Swapping Eheim mech for Aquarium Coop coarse sponge

[Jess]

I'm using an Eheim Classic canister filter that I already had lying around before I ever knew Cory existed.  I have the filter media kind of "tweaked" already, so I have the Eheim mech on the bottom, then a coarse filter pad (NOT Cory's, one I had lying around), then Seachem matrix, and then a fine pad.  I bought Cory's coarse and fine filter pads to swap the old ones as they are crappy and I was just using them up.

Now, this coarse pad is very coarse.  It got me thinking that maybe I should use this instead of the Eheim mech?  What do others think about this? Here's the description from Eheim of what the mech does:

Quote

Coarse, mechanically working material is used where water first enters the filter process. Water is swirled and coarse particles of dirt sink. Then the water continues its way through the other filtering layers. Immediately after entry into the filter, the water is swirled through this hollow ceramic material. Through this action, the coarse dirt particles are removed.

From my experience, it doesn't seem like the mech removes much of anything.  There are a ton of coarse particles up in my Seachem Matrix.  I'm just wondering if this coarse pad should replace the mech, or whether the mech serves some important purpose and the coarse pad should go on top (replacing some of the Seachem Matrix)?  

[Spewing_nonsense_]

In general, you want the water flow to go thru your media in this order:

1. Coarse sponge 

2. Finer sponge

3.Biomedia

This is so the coarse sponge catches the bigger particles so the fine sponge doesnt get clogged as fast, then the fine catches the smaller particles to help keep your water super clean and free of particles, then the biomedia sucks out any nitrites and ammonia in the water. If you do something like biomedia in front of the fine filter media, then that biomedia will get clogged up with stuff and not be as effective as it will have less surface area. And if you do fine sponges before coarser sponges, the fine sponge will still work but itll get clogged up faster and need more frequent maintenance and cleaning.

Idk how much I can weigh in on the mech bc I havent personally used it, but from what I do know I would switch out for just the coarse sponge.

[Jess]

Thanks!  Yep, that's the order I have things in.  The "mech" is Eheim's mechanical filtration...the way they describe it is similar in purpose to coarse sponge.  That's why I assume, too, that I can swap them.  Eheim has another product, "Substrat," which functions like Seachem Matrix that I just happened to have instead.

Seems like if I switch out the Mech for the coarse sponge pad, that would help my bio media function better because it would keep more of the large particles from reaching, and clogging up, that bio media.