AC filter media

[sleonard]

For my Discus tanks I am using AC power filters w/ prefilters on the intake tube. For the media in the filter I have been using all sponges but have wondered whether or not the bio-max ceramic pieces support more bacteria than the sponges. Hagen AC claims 30% more bacteria with the bio-max than just sponges. What about another manufacturers bio-media? The Ehiem substrat pro in my African tanks' canister seems to be excellent media.

[Alight]

I use the biomax as well as the sponge. I have no idea if the biomax is as good as the sponge or better, etc. I use oxygen plus sponges as prefilters on the intake tube to my ACs. I put many holes and slits in the intake tubes, and cover the intake tubes with these sponges. I have to clean these prefilter sponges every 3 days or so, but hardly ever have to clean the box sponge and biomax.

[Dood Lee]

Sponges are pretty much at the bottom of the heap when it comes to hosting beneficial bacteria. There are tons of better media available. I personally only use sponges for mech filtration now.

To answer your question, yes, the biomax media is much better for bio than sponges. Both biomax and eheims ehfisubstrat are made of the same thing, sintered glass. A cheaper alternative would be to use lava rock. You can find them at almost any garden shop, just crush them down to a smaller size (like ehfisubstrat) and stick it in your filter.

[big bob]

Any things better than sponges Even pea gravel!
Biomax is gr8 but Merlins better even though it tends to clog due to its fine grane size.
good luck.
mike

[Kap]

AquaClear claims the biomax is 30% better than just sponges if I remember correctly. The rather large "holes" in the AC sponges lead me to believe they do best with mechanical filtration. But the really sizeable bio filtration with biomax or similar stuff significantly increases surface area for bacteria colonies to grow. You are effectively increasing the size of your biological filter medium this way, right?

--kap

[Dood Lee]

AquaClear claims the biomax is 30% better than just sponges if I remember correctly. The rather large "holes" in the AC sponges lead me to believe they do best with mechanical filtration. But the really sizeable bio filtration with biomax or similar stuff significantly increases surface area for bacteria colonies to grow. You are effectively increasing the size of your biological filter medium this way, right?

--kap

Yes.

[sleonard]

OK, then is a sponge prefilter enough mechanical filtration making it possible to fill the filter box with nothing but bio-media or should one use an additional sponge in the box with bio-media filling the remaining space?

[Dood Lee]

Keep a sponge (you can cut it in half if you feel like it) just as a second mechanical filtering unit. A sponge on the intake is not enough for mech filtration, especially on a HOB filter.

[Ardan]

I fill the insides of my AC's with as many sponges as I can, then if I need to start another tank and move fish, I can move a cycled sponge with them.:)
hth
Ardan

[Dood Lee]

I fill the insides of my AC's with as many sponges as I can, then if I need to start another tank and move fish, I can move a cycled sponge with them.:)
hth
Ardan

You could do the same with any kind of biomedia though, it doesn't have to be sponges. In fact, crushed lava rock can provide the same amount of bio capacity using half the space of a sponge.

[White Worm]

Does it really make a difference? It depends on you tank load and most media will only grow the bacteria that is required to handle your current bio load right? I think it may be over kill if you are lightly stocked. You could have loads of media but they will only colonize to the amount of waste that is fed to them right?

[Dood Lee]

Does it really make a difference? It depends on you tank load and most media will only grow the bacteria that is required to handle your current bio load right? I think it may be over kill if you are lightly stocked. You could have loads of media but they will only colonize to the amount of waste that is fed to them right?

It does make a difference, especially when you get into the situation where your tank is large, and you have a higher fish load. Many people have multiple filters for redundancy, but also because one filter may not be enough to handle the bioload for a tank.

Also, bacteria is always growing in the tank. There isn't a limit to how much bacteria grows, but rather, how much bacteria can be maintained. All excess bacteria dies off because there isn't enough for them to feed off. It doesn't mean however, that there will always be a constant amount of bacteria in the tank. This is why using more efficient media helps in the long run.

[White Worm]

Sorry, but I think you just agreed with me without knowing it, lol. I said if you have lightly stocked tank. I realize you will need more depending on bio load. Thats what I said. The amount of bacteria will depend on bioload in tank. The amount that is maintained will depend on how much you feed it, not how big it is or how much there is. You will have to go bigger at one point if you are highly stocked and have large bio load. Please read my last post again, you just repeated what I said, lol. At least we agree. I think a good reason to have extra also is because you may need to start up another tank and you will have media for that purpose. If you have 85g tank with 8 discus, it wont make a difference. If you have same tank with 30 discus, you would probably want more media to handle a larger bio load. It will still only produce what is required no matter what the surface area is.


It does make a difference, especially when you get into the situation where your tank is large, and you have a higher fish load. Many people have multiple filters for redundancy, but also because one filter may not be enough to handle the bioload for a tank.

Also, bacteria is always growing in the tank. There isn't a limit to how much bacteria grows, but rather, how much bacteria can be maintained. All excess bacteria dies off because there isn't enough for them to feed off. It doesn't mean however, that there will always be a constant amount of bacteria in the tank. This is why using more efficient media helps in the long run.

[Dood Lee]

Sorry, but I think you just agreed with me without knowing it, lol. ... It will still only produce what is required no matter what the surface area is.

I was thinking more in terms of effeciency. Sponges only hold so much bacteria. And if they get clogged with debris (which they do) there is even less area for the bacteria to colonize. When this happens, the bacteria tend to colonize other surfaces of the tank. Efficiency comes into play because you want the highest concentration of bacteria to be in the filter, not anywhere else. Having a media that can house more bacteria in the same space is ideal.

Plus, stuff like lava rock is cheaper than buying brand name filter media. Many landscapers use lava rock, either in their potted plants or yardwork. Hell, when I was short on cash, I just grabbed some lava rock from a plant pot at some building Downtown.