Ghetto Bio Filtration

[StingraySteve]

Something that's been in the back of my mind for a while

I've always been under the impression that efficient biological filtration is dependent on the surface area of the bio media. Say I was using ceramic rings in my bio filter and instead of keeping their original shape, I decided to break them up into smaller pieces (not powdered but crushed rather coarse), wouldn't that increase the surface area of my media and in turn, increase its efficiency?

Has anybody tried this? Success/failure stories welcomed.

 

[timmylucas]

I wouldnt even do that. Get small pieces of lava rock and clean it very well and put it in a mesh or silk bag. It works WAAAY better

 

[Wahroo]

I think the gain in surface area would be small but the amount of media you could handle would improve. I would think flow would be an issue as well

 

[StingraySteve]

it's a good thing you thought of the flow rate because I sure didn't.