If you mean biological media, yes any will do (bio-balls, pond matrix, etc.) I do not consider any one media better than another, you could use old toothbrushes for that matter.
But.....If you mean mechanical media for removing particulate, care must be taken.
I tried putting mechanical media on the top of lava rock, and found it plugged fairly quickly and had overflow/water loss issues.
And flow/agitation in the vertical tube must be quite strong.
It is the agitation of the air water interface that creates the separation of dissolved organic compounds, and cleans the water. Fractionation.
Even with lava rock, I find the vertical tube must be hosed out with a strong spray once or twice in a summer to remove gunk, algae and leaves.
I have seen cichlid fry that got sucked up in the pump, pass thru the fractionator and end up living in the horizontal tube, even though the flow is quite substantial.
But.....If you mean mechanical media for removing particulate, care must be taken.
I tried putting mechanical media on the top of lava rock, and found it plugged fairly quickly and had overflow/water loss issues.
And flow/agitation in the vertical tube must be quite strong.
It is the agitation of the air water interface that creates the separation of dissolved organic compounds, and cleans the water. Fractionation.
Even with lava rock, I find the vertical tube must be hosed out with a strong spray once or twice in a summer to remove gunk, algae and leaves.
I have seen cichlid fry that got sucked up in the pump, pass thru the fractionator and end up living in the horizontal tube, even though the flow is quite substantial.
