Bio Max Rings

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Watcher74

Watcher74

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Feb 5, 2004
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I have a Fluval 204 that I run on my 29 gallon. I have two of the filter compartments filled with Bio Max Rings for the beneficial bacteria to populate on.

The instructions say to replace a portion of the rings every three months due to them getting "clogged up".

Since they're ceramic, shouldn't there be a way to clean them instead of buying new media?

Would boiling work do you think?
 
J

JSchmidt

Cowbell! I need more cowbell!
Jun 27, 1999
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Those rings are made of sintered glass, I believe, and sintered glass has tiny openings in which bacteria can live, giving it a huge colonizable surface area. As the bacteria die, they clog the micropores and the surface area is reduced.

Boiling and/or rinsing won't clean the micropores. In reality, you may not need to replace the rings. If your tank never shows any signs of ammonia/nitrite spikes, you may have more than enough colonizable area in your tank/filter, and therefore have no need to replace the rings. If, on the other hand, if you see small spikes in ammonia/nitrite after changing/cleaning mechanical media, or if a new fish is added, then you may want to swap out some of the old bio max media for some new. If you do so, only swap out a third or less of the media, or you risk throwing away too many of your prized bacteria.

HTH,
Jim
 
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