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Hydroton as a filter media?

20K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  mboley 
#1 ·
I recently stumbled across a thread on another forum talking about how a guy uses Hydroton exclusively in his filters for bio-media. Hydro ton is completely inert clay balls that are fired and porous. Basically they look EXACTLY like Coco-puffs! They also do not disintegrate, according to the thread.

Hydroton is used for Hydroponic gardening and is about 20 bucks for 10liters of media. The size of the media is about 6mm-14mm with the average size being 8mm-10mm.



Seems like a decent substitute for more expensive bio media.

Please share your thoughts or experiences with this product, as I could potentially save a decent amount of $ for the two filters I am prepping.
 
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#3 ·
Yeah I read that some of the media floats until water logged. I would be placing a fine sponge pad over them and pack them in tight to keep them in place inside an Ehiem 2217. Rinse before use is a must :icon_cool

I also have a Fluval 204 that has baskets with lids so that would laso keep them in place.
 
#12 ·
I use Hydroton exclusively in both my 60 gallon tanks. One with an Oase 600 cannister packed with as much as I could get in there, which is alot. My other tank has a sump with the Hydroton in media bags.

Does it work? Yes, very well. Put it this way, in preparing my cannister filtered tank I seeded some new hydroton for a month in my sump.

I was able to cycle my new tank, with an Amazonia 2 plus Power Sand substrate completely down to zero amm and Nitrites in 2.5 weeks.

And yes, it's dirt cheap and available in any local Hydroponics store, which seem to be everywhere now with the growing popularity of indoor growing and legal weed.
 
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