# what brand and types of media to run?



## Dough (Apr 21, 2010)

I have only cichlid tanks and was wondering what I should run in my canister filters. I have fx5's on my 210g and my 144g. there are so many options, media that removes ammonia, nitrates, carbon, ect. the fx5's have three baskets in them, and I have 1 full of bioballs and coral for a buffer. the other 2 are empty. do I just do regular water changes or do I really need to use other expensive media inserts. Tips, hints, critics all welcome!


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

I'm going to guess you meant to say you have 2 fx5's on your 210g?

There's no media that will remove Nitrates since it can only be removed threw water changes and plants, even then plants will only remove a small amount of it.

With that being said, depending on how much fish you have in your tank and your Bio load I would just fill those basics with as much ceramic rings as you can. I would fill one of the top basket with a sponge to act as your mechanical filtering to help keep your water clear. Not sure how bio balls do in canister filters, thought they were meant for a tickle filter but if they are working for you then so be it, I would still fill the rest with ceramic bio rings (Bio Max or what ever brand).


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## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

Seachem Matrix is the best bio media out there: Seachem. Matrix


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

There is no such thing as a best bio Sting...


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

On the "big boy" filters, I would suggest pond sized seachem matrix. Its a lot cheaper than eheim ehfisubstratpro and from what I've read, just as good. If you believe the seachem literature, and I don't see any reason not to, it says that the bacteria can colonize throughout the interior of the matrix, therefore you can even thoroughly clean your matrix under a hose with tap water without significantly harming your bio.


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm using the pond size matrix and the ehiem media in my 2 xp4's and have no problem with them. Check out rogers aquatics I got the pond size matrixs from there for a good price. I would go with a sump for the 210 gallon tank over any canister filter any day.


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## Dough (Apr 21, 2010)

hgi said:


> I'm going to guess you meant to say you have 2 fx5's on your 210g?
> 
> There's no media that will remove Nitrates since it can only be removed threw water changes and plants, even then plants will only remove a small amount of it.
> 
> With that being said, depending on how much fish you have in your tank and your Bio load I would just fill those basics with as much ceramic rings as you can. I would fill one of the top basket with a sponge to act as your mechanical filtering to help keep your water clear. Not sure how bio balls do in canister filters, thought they were meant for a tickle filter but if they are working for you then so be it, I would still fill the rest with ceramic bio rings (Bio Max or what ever brand).


no on the 210g i am only running 1 fx5 with 2 ac110 hob filters. I was under the impression that water changes were the best defense, so i will keep up with those. I thought that bioballs were the same as the ceramic rings. you are not the first to say otherwise so I will change to the ceramic rings.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

check this stuff out
http://evolutionaqua.com/acatalog/Kaldnes in More Detail.pdf

thats what im going to get next, i have the eheim biosubstrat now and its pricey but its also really good
we talked more about it in this thread: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/equipment-talk-section-14/thoughts-moving-bed-filters-8429/


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## Death's Sting (Apr 21, 2010)

hgi said:


> There is no such thing as a best bio Sting...


An object with 10X the surface area per cubic foot, will have the capacity to hold 10X the amount of nitrifying bacteria. Given that there is enough nitrogen by products in the water column for the bacteria to feed off of. The more surface area the bio media has; the better it will function in a situation with a heavy bio load. I have not seen a bio media that provides more surface area then Seachem Matrix. Therefore, I conclude it is far more superior then any other bio media I have come in contact with.


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## ncutler (Apr 26, 2010)

I should also point out that there is media that will reduce Nitrates through anaerobic conditions (lacking oxygen). Though for the FX5, it might serve very little point because of how much flow there is. To remove nitrates, there can't be any oxygen, so aerobic bacteria colonize the outside, removing the oxygen so that anaerobic bacteria can colonize the inside. I believe even Matrix might have this capacity, though seachem's de*Nitrate is the more specific one. For de*Nitrate, flow must be 50GPH or below, which is pointless with an FX5.

Not to mention with a 210G, the Nitrates are likely to increase at a much slower pace than a smaller tank. I'd stick with exactly what everyone else is suggesting. Seachem Matrix.


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## _TiDy_ (Apr 29, 2010)

On my fx5 i have the top layer filled with fluvel neo-zorb (carbon + ammonia remover) and two packs of purigen, the last two layers i have them stuffed with bio max. Ive been running this on my 90 gallon stocked with 4 large red hook silver dollars, RTG arowana and a fly river turtle. So far no problems.


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