Beneficial bacteria needs 2 things - surface area and flow. The high surface area claimed by matrix and similar media is meaningless because there is no flow through the media, so no beneficial bacteria can grow there.
People use matrix and similar media and believe it works fine, and it does work fine for the purpose of removing ammonia and nitrites. But for clean, clear water with low bacteria counts in the water column (the bacteria in the water column is the bad kind, not beneficial) 30 ppi foam is much better.
When I changed my canisters to 100% foam, I noticed the difference. The water was clearer.
If you switch media, do it in stages. It took me a couple of months to convert to 100% 30 ppi foam.
One benefit of 30 ppi foam - and zero mechanical filtration - is that I rarely open my canisters now. The foam does not clog easily and it does not need to be changed. You only need to open the canister if there is noticeably less flow.
I highly recommend the aquariumscience.org articles on filtration and filter media.