MEDIA QUESTION

[Nic]

aquaticeco has some real good high surface area sintered glass media... and some other good cheaper stuff....

 

[sabotage]

SWEET...

 

[fishnut]

bio bales

 

[duke33]

scrubbies, sponges, bioballs, pumice, lava rock, etc are all ok... but they aren't the most efficient out there.

If you have lots of $$$ to drop, sintered glass all the way. It has an absurdly high surface area ratio. Another option is a fluidized bed filter with sand. It's kinda of a PITA to make one, and buy them can be pricey... but there's no better bio filtration for large projects IMO. The sand is all kept in a state of suspension so every grain has a chance to be fully colonized.

Besides mechanical problems (cheap made) the FSB on my 300 is keeping the nitrates down very well.

 

[sabotage]

i got 5 things of siporax from the Aquatic eco.com

high-performance, fine-pore biofilter media with unbelievably high surface area (82,000 ft2/ft3) and the ability to perform both nitrification and denitrification under certain conditions. Siporax® works best with well-filtered, clear water (otherwise heterotrophic bacteria will cover the surface). Conveniently packaged in one-liter mesh bags. Made in Germany.