When I bought my 135, the person had a DIY sump in a rubbermade container with bio balls and lava rocks. My question is what do you think of using lava rocks as a bio filter media? I have never used it for that in the past and never seen it used until I bought the tank.
lava rocks?
- Thread starter Lgsasquatch
- Start date
Its not the best but not the worst more or less like using gravel. People think it has tons of surface area like ceramic or expanded but it doesn't
It's not the surface area that is the issue, I would love to see a surface area comparison between bioballs and lava rock. I would be shocked if bioballs had more. The issue is the lava rocks break off small pieces (even powder) and can due some pretty decent amount of damage to pumps.
Very good information you have there. The next question to ask is which one will give you the balance of effectiveness and ease of required maintenance? For example, the carbon might have the most surface area but it will clog very fast and need frequent change-out or rinsing. I'm thinking somewhere between the bio balls and pot scrubbers.
Thinks for the info. There was a lot of pot scrubbers too. I have herd and seen those used in 5g bucket DIY filters.
what you are not seeing on that list is the real bio media, that is what I would use
No, we're not gone. I use pot scrubbers in all of my filters. Have for over 15 years. Now, I use a combo of sponges and scintered glass in my main systems.
I've used lava rock back before commercially available W/D filters were around in the hobby. Also used plastic toy soldiers and barrel-o-monkey pieces. Tried carbon but, it always clogged in the main prefilter. Had better success with carbon by using it in a secondary reservoir.
Wouldn't lava rock raise the hardness of the water in the tank? I would test it with vinegar to be sure first unless ur trying to keep africans.
Also about that list, is matala sponges? If so how come different color makes a difference in surface area?
Also about that list, is matala sponges? If so how come different color makes a difference in surface area?