Filter Media, Plastic, Ceramic, Matrix and other

HI Guys

Im looking for prices on filter media for a sump, Matrix or ceramic rings...

JHB area or krugersdorp.

Thanks

 

Ag no man oupoot,

You must darem go and have a look at the options at the pet stores and the prices. None of the sponsors are going to respond to this sort of request.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Why not ? Filling up a sump with ceramic and matrix could turn into a big sale, they aren't cheap in big quantities. And since when has the sponsors become to good for any sale, big or small ?

Anyway... I would get some plastic pot scrubbers from you local one price or crazy store and use that as your main bio media. Then some purigen in there somewhere and some batting, you get this from material shops.

 

Singu,

But Purigen is not a filter medium? What would he want that for?

Also pot scrubbers and batting are not a good medium for bacteria. You need some solid medium, not plastic.

You should go and have a look at what is on offer from the LFS as I suggested.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Isn't purigen a filter medium ?

 

No Purigen is similar to an ion exchange resin, it selectively binds substances, such as medication or possible toxins, and it can also remove humic acids, the substances that are released from wood for example. You put a pouch of it in the filter, hope that it removes whatever you aim to remove, and then you recharge it by treating it. However, it does not serve as a filter medium on which bacteria can attach themselves.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

@Dirk Prof thanks for the advice, but all the LFS around me just sell plastic bio balls and those that does sell ceramic rings they want about R150 for 1lt and no matrix, they think im speaking about the movie if i ask them... and i only want the best media in the sump for my fish... what do you suggest?

Thanks

 

all that i can say rather get the ceramic rings and something like matrix it doesnt have to be matrix there is ther stuff thst also works. those bio balls isnt the best media to use

 

matrix will set you back about 200bucks a litre and the larger pond matrix goes for around 300 per TWO litres Siporex is also about R200 per litre. Obviously ceramic rings are a lot cheaper but they are not as efficient as these are not porous. Hth Andrew

 

I agree with what Ryno and Andrew Phishman are suggesting. Look at alternatives, and in particular do some comparisons of surface area of the media relative to their price. You must also do a calculation of the volume of the compartment of your filter in which you want to put this medium. If it is very large, then you could consider using course sandstone gravel chips, you can even estimate their surface area by making some clever estimates of their area. I have a massive gravel bed which I use as a biological filter which outperforms all of my filters containing all the fancy and expensive media.

Ryno's advice about not using bioballs is also perfectly correct. The bacteria in the filter don't attach very well to plastic media, so bioballs, filter wool, scrub pads and even sponge are not as good as inert solid media such as siporax, ceramics and stones.

I would also contact some of the sponsors (you can decide which of them) of this forum directly and ask them what they can offer.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

I always thought that everything you put in your filter is filter media, sure there was bio filter media, chemical filter media and mechanical filter media, but it is only filter media ifbacteria grows on it ?

 

The holding area for the media is about 32liters for a 550 odd litre tank, im planning to upgrade to a bigger sump once i can afford it but for the time being i just want to get the tank up and running with a few fish and then do the sump upgrade... and the plastic bio balls im also well aware of it being a big nono for filter media, and thats why im looking for alternatives...

 

Hi Oupoot,

If the volume is as large as you say, then I would go to a good nursery in your area and buy a fairly large bag of gravel chips. They should be the light brown type that they sell for paths and of which the chips are about 2-3 cm, not finer. I would put them in a bucket and spray them very strongly with a hose and then put them in the filter as biological filter medium. You can put a sponge and/or a layer of filter wool over the gravel as a mechanical filter. If you run this filter in with few fishes you will soon have a really potent biological filter, that I can guarantee you.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Filter Media, Plastic, Ceramic, Matris and other

Oky this thread is about filter media, pros and cons and how much in your filter etc.

@Dirk Prof can we continue our discussion on this thread then please?

The brown pebbles you suggested, bust these be coarse or those smoother and polished kind of pebbles?

@Zoom

 

I would definitely go with seachem matrix and also small matrix like size lava rock apparently also a excellent biological filter media.

 

Sad day when TASA's top poster @Zoom and very resprcted and valued member @Dirk have posts removed for being 'off topic' !! Anything to do with fish and their care is not 'off topic', in fact everything that comes out of the two gentleman concerned's mouths is usually regarded as gold...........Ai now its lost forever.....and the thread was just getting interesting......

 

Brent,

Don't they call PE the friendly city or was it the sleepy city. Well I suppose you have been braaiing all day, so I guess that's ok. I suppose you also took in some fluid, because braaivleis is often salty, right?

All that actually happened was that Jenn changed the name of the thread and then Zoom and my comments were no longer needed, so nothing was lost, the thread was just now really focussed. Jenn was just getting the thread on topic so to speak.

Ok, now we better start getting on topic or Jenn will really lay in the knife......

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Sjoe! It got SO OT I had to switch you off for 19 hours!! Now behave yourselves, or else!! :rofl:

 

LOL, must be the liquids....and the braaing.... Glad to hear that was the case......and


that it was for the good !Glad I questioned it though as no way of spotting that from just


reading the one thread. What with all the sinister stuff going on in SA All good, and thanks for all your fantastic contributions, I am sure


a lot of us like myself have followed many of them and gleened much without participating,


very valuable. @Jenn now what was that topic again

 

@Dirk prof, i take it that the coarser the gravel the better and that those polished stones are a big no? and also, would the gravel work that u usually mix with concrete? I only know it as crusher rock...