zeebee Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 Hi I have a trickle filter system, and was wandering what would the best media to put into it. At the moment, it has a cartridge with filterwool and carbon, a black sponge under that, and then ceramic noodles under that. Would I be better off to replace the carbon cartridge with more noodles? It is a planted aquarium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 hell yeah, carbon is an expensive waste of time imo. spend the extra to get the higher quality sintered glass stuff, the surface area for bacteria is astronomical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeebee Posted June 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 So sintered glass is better than ceramic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 depends on the brand but i found ceramic is around 20,000 square feet per gallon and Sintered glass around 40,000 - 50,000 sq ft per gallon (I hate imperial measurements), plastic bio balls are only around 20 - 30 sq ft per gallon also there is talk that sintered glass can help reduce nitrates as well (im assuming they mean in marine tanks with anaerobic bacteria) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Bio balls are good for disrupting the water and getting lots of oxygen in for the beneficial bacteria, but their surface area will always lose out to ceramic/ sintered noodles. The downside of ceramic/ sintered noodles is the weight - my sump has bioballs in the tower which works fine, but if I swapped them for ceramic noodles, the glass support would just give way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Bio balls for above water media for the trickle part, ceramic or glass for submerged. I Ute ceramic now, as my old glass ones that are ~12 years old have gradually broken down and crumbled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 its all about the texture and how porous it is. the bacteria infests surface area, the rougher it is and the more porous the media the better. sintere happens to be more porous and more textured than your average ceramic, but good quality ceramic lasts longer, albeit a bit more cost. its a balancing act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeebee Posted June 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Thanks for your advice. Anyone know a cheap place I can buy some noodles online? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Thanks for your advice. Anyone know a cheap place I can buy some noodles online? cost of them online is actualy similar to pet shops. give hollywood a call, buy a product by aqua one either noodles or the ceramisub. thats fantastic stuff! good value too. they will ship to you im sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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