Hello,

I want to know how long you can use, and reuse, bio-media for. I don't trust the manufacturers and LFS. IMO, that's what they make the most profit from. I've been using the Eheim substrat pro (the small round balls) for the past year. I have never had any water quality issues in the tank and my fish have never suffered from ammonia/nitrite problems. I know 1 year is a long time to reuse it for, but this stuff is pretty darn expensive. I have cleaned out my cannister roughly every 3 months, depending on the bio-load and water flow. The sintered glass type bio-media is obviously brownish, but I have thoroughly cleaned it in a bucket and then ran it through a strainer during each servicing. It still looks pretty porous to me.

I think I should probably be replacing it soon, a year is a long time after all. What are others' opinions on this? What is a less expensive, but still effective, bio-media I could go with. I plan to buy in bulk to save some money down the road.

I'm not familiar with the Eheim bio-media, but the types that I have in my XPs and AquaClears are reusable for a long time. I've had some of them for several years and am still using them. Once in a while, if they get really dirty, I rinse them off with a little dechlorinated water, but they seem to hold up well and have not needed replacing.

I have also used nylon pot scrubbers in my canisters and they seem to do the job as well.

My Big LFS chain here in Ontario said I needed to partially (50/50) replace the media every 6 months, but I really didn't buy into that one. They said the porousness of my sintered glass type media will lose its effectiveness after 6-12 months due to clogging, and that no amount of rinsing/boiling/bleaching would unclog it.

If you're using yours for a couple of years now and they are still keeping your ammonia/nitrite at 0 ppm, I guess they must still be working. I think I'll go the same route and avoid replacing them until my ammonia/nitrite levels start to spike. I don't know what your media is made from? I'm guessing it's made from some porcelain or ceramic type material. My Eheim biological media is very expensive compared to many other brands/types. I think I will substitute this media for the much cheaper Seachem biomatrix when I will need to replace this one in my Eheim 2217 cannister. Thank you for your reply Aura.

Ok here goes my way of doing things

#1 I use Aquaclears
I have never changed the bio filtration on these....ever....why would I the bacteria replaces itself the media is just to hold the bacteria together.

I rinse out the mechanical sponge filter when it gets clogged I replace this once every year

The carbon filters are the only thing I replace every three months.The carbon reduces the smell

So no replacing your bio is not the best thing as it needs to reseed itself and in the mean time cause spikes in the tank.

I cant speak for every filter but I would assume they would all be very close to the same

Derek

That's along the same lines I was thinking too Derek. Biological media is just used to hold the good bacteria together, why would you ever need to replace this so often is beyond me.

I love the AC filters too. They're a lot cheaper to run than my old crappy Marineland bio-wheel filter, and IMO they work better too. I use the AC 500 as a secondary filter to my Eheim classic 2217 cannister. I love reusing the sponge and replace it very rarely. Never cared to protect the bacteria in the sponge, and I always give it a good wring. I use the carbon every couple of months as well to keep any unwanted smells away. My bio-media for the AC is brown and dirty like hell, but I guess that's all the good bacteria showing. This, I never clean, and sometimes give it a little swish in the water from the tank before I put it back into the AC 500.

Derek, what carbon do you use in your AC? AC's pre-packaged carbon inserts, or another carbon brand that you put into media bags yourself? Is there better value in price or longevity that can be found in another brand? Have you ever used Seachem's or Marineland's carbon? Or are they pretty much all the same?

I run the ehfisubstrat pro media, and I have not changed it in three years. There have been no problems. All I do is rinse the balls with dechlorinated water whenever the canister is open for cleaning. I have changed the fine floss disc in my Eheim canister several times because it can only be rinsed so many times before it loses shape and starts to fall apart.

I have all but two filters that are aquaclear i have never in two years changed out the bio-media i clean it on a fairly regular basis once every month or so. The carbon to make the tank smell clean i change every couple of months 3-4 and clean it once a month. The sponges i clean every month and havent changsed them in a while since they look almost new. Derek has been over to my place a number of times and can attest to how clean my tanks are. This works for me but i am religious when it comes to cleanliness and over filter most of my tanks......lol