Does Bio-Media ever need to be replaced?

[SailFin]

This might be a stupid question but does Bio-Media ever need to be replaced (in stages of course)? Does the bacteria in bio-media eventually plug all the small places and leave you with less surface area (only the outer surface)? When bacteria die, do they fall off and make room for more growth or do they stay there and clog the bio-media creating more decaying matter? Are they too small to clog anything? Just something I was pondering in the wee hours of the night when I should have been sleeping.

I realize that fish poop and other detritus can clog the bio-media but that isn't what I'm asking.

[phanmc]

Yes, bio-media can clog up over time and lose effectiveness, and it depends on the design of the bio-media on whether or not it needs replacing. The bio-wheel patented by Marinelands will easily rinse off and maintain effectiveness indefinately. The biomedia recommended by Ehiem (Efhisubstrat) to use in their canister filters need to be replaced after several months.

[RTR]

Yes, if you are relying on microporous biomedia. But the astronomic surface area claimed for microporous media is not absolutely required for most setups.

Microporous media are not self-cleaning. Not much biomedia really is. That depends on the particular medium and how it is housed with respect to flow, possible by-pass, freedom from detritus, etc.