Eheim Canister Media shopping list
- Thread starter solchitlins
- Start date
Cell pore is more expensive, and clogs much faster. Matrix has no where near the surface area, and clogs quite a bit faster as well. Neither of these are a "very similar option".cchhcc;2501706;2501706 said:
WyldFya;2503122; said:
I think they may have changed the name of Matrix (De-Nitrate maybe?). Regardless, it is virtually identical to Eheim's Substrat, and I've run several Pro IIs with it in the past (I converted to SubPro eventually). The cell pore stuff was on special at Marine Depot, or Fosters Smith (saw it in some catalog) for dirt cheap this past month. It is more porous that SubPro, but I don't see it clogging any faster as the same principles apply to both products. Perhaps I should have prefaced that with IMO!
I agree that SubPro is the best choice, but the OP wanted other options.
Interesting read from the Seachem site about Matrix:
Surface Area of Matrix, Eheim Substrat Pro, and JBL MicroMec
Two competitors, Eheim (Substrat Pro) and JBL (MicroMec) have advertised their own biological filter media (in both cases, sintered glass) and are claiming larger specific surface areas than our claim for Matrix.
For biological filter media, specific surface area (measured as surface area per gram of material, or surface area per some specified volume of material) is very important. These products provide surface sites for bacteria to attach and do their work. The greater the surface area per gram of medium, the greater the number of bacteria that can attach. Thus a high specific surface area is desirable.
There is a second consideration, and that is the size of the pores in the medium. Generally, with very large pore diameters, we have smaller specific surface area, so that is not good. This generally rules out pores above 10 microns in diameter. But we can go too far in the other direction. If we have a very large number of very, very small pores, then our specific surface area number will be phenomenal, but the medium will not work very well as a biological medium. This is due to physical limitations, specifically too small a volume to support bacterial growth, and the decreasing efficiency of fluid transport (necessary to carry nutrients to the bacteria and waste away from the bacteria) with very small pore sizes. (Small pores still play important roles in physical and chemical processes, such as adsorption.)
BET surface area measurements indicate that Matrix™ contains nearly 10 times the specific surface area of Substrat Pro, and more than 20 times the specific surface area of MicroMec. Practically all the specific surface area of both Substrat Pro and MicroMec are in the range of pore diameters to be biologically useful, while some of the surface area of Matrix is in pores that are reserved for physical and chemical processes, not biological processes. Estimates from two different pore geometries indicate that Matrix contains between 4 to 4.5 times the biologically active surface area of Substrat Pro, and between 8 to 9 times the biologically active surface area of MicroMec.
They have a clickable link to the study that resulted in the above information.
Surface Area of Matrix, Eheim Substrat Pro, and JBL MicroMec
Two competitors, Eheim (Substrat Pro) and JBL (MicroMec) have advertised their own biological filter media (in both cases, sintered glass) and are claiming larger specific surface areas than our claim for Matrix.
For biological filter media, specific surface area (measured as surface area per gram of material, or surface area per some specified volume of material) is very important. These products provide surface sites for bacteria to attach and do their work. The greater the surface area per gram of medium, the greater the number of bacteria that can attach. Thus a high specific surface area is desirable.
There is a second consideration, and that is the size of the pores in the medium. Generally, with very large pore diameters, we have smaller specific surface area, so that is not good. This generally rules out pores above 10 microns in diameter. But we can go too far in the other direction. If we have a very large number of very, very small pores, then our specific surface area number will be phenomenal, but the medium will not work very well as a biological medium. This is due to physical limitations, specifically too small a volume to support bacterial growth, and the decreasing efficiency of fluid transport (necessary to carry nutrients to the bacteria and waste away from the bacteria) with very small pore sizes. (Small pores still play important roles in physical and chemical processes, such as adsorption.)
BET surface area measurements indicate that Matrix™ contains nearly 10 times the specific surface area of Substrat Pro, and more than 20 times the specific surface area of MicroMec. Practically all the specific surface area of both Substrat Pro and MicroMec are in the range of pore diameters to be biologically useful, while some of the surface area of Matrix is in pores that are reserved for physical and chemical processes, not biological processes. Estimates from two different pore geometries indicate that Matrix contains between 4 to 4.5 times the biologically active surface area of Substrat Pro, and between 8 to 9 times the biologically active surface area of MicroMec.
They have a clickable link to the study that resulted in the above information.
WyldFya;2503119; said:
By foam do you mean the coarse pad and fine pad ?
also when you guys talk about cell pore do you mean this reefresH20 stuff?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4136+4169&pcatid=4169
I would think I would want the smaller 5/8" balls, and they are expensive.
The big balls are a better price but seem more for a wet/dry to me.
I'm thinking if I can't find some used/second hand then I will probally get Ehfisubstrat and just fill em up and put an inch filter floss on top. That way I can just rinse it out with tank water and replace the top floss when I do maintainance. Or do I need to have the prefilter layer of Ehfmech or simular tubes in the bottom?
Also I don't think Dr. F&S sell Matrix any more, I can't find it atleast.
I just had a wild thought!
When I get the canisters set up for bio filtration I'm going to switch my 2 AC110's over to double sponges for mech anyways so.....
I'm thinking,
I use the ceramic rings that came with my 2 ac110's as the first layer in the canisters then a small layer of ehfifix or a coarse pad, followed by alot of bio media, then top with fine pad, ehfisynth or filter floss.
done deal?
I think I will need about 8 liters of bio for a 2217 and 2213?
When I get the canisters set up for bio filtration I'm going to switch my 2 AC110's over to double sponges for mech anyways so.....
I'm thinking,
I use the ceramic rings that came with my 2 ac110's as the first layer in the canisters then a small layer of ehfifix or a coarse pad, followed by alot of bio media, then top with fine pad, ehfisynth or filter floss.
done deal?
I think I will need about 8 liters of bio for a 2217 and 2213?
I'm starting to get really bummed out and feel like an idiot.
I got a great price on these used but the media is so overpriced that I can't win.
Using all the CK- discount's from Dr. Foster & Smith.
If I buy the recommended Eheim media and pads then I'm so far up there in price that I'm only saving $30 buying these used filters over identical new ones that come with the media.
I should have just bought this new Eheim Pro II External Canister Filter 2028 with Filter Media & Installation Kit $199 shipped.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...ters-Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies~vendor~.html
Maybe I should just wait till they get here and sell them locally.
I got a great price on these used but the media is so overpriced that I can't win.
Using all the CK- discount's from Dr. Foster & Smith.
If I buy the recommended Eheim media and pads then I'm so far up there in price that I'm only saving $30 buying these used filters over identical new ones that come with the media.
I should have just bought this new Eheim Pro II External Canister Filter 2028 with Filter Media & Installation Kit $199 shipped.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...ters-Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies~vendor~.html
Maybe I should just wait till they get here and sell them locally.
