seachem matrix bio best ?

[In.a.Box]

Originally Posted by ChadRamsey

for UNDER $3, at your local home improvement supplier, you can get a 25# bag of small lava rock. Just rinse and use. And you will have enough there for 10 FX5s

I can only find the 7lb for $4 at homedepot.
Maybe its a reason thing.

[CrypticLifeStyle]

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

Thanks - I'll stick to putting it behind my Mattenfilters.

Any opinions on what is better - pumice stone or lava rock? I would think the lava rock, having larger "pores", would collect mulm & detritus more easily. But lava rock leaches iron (desirable to me) into the water as I understand it, so I would still use it to tie my anubias and java ferns to (or perhaps it contains iron that the roots can access - I can't remember).

So I will put pumice stone in the filters, and lava rock attached to water column feeding plants. Sounds good?

Well though pumice stone is volcanic, it's just another form of volcanic rock, that makes it different in mineral make up, and how it was formed then what we typically think of with the other lava rock which is more red in color. Pumice stone in the filter yeah, red lava rock in the tank, sure. I know a lot of people will even put the red lava rock in their media baskets in their canisters. But i think i red somewhere once if your co2 injecting, it can make the lava rock leach a lot of iron out. Maybe something to check into on how much that is.

[TexasCichlid]

Plastic scrubbies are the best bang for the buck in terms of bio-media, that and they don't clog up very easily.

[driftwoodhunter]

Originally Posted by TexasCichlid

Plastic scrubbies are the best bang for the buck in terms of bio-media, that and they don't clog up very easily.

Do they have more surface area than pumice or lava rock?

[cichnatic]

Scrubbies have way more surface area for bacteria to grow compare to pumice or lava rocks.

[youdontknowme]

" The first positive impression we had of Matrix was how quickly it cycled. In our new planted tank with ADA Aquasoil, we achieved zero levels of free ammonia from day 5. When using Substrat Pro, we averaged about 14 days and with Bio Rio, about 10 days. "

seems convincing from where it is quoted and the claims by seachem

quoted from :
http://theaquaticgazette.com/2012/03/08/seachem-matrix/

[driftwoodhunter]

I found that article too, when researching Matrix - I thought it was interesting.

[youdontknowme]

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

I found that article too, when researching Matrix - I thought it was interesting.

it is isn't it ?

[CrypticLifeStyle]

I'm the middle of the road for scrubbies. Sure they work well too, but what has always concerned me is how well does it retain bacteria to repopulate after cleaning them over matrix. I also feel matrix allows better flow even after buildup, and I'm big on flow.

[acitydweller]

This is just a porous media material that holds up under water. There are plenty of alternatives so YMMV

[youdontknowme]

Originally Posted by CrypticLifeStyle

I'm the middle of the road for scrubbies. Sure they work well too, but what has always concerned me is how well does it retain bacteria to repopulate after cleaning them over matrix. I also feel matrix allows better flow even after buildup, and I'm big on flow.

scrubbies will definitely work well . but i believe that matrix will not build up as quickly as scrubbies and if you have high bioload , matrix will definitely work even better IMO .

[TexasCichlid]

If you have a planted tank, buying ultra quality bio media is not really required. Your plants and high CEC substrate help with that a lot. Where good quality bio-media is really needed is with overstocked tanks and messy fish with no plants.

Here is what I use for reference.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...o-Filter-Media

[driftwoodhunter]

Well, my Google Chrome blocked my access to page two, saying there was a known malware distributing source on it, and it could infect my computer! (www.momo(something) koi.com I can't remember what it was exactly). But I did read all of page one, which was interesting. I have high bioloads so I'll stick to pumice/Matrix. And I'll take Chrome's advice & skip the rest...

[TexasCichlid]

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

Well, my Google Chrome blocked my access to page two, saying there was a known malware distributing source on it, and it could infect my computer! (www.momo(something) koi.com I can't remember what it was exactly). But I did read all of page one, which was interesting. I have high bioloads so I'll stick to pumice/Matrix. And I'll take Chrome's advice & skip the rest...

Yah I am guessing someone linked to a picture from there. Page 3 was fine for me but the bulk of the info is one page 1. Looking at your tanks, I'm not seeing very high bioloads nor messy fish, but you can't go wrong with Matrix either way.

[youdontknowme]

Originally Posted by driftwoodhunter

Well, my Google Chrome blocked my access to page two, saying there was a known malware distributing source on it, and it could infect my computer! (www.momo(something) koi.com I can't remember what it was exactly). But I did read all of page one, which was interesting. I have high bioloads so I'll stick to pumice/Matrix. And I'll take Chrome's advice & skip the rest...

if you have high bioloads and have the cash to spend on biomedias , go for matrix and you wont be wrong