DYI media, putting some tank gravel into media baskets....

[Prometheus]

Would putting some gravel (off of the tank floor) into my media baskets work like bio-balls or ceramic noodles?

Any other ideas along those lines?

[JSchmidt]

My concern about using gravel, esp. smaller gravel, is that it might compact, leading to bypass. Media that's a bit larger would be less prone to that. Compacting is obviously not an issue for spherical media. I've noticed that even Eheim has introduced a spherical version of Ehfisubstrat.

HTH,
Jim

[blitzen25bm]

you can cutup a bunch of straws from macdonalds. i would just go with ceramic rings go to petsmarts they have a cheap one.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Someone mentioned that they used their son's army men, thats a unique good idea.

[Sumpin'fishy]

I bet if you were to buy a large "FeatherRock" from your local garden supply store, this could be a really effective bio-filter medium. If you don't mind taking some time to either break up (hammer, chisel, etc.) or grind to the desired shape (Dremmel, grinder, or hand file), you could make this fit into any space you like. This stuff is soooo porous too! Much better than lava rock for bacterial colonies. It's also extremely light (IT FLOATS) and wouldn't weigh down whatever you put it in.

Personally, I'd Dremmel it into roughly spherical shapes about the size of a marble, and place them in the filter of choice. This stuff is easily broken, drilled, or ground down.

Other simple items include Army Men (many people use these), or plastic easter grass (the green plastic strips wadded up). Just stuff it into the media area.

[Bluebrindle]

Rather than tank substrate, you might consider using the decorative lava rock that is normally used to finish out gas fireplaces.

It offers tremendous area for bacteria growth, is almost dust free, doesnt lose potency like carbon, requires no recharging, and is very very inexpensive.

I got mine at LOWES for under $6.oo for approximately 5 pounds of media. Size is a little smaller than gravel and very porous. THIS IS NOT LANDSCAPE ROCK!

A box of knee high hose from the Dollar Store, (3 pair for a buck), fill with media, and place in the water column prior to the poly filtration and you have terrific biological filters for really cheap.

I am using it also in the media containers in my Emperor 400's.

If you use this method and the filter pads from Ginger, you can drastically reduce filter maintenance costs, and IMHO do a much better job.

[RTR]

If you do any form of pumice/featherock/lava, be sure to use a fine pad following it prior to the impeller chamber. That stuff can destroy a mgnetically linked impeller drive unit.

[beviking]

Porous media works great initially but eventually (due to dirt etc and dying bacteria) will clog which will then contribute to the bio-load. You then have to replace it which removes the bacteria. You're better off with non-porous "self cleaning" media (and something that will not compact itself) like ceramic noodles or army men which only require a rinse to clean.

[RTR]

I confess that I strongly agree with beviking for my own canisters, but I go a step farther and want entirely self-cleaning biomedia. I want the biomedia to shed old biofilms cleanly so I don't even have to rinse it.

[plantman1028]

You could also try using plastic scrubby pads (the round ones)I picked them for lie 3/1.00 at the $ store.They worked great and all you have to do is give them a light rinse once in a while.I used them on a 38gal hex and never had a problem.Hope I helped.GOOD LUCK!!!

[Tyler718]

Originally posted by NJ Devils Fan
Someone mentioned that they used their son's army men, thats a unique good idea.

I use them in 3 of my canisters and they work really good. You can get roughly a hundred of them from the dollar store for about $2.

[anonapersona]

i think the difference between most of these DIY media will be actual surface area. The gravel from the tank will have moderate surface area, compared to a sponge or scrubbie.

[forsure]

Why army men? The surface area? Or they protect the filter, and fight off unwanted debris. I put lego men in my tank as decoration until the fish started fighting them.

[anonapersona]

Kitchen scrubbies and army men have been used in large pond filters because they are cheap, plastic, and lightweight.

In the big pond filters, done in tubs bigger than 55 gallons drums, it becomes important that you are able to pick up the whole bag of media to clean off occasionally. Hair rollers, army men, and kitchen scrubbies are all lighter weight than lava rock or pea gravel. Packing strapping or "springflo" media (plastic strapping) is another light, cheap alternaitve to expensive bio balls.

It makes sense if you need 75, or 100 gallons of media. Not if you need a quart or two. And because of the smaller volume the surface area is more critical. And compaction and bypass will be more critical.

[Tyler718]

Originally posted by forsure
Why army men? The surface area? Or they protect the filter, and fight off unwanted debris. I put lego men in my tank as decoration until the fish started fighting them.

When I stopped using charcoal in my filters, I had extra baskets in my canisters then. I didn't want to spend the money on bio-balls. So I remembered reading about using them as a substitute. I raided the kids room and took them since they only play with sometimes.