Most Suitable Biological Media for Your Canister Filter?

In this video, I will review 8 types of biological media, discussing whether these media are suitable for a medium range External canister filter, such as Fluval 306 or Eheim Classic 250.

[@WhiteCloud746]

Thanks for sharing your perspective. To my mind, this instantly becomes one of the most sensible videos on the topic. So much of the discussion of filter media is focused on "best and worst" with a dash of tribalism. People get oddly passionate about filter media. As you say, the issue is really about what is suitable for the application/filter. I personally love the three stage Eheim set up with the mech pro at the bottom followed by their bio-mech and then their substrat pro. That said, I've also had good results in other set-ups/circumstances with alpha-grog, sera siporax, biohome, seahcem matrix, and just sponges combined with a very deep substrate. Alpha Grog seems best suited for shower filters in koi ponds since it doesn't clog.

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you. I absolutely agree that Alfagrog is great for larger systems. Your filter setups sound great; it certainly also depends on your stocking levels and what type of fish you keep; large cichlids and catfish would be more tolerable of nitrates than discus!

[@aquariumanalytic754]

Thanks really helpful and informative!

[@IDMRPodcast]

This was awesome, bro. I have 2 fx6 on my 240 and I was thinking that I needed an additional filter, but I really just need to upgrade my biological filtration

[@monlegaspi]

Thanks for the valuable information about the bioballs relevant to canister filters 👍🏻 I'll be using combination of foams and seachem matrix and see a better result hopefully 👌

[@tomwyatt899]

Great video, very informative. Thank you.

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you!

[@brandongilhooly3545]

Go to a home supplies store and get BBQ lava rock and break it with the claw of a hammer to get smaller pieces, rinse it well and drop in a filter bag. About 6 months ago, I swapped the SeaChem Matrix in my canister with small lava rock. After the swap, I tested the water numerous times over several months and found it works exponentially better than SeaChem Matrix. Also, it is a fraction of the price !

[@ArsenicShooter]

Nice video as always, thanks! For the plastic biological media, it is used (I used it also) in marine tank sumps with a moving bed. But you are totally right, they are a very bad choice in a canister or any other filter. I use them in one precise way for canister filters: when the water flows from the bottom to the top in the canister filter, I put them in the bottom if there is a gap under the first basket, so it catches a lot of heavy muck (mechanical filtration) and the sponges get clogged up slower. Otherwise I don’t recommend them as strictly biological media.

[@igorverdes]

That’s why I use the same batch of API bio chem polymer stars. They have more surface area and don’t break apart.

[@richardk6196]

Great & informative video as always. Do you by chance have any experience with API Bio-Chem Stars?

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you:) No I never used it

[@nimaarezoomandi5325]

Thanks for the info,you could talk about how long we can use them,and how to clean them into the day-one(bleech,venegar,boil etc)

[@tropicalfishhub]

You dont really need to bleach or boil your new media; a good rinse should be enough. Most of these media will last for many years. Eheim media can last at least a decade, and natural media (lava rock, pumice) will never breakdown. Alfagrog can also last decades.

[@nimaarezoomandi5325]

@@tropicalfishhub what about detris and biofilm You can clean them when they are on the surface,but what about within the pores? Eiheim recommend to change it periodically.

[@tropicalfishhub]

@@nimaarezoomandi5325 I usually wash these media in tank water by shaking them. Most of debris and biofilm gets washed away. Eheim and other manufacturers are eager to sell more of their media thats why they want us to change media regularly!

[@Ed-527]

How do we really know what media works best, are we counting bacteria with a 300x magnifier? Just curious

[@Ttblondey]

Have you try pumice

[@johnday8204]

Very informative l like to know your views on A / carbon as a filter media thanks

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thanks! I only use carbon to remove medications or tannins, there isn't much other use for it in freshwater

[@OriginalMindTrick]

You don't need that plastic container with the Eheim classic, it just takes up additional space.

[@extraaccount5830]

Let's say you have a cycled tank. What's the benefit of having more bacteria growth in your canister? Is it that ammonia is broken down faster? Do you have any thoughts on activated carbon?

[@tropicalfishhub]

You can only have more bacteria if there is food (=ammonia) for them, so if there isn't more waste there won't be more bacteria even if you have tons of media. I use carbon to remove medications, but it is of little use otherwise.

[@tifu678]

Great insight. No mention of biohome in all it's flavors?

[@tropicalfishhub]

Thank you! I'm not a big fan of biohome; it is fairly overrated (and overpriced!):)

[@greatestforever6192]

@@tropicalfishhub biohome is no better than crushed clay pots😂 biohome is the biggest hyped media in the fish hobby.

