possible if the particles are spherical in shape. There is only ONE orientation that spherical particles can assume relative to one another and that orientation is repeated throughout the entire media bed. You can see in the pictures how these cylinders pack. Water cannot flow through an area of the bed where two cylinders are aligned with one another. IMO, Ehfisubstrat Pro is a more logical choice.

 

[maynardwix]

I am sure that this material would work adequately as a support for biological filtration. However, what we’re really talking about here is “accessible” surface area. Regardless of what the manufacturers claim about their media’s sa, it is only relevant if the water can make contact with most of the media’s surface as it flows through the media bed...........

I see your point about the media making contact and not being of use. I looked up the Ehfisubstrat Pro that you suggested, and it is made of the same thing that the BIOHOME is made of, but the shape is different. Thanks for the input, makes a lot of sence.