Hello there I'm Richard from Time Valley of Quacks and this is not one of my videos. This is a video by Mike from DIY Apple Pro's and it is examining the different sorts of filter