[@tifu678]

@@tropicalfishhub While I agree that it is overrated, and overpriced, isn't that the point of talking about it on a video like this to explain why it's not a good choice?

[@tonymurphy3524]

You need a hammer just break up yhe big rocks to smaller pieces no

[@tropicalfishhub]

I've tried breaking lava rock with a hammer ... the rock was intact, but the hammer wasn't:)

[@hakman239]

Alpha grog isn’t that pours ceramic rings are just made of dust the tunnel are just bubbles sintered glass is best type ceramic rings won’t provide full cycle because it’s made from dust packs too. Tight can’t support anaerobic bacteria

[@barnaracsai8374]

Hey mate! I do not understand why do you like seachem matrix. It is pumice and one of the worst quality of pumice that i have ever seen. Also crazily overpriced and overhyped. There is no surface on it, even the eheim substrat, or the lava rock is way much better than that. This is my opinion, i would not waste money on that and precious space from my filter. Marketing works, but the product doesn't.

[@jaki1979]

20% of the matrix contents are useless pebbles. I’ve complained to seachem and they said that’s expected and it’s normal. Shame on them for ripping people off. Don’t bother contacting seachem about any of their products because the company is a scam and all they interested in is ripping people off.

[@OriginalMindTrick]

Eheim mech pro will degrade and eventually totally break down after some years.

[@noodles74]

The success of nitrifying bacteria has nothing to do with how porous the media is. In fact the ceramic media is much better as the bacteria can colonise the surface and allows flow over the media as they thrive on oxygen. The advice about porous media is curently wrong, and outdated.

[@tropicalfishhub]

What would you say to the fact that any porous media has hundred times large surface for aerobic/anaerobic bacteria to populate than cheap ceramic rings? The purpose of porous media is to host anaerobic bacteria which survive where there is no oxygen. If you don't want anaerobic bacteria then of course go for cheap ceramics:)

[@noodles74]

@@tropicalfishhub There are no facts to back up your claims. The studies of the various media has been done, and the results are there if you care to look. I wont buy so called porous media from snake oil salesman because its all to take money of our your pocket nothing more. If you want to waste your money go ahead.

[@tropicalfishhub]

@@noodles74 :) these aren't my claims mate! The fact that anaerobic bacteria don't need oxygen has been scientifically proven for over 50 years. I'm mostly using lava rock and alfagrog which cost pennies. Both of these medias are far cheaper than your preferred 'ceramic rings' and have much larger surface. They aren't 100% porous but offer far more porosity than rings.

[@noodles74]

@@tropicalfishhub Its a strawman argument. Ceramic rings are just above biohome media in their effectiveness /efficiency. These so called porous media don't even rank in the top five. Alfagrog, and lava rock are not even in the top ten, but fair a bit better. You would be better of putting aquarium gravel in which achieves a better result. The claims of many ceramic, pumice and sandstone media manufacturers are based on something called the BET nitrogen infusion method. It measures the amount of nitrogen which permeates a media and adsorbs onto the surface of the media in a single molecule layer. Since the nitrogen molecule is a couple of billion times smaller than a beneficial bacteria cell this is obviously a very misleading statistic. If a beneficial bacterial cell can’t even get to a surface, let alone form a film on it, the surface is useless. The tiny pores in many media are thus simply of no use.

[@tropicalfishhub]

@@noodles74 Both alfagrog and lava have no tiny spores at all, they just have large spaces for aerobic bacteria. Which media would you recommend then? There are two types of ceramic rings available to me; premium Fluval product which costs a fortune, and cheap Chinese rings that crush in your fingers as you touch them. I'd love to try other products, but there none at the UK market that I'm aware of. I agree with you nonethless than Biohome and other highly advertised media is a waste of money.

[@johnfadds6089]

This guy has no clue what he's talking about. Ceramic rings = mechanical filtration? 🤣 Mechanical filtration is for catching the smallest particles in the water, like filter floss or 40ppi foam or above. These ceramic rings could stop a giant turd for a couple of minutes untill it disintegrates into smaller turd parts. All they do in reality is offer a very poor surface area for bacteria to grow on, nothing else!

[@tropicalfishhub]

I'm afraid sir you are the one who has no idea what you re talking about. Eheim mech is for mechanical filtration as it says on the package and on Eheim website. Btw, I'm not the one who created them, its Eheim's product not mine!! So plz do at least a bit of research before leaving silly comments!!

[@johnfadds6089]

@@tropicalfishhub these companies are claiming all sorts of silly stuff trying to sell us useless products, this is one of those. Using ceramic rings as mechanical media is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, and as an experienced aquarist you should know better.

[@OriginalMindTrick]

The rings are good at trapping larger particles and as it's gets clogged up also works on medium particles. Anyone who actually used these products knows this.