Does anyone know if it's a good idea to use regular gravel for biological filtration in a canister filter? I have a Rena XP3 and media is expensive. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
Gravel as biological filter
- Thread starter Shark Skin Man
- Start date
I don't know if you could use gravel or not honestly, but really the only thing you have to have in there is something for the bacteria colony to build on. For instance the only thing I have in mine is a pair of foam inserts similiar to this and I only replace one of the two every six months. I just squeeze them out in removed tank water once a month.
Gravel would be OK, but not great. For one thing, the surface area available for colonization isn't great, given the volume of the media. Even more problematic, though, is the possibility of the gravel compacting in the canister. This would give you dense pockets with little flow-thru, and the water would essentially bypass these areas. This latter problem is one reason that things like Ehfimech (ceramic noodles) and bioballs are popular.
HTH,
Jim
HTH,
Jim
Agree w/JSchmidt. Gravel will work, but it clogs easily and channels fairly easily as it has relatively little void space in realtion to its mass. That is more of an upkeep problem than a function problem - the canister would need more frequent cleaning.
I use nylon pot scrubbers in my XP2. See the link below for an article on biomedia.
http://www.wernersponds.com/biofiltermedia.htm
http://www.wernersponds.com/biofiltermedia.htm
I wouldnet use gravel in a filter. It may clog up something and may stop your filter. Then you might have to buy a new one.