Which Canister Filter Media?

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C

CRAIG1591

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 1, 2010
80
0
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Australia
Hey Guys,
I currently have a Fluval 404 on my 3 foot Malawi Cichlid tank. The 404 comes with 4 baskets for BioMedia, and at this stage I have all 4 baskets half filled with Fluval BioMax.
Here are my questions:
1) How would you guys rate BioMax?

2) Should I: *Swap all the BioMax for another media?
*Leave the BioMax, and fill the rest of the baskets with another
media?

3) Which BioMedia would you guys recommend out of the following, taking into consideration the prices:
(I will include the price per litre I would pay, note prices are in Australian Dollars)
*Seachem Matrix - $26.50 = 1 Litre. $46.55 = 2 Litre.
*Eheim Ehisubstrat - $37.00 = 1 Litre. $61.55 = 2 Litre.
*Eheim Substrat Pro - $43.85 = 1 Litre. $76.90 = 2 Litre.
*Sera Siporax - $27.90 = 1 Litre. $55.80 = 2 Litre.

4) How much of any of these will I need to either top up or replace my BioMax with?

5) Will I notice a decline in turnover of the 404 the more BioMedia I have in it?

Thanks Craig....
 
I think the fluval biomax is just as good a ceramic bio media for a canister as any imo. However here is the downfall to useing nothing but bio media, esp ceramic. The tiny pores that make ceramic media so effective for canister use (uber high surface area) clog with doo doo pretty quick if you dont have decent mech filtration before the water hits your bio media and unfortunately the 20-30 ppi spongs you get for mech filtration is pretty lame. So by having good mech prior to your bio media you can actually improve the effective surface area of your bio media, and call me crazy but 3 trays of effective ceramic media is going to be better than 4 trays of ineffective clogged media.Here is what I would do with that filter (any canister really). The next time you service your canister, take your top tray of bio max (the one where water hits first) and distribute it to the other baskets. Then put some poly fill in your top tray. This will help preserve your surface area in your bio max b/c the small pores in the ceramic wont clog so quick (your still going to have to give them a good thrashing in old tank water once in a while as a part of regular maint) and it will make your tank water extra crispy from the vastly improved mech filtration. Now realize by doing this you are going to have to go in there and replace that poly fill fairly regularly depending on how dirty your tank gets or it will end up cutting down flow once it starts getting clogged. I have messy fish and I replace the poly fill in my FX5 every 7-9 days but I'm also a clean filter/wc freak. So if your one of those folks who likes to clean a canister 1x a year dont do this, if you dont mind maintinance and enjoy having the cleanest healthiest tank you can provide for your fish, this method has never failed me.
 
As mentinoed, proper mechanical prior to bio media is essential... without it you are making your bio media far less effective...

Biomax is a good quality ceramic bio media, if you use it effectively...
 
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