What Medias To Use ?

**simeric** · 1st May 2014, 09:34

Hi Bros,
I just wanted to buy a external canister to run my 2ftx1ftx1ft tank on fresh water fish..such as coral red pencil fish ,rummy nose ( mainly tetra family)
The canister i'm looking is a sicce whale 200. But the medias are only bio rings.
What other medias can i add in together with the bio rings...
Can Any Bros In This Forum Please Advice...

Thank You All In Advance
Eric

**erwinx** · 1st May 2014, 10:28

Coarse sponge (usually blue or black)
Fine sponge (usually white)
Bio rings, frankly no need to upgrade. Ordinary rings should be good enough for the relatively small tank. And also the coarse sponge can also hold beneficial bacteria.

**tetrakid** · 1st May 2014, 12:38

If you buy bio-rings, make sure you go for those small ones. Normal sized ones are more suitable in bulk for ponds, but for home tanks, it is better to get small rings, such as sintered glass rings instead of the conventional ceramic rings. The size of the rings matter because smaller rings offer more surface area for the same volume. Better still, get those small rings made of more porous material (somewhat like coral), but they are of course very expenseive. Finally, it is best to get sintered glass small rings, which are cheap and good.

**Mookie** · 1st May 2014, 19:15

Purigen and bio home are supposedly very good as filter media.

**Mookie** · 1st May 2014, 19:24

Purigen absorbs ammonia while bio home has more surface area for bacteria to cultivate. Both will allow a higher bioload.

**Urban Aquaria** · 1st May 2014, 20:25

You can consider Seachem Matrix too, from research it supposedly has much higher specific surface area compared to most other types of bio-media, therefore helps further increase the bio-load capacity of a tank.

**simeric** · 2nd May 2014, 10:42

Wow Great tips from all the Bros in here....Today I learn something....

Thank you Guys ....Cheers

**tetrakid** · 2nd May 2014, 18:18

Originally Posted by simeric

Wow Great tips from all the Bros in here....Today I learn something....

Thank you Guys ....Cheers

The most important thing to learn is that expensive may not necessarily be good. Very often, good and efficient systems are improvised DIY or custom built by hobbyists who are knowledgeable and know their stuff thoroughly.

**simeric** · 2nd May 2014, 23:43

Originally Posted by tetrakid

The most important thing to learn is that expensive may not necessarily be good. Very often, good and efficient systems are improvised DIY or custom built by hobbyists who are knowledgeable and know their stuff thoroughly.

I agree with you tetrakid

Tka for the tips....

**aquarius** · 5th May 2014, 20:58

If you're thinking of buying Seachem Matrix, you can buy pumice stones from the landscape nurseries, they are the same stuff just that you may have to wash it properly first before using cos they may not be as clean as Seachem's.