difference between biohome and ceramic rings

[enhanzed]

confused with the difference between biohome and the standard ceramic rings ... why the vast cost difference?

[sfk7]

oh yea... just as what i've posted in another thread

Is there anyone who can enlighten me / us?

[torque6]

Both are for cultivating BB. Have a read. Difference could be in the surface area, however do check with people who have CR.

http://www.reinbiotech.com/biohome/biohome.jsp

[celticfish]

A little late on this but better than never...

The basic concept of the ceramic ring is to is to "even" the flow of the water and trap larger dirt.
This keep the large stuff below the cannister to avoid clogging the biohome.
Biohome media is only good if the surface is not clogged.
CR does have a good "surface" area for bacteria to colonize.
They are shape the way they are to trap the large particles and yet not impede water flow through them to the next media.

Basic cannister sequence is as follows:

1) CR to trap large particles.
2) coarse sponge to trap medium particles.
3) fine particles allowed to get to "main" media like biohome.
4) fine wool to "polish" water of fine particles before return to tank.

Hope the above helps your understading.

[jackwolf]

That means CR is suppose to be the first media and sponge then follow by sponge and others? oh no i had been putting sponge then CR all this while... I thought CR is to "polish" the water with most BB at the end of a filter...

[KeIgO86]

I think there is a little misunderstanding.

The name "ceramic rings" (CR) has been attached to many products, as long as they have that common shape. However, there are many different types of ceramic rings in the market. Some are just pieces of ceramic shaped like a ring to "even" out the flow of water. However, in addition to the shape, some are made very porous and do serve as a home for BB for biological filtration. This explains the price difference in different ceramic rings.

As for biohome, the manufacturer claims that its product has far superior surface area per unit volume of filter media then its competitors, thus allowing more BB in the same sized filter. You can find further details here, http://www.aqua-bio.com/en/biohome/benefits.html

How much of the claims are really true, has been argued by hobbyists for a long time.

[torque6]

I am currently using biohome plus, however it does clog up mulm sometimes and had to be clean by tank water when i do a wc. OHF doesnt permit space to allow another media other than the usual wool/carbon filter pad.

[pete123]

Biohome expensive $18 for 300g.

Bot 'splintered glass' equivalent ...... 600g for $3.

[Shaihulud]

Biohome is supposed to be purely for biological filtration. The box even states to mechanically filter the water first, before passing it through to biohome. Im using an ohf as well, you can always get another tray of media. I couldn't comment on the efficiency of biohome as compared with ceramic rings, it rather porous though.

[torque6]

For my case, there isnt enough space on my OHF to allow biohome to be place in, so i had to put it like this ->biohome -> carbon pad -> wool.