MarinePure Bio Filter Mrdia

[farebox]

Has anyone ever used MarinePure Bio Filter Media in their sump for an discus fish tank? Well I just ordered 2QT/1.9L 1.5" sphere for my 20G diy sump/125G tank. I plan on removing the Seachem Matrix bio media and replace it with this media. Why change bio media??? Just want to try out something different and read somewhere Rickztahome plan on using this in future build. Any info on the bio media would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.....

[dprais1]

I didn't use it in a sump but I used it in a canister filter.

Man, when you watch that video of water flowing right through the balls you think "Sliced bread, this is sooo much better" In fact, the only media I had in my canister was the media balls. I figured they will be good forever and I will never have to clean them.

But it is just a gimmick, imo.
After a using them a while the pores become clogged and when you put them under the faucet the water rolls around them just like it was a solid stone-even when the faucet is just a trickle.
I'm sure at that point that work just as effectively as any other media, which, imo, is perfectly fine. But, we aren't paying for them to work as well as, say, lava rock. We are paying for them to be super-media. And they aren't.

Of course, you can clean them, sort of.

I decided to just load my canister with a few of these balls(to seed the new media) and fill up the rest with k1. I know the k1 isn't in a fluidized state but they won't trap debris and I know I get plenty of flow. And I already had k1 on hand. And now I have media that will work as described and I won't feel cheated, which is probably the biggest issue I have with the MArinePure. Hopefully I won't really ever have to 'clean' my canister just a quick rinse once a year.

[farebox]

Thanks for your input, since you were using them in an canister filter maybe they became clogged over time due to the fact the media was enclosed vs free flowing as in an sump?

[nolefan]

I ran them I'm a fx5 for years when it was cell pore and never had a issue of them clogging but I also maintained my canister routinely I have it in my reef tank in my sump as a block and it has never clogged (8 years now)and also in my 120 discus tank sump with no issues at all .. Read the reviews all positive and I would highly recommend it I have been in the hobby 30 plus years and this stuff is great you buy once and you are done ..

[rickztahone]

Roland, I steered clear of this media for one reason and that is that some reefers have claimed that these result in elevated aluminum levels. This isn't good for anemones and although there is a huge batch of mix reviews, I decided to stay away and simply go with some Siporax. There are some really seasoned members that claim they are using it with no ill effects with nems, but I didn't want to take the risk after hearing of others that just put the block in their sump and had immediate effects on their nems.

With all of this said, that would have absolutely no effect on discus. I would use it in a discus tank any day simply because of the efficiency of the way it is shaped. I hope this helps a little?

Here are some reads on it in case you are curious:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2572567

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2570210

[MKD]

I am using 8x8x4 blocks for my 300g tank and running great. I prefer block over cube for 2 reasons, easy to organize and easy to clean.