Biohome disintegrated = sand

[bossteck]

Did some maintenance of my sump tank yesterday and discovered a small amount of sand, mostly around a fine-meshed bag containing 2 small boxes worth of biohome.

Emptied the contents of the bag into a pail and discovered that some of the biohome had disintegrated, there were lots of sand-liked particle in the bag which was quite messy.

While I don't doubt the large surface area boasted by the makers of biohome, I am rather disappointed with the longevity of the media. If memory serves me well, I had them for 3 years. The ceramic rings which I bought at about the same time are still surviving well

[Navanod]

Yikes, I better check my biohome inside the canister soon.
Are yours subjected to crashing forces? i.e heavy weigh on top?

[bossteck]

Yup, mine were under 4 bags of normal ceramic rings, perhaps that's why.

[ZackZhou]

Yup, mine were under 4 bags of normal ceramic rings, perhaps that's why.

Weight is not really the issue. It's just that biohome got the least lifespan compare to other medias. It will start to break easily in less 1 and half years..

[felix_fx2]

So bio home will become bios and in due time? Cr that I used became easily broken after sometime. Around a year.

[|squee|]

Weird, the Biohome red I bought 5 years ago is still intact and going well.

[limz_777]

mine biohome red also been use for 5 years plus , still ok , the white version is biohome plus ?

[|squee|]

The red version is Biohome plus.

[ZackZhou]

mine biohome red also been use for 5 years plus , still ok , the white version is biohome plus ?

Biohome white one is normal while the red colored are biohome plus.

Both biohome and biohome plus comes in 2 sizes. The ones widely available in the market is the smaller size.

Secondly, if I'm not wrong there are batches of biohome and plus. They affect water parameter differently as tested. Bro gryphon once tested his batch of both biohome and biohome plus, the results are a gradual increase in ph and slight increase in gh, while I tested mine with slight increase in ph only.
Biohome are still widely used in aro setups and was considered the best media for aro along with xxxxmoto (forgot how to spell, hahaha).as alkaline water are preferred in aro setup, that does affect them much. However when it comes to shrimps, it does and thats most probably why some members here are annoyed with a gradual increase in ph in their setup consisting of biohome media.

I suspect that different batch of biohome breaks down at different rates as well.

[Shadow]

mine also OK after over 5 year all still both red and white. Fake biohome maybe or quality control issue

[limz_777]

is there fake biohome ?haha china knockoffs again , maybe ts might want to send them a email regarding this , i remember their office is at hillview ?

[bossteck]

Weird, the Biohome red I bought 5 years ago is still intact and going well.

mine also OK after over 5 year all still both red and white. Fake biohome maybe or quality control issue

Wah... I must have abused mine.

[bossteck]

is there fake biohome ?haha china knockoffs again , maybe ts might want to send them a email regarding this , i remember their office is at hillview ?

Think kinda difficult. I bought them quite some time back and the LFS that I got them from already closed down.
But they came in a box and seemed genuine.

My purpose of posting this is not to create panic / skepticism, but rather just a reminder for hobbyists to consider placing their biohome in a bag, this would make any clean up effort much easier.

[felix_fx2]

actually most canisters (neglect ehiem classic since there is variations of them) have baskets.
i wouldn't worry too much.

[Navanod]

There is a cheaper brand media that looks very similar to Biohome Red...can't recall the name though.

I didn't know biohome will raise pH, any links?

[Shadow]

I dont think so, it does not effect my ph.