Biological Filtration Media

[COMPNOR]

Good evening,

So I am trying to educate myself about biological filtration media.  Is it necessary or is it a gimmick?  OK, gimmick might be too strong of a word, and I do use it in my FX6.  I'll also admit that I am a gimmick guy.  If something claims to help me or make things easier, I'll take a look.  Anyhoo, if beneficial bacteria will grow on any surface, and only grows to take care of the load in your aquarium (so you can't have more BB then needed), what use does it actually serve?  I have come across that some media would allow the growth of anaerobic bacteria which can consume nitrates (if my reading is right).

So would that be the real reason for it?  Otherwise like I said, is it more gimmicky then actually useful?

Please be kind, rewind.  Thanks!

Jacob

[lefty o]

i think you have a pretty good handle on it. does it hurt to have more surface area for bacteria to grow on, no. one does only need so much overkill though.

[tonyjuliano]

Like you said, beneficial bacteria will grow on any “surface”.

This being said, there are any number of products that have large surface area.  More surface area = more beneficial bacteria.

The two most important types of beneficial bacteria are “nitrosomas” and “nitrobacter”.  These are “aerobic” bacterias, both are desired for maintaining a healthy environment for fish.  

Nitrosomas bacteria consume ammonia, converting into nitrites, nitrobacter consumes the nitrites.  Both ammonia and nitrite are deadly to fish, they damage essential gill function, even in small amounts.

Unfortunately, the by-product of nitrite consumption is nitrate, and although decidedly less toxic than ammonia and nitrite, it will continue to build until ultimately reaching unsafe levels.  This is why water changes are sometimes necessary, to dilute the nitrate concentration back to safe levels.

“Anaerobic” bacteria is a different type, which can consume nitrates, but it is particularly difficult to colonize in sufficient quantity to be effective.  Some media types make claim to being able to propagate anaerobic bacteria, the one that gets the most attention is Bio-Home, which is fairly expensive.

l’ve tried it, under recommended conditions, but have never found it to particularly effective in eliminating nitrates.

Fortunately, live plants can - and do - use all three forms of potential toxicity as food.  Even without the beneficial bacteria, they can reduce ammonia and nitrite levels, and are the only effective “consumer” of nitrates that I have found.

For me, the two most effective types of biological filter media have been Eheim Subtrat Pro (which are small balls of sintered glass) and Seachem Matrix (which is pumice based).  Both have tremendous surface area, but even these do not completely eliminate nitrates on their own.

But don’t overlook the effectiveness of just plain old foam.

Besides providing excellent mechanical filtration, foam also has tremendous surface area for effective biological filtration.

As stated, there is no “magic bullet” that exotic (and expensive) specialized media can provide, in my opinion.

Edited May 10, 2021 by tonyjuliano

[Solidus1833]

3 hours ago, COMPNOR said:

Good evening,

So I am trying to educate myself about biological filtration media.  Is it necessary or is it a gimmick?  OK, gimmick might be too strong of a word, and I do use it in my FX6.  I'll also admit that I am a gimmick guy.  If something claims to help me or make things easier, I'll take a look.  Anyhoo, if beneficial bacteria will grow on any surface, and only grows to take care of the load in your aquarium (so you can't have more BB then needed), what use does it actually serve?  I have come across that some media would allow the growth of anaerobic bacteria which can consume nitrates (if my reading is right).

So would that be the real reason for it?  Otherwise like I said, is it more gimmicky then actually useful?

Please be kind, rewind.  Thanks!

Jacob

I think you got the main knowledge for BB and bio medias. If you would like to know more I suggest you watch some of https://www.youtube.com/user/pondguru 's videos on the subject. He explains different medias at a microscopic level and compares them with his own BIOHOME, which I've been using for years. Its a little pricey but I feel like it does way better than the Fluval media that came with my Fx4. Lasts longer too. 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by Solidus1833

[tonyjuliano]

47 minutes ago, Solidus1833 said:

If you would like to know more I suggest you watch some of https://www.youtube.com/user/pondguru 's videos on the subject. He explains different medias at a microscopic level and compares them with his own BIOHOME

Yeah well, just do yourself a favor and view those vids with a skeptical eye.  The “guru” makes lots of claims about this product’s (in which he has a financial stake) ability to perform a “complete cycle” (which means it eliminates nitrates), but provides no scientific data as proof.

If it did what he says, then evidential data would be easy to provide, and few aquarists would ever use anything else - regardless of cost.

But this proof is not provided.

I’ve tried it, under recommended conditions, and even those that exceed those recommendations.

It does not reduce nitrate levels to the point of “complete cycle”.

it just doesn’t.

It does have great surface area, it does colonize nitrosomas and nitrobacter in good amounts.

But it does NOT perform the miracle of a complete cycle.

I worked for many year as an engineer in industrial wastewater treatment.  Nitrate reduction (due mostly to agricultural run-off) is a major problem.  We spent lots of $ trying to find effective reduction methods.

The only effective solution is the use of very expensive membrane based technology, which is totally impractical to perform at a “micro” level (like an aquarium).

Oh...

And do you know what they supplement these membrane reduction systems with?

Plants...  artificial islands of nitrate consuming plants.

It’s the only thing that works.

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by tonyjuliano

[COMPNOR]

On 5/9/2021 at 11:30 PM, tonyjuliano said:

Like you said, beneficial bacteria will grow on any “surface”.

This being said, there are any number of products that have large surface area.  More surface area = more beneficial bacteria.

 

That is true, but what is the point that you have too much surface area, to the point that you have excess considering your BB only grows to the size you need?

 

Just trying to enhance my knowledge, and not be "That Guy" and get excited for every little widget.  Thanks for your reply!

[Sun.singh1991]

I prefer Seachem Matrix with some sponges honestly. They both provide huge amounts of surface area for BB to grow and thrive. However, remember that BB grow according to the amount of waste produced not the amount of media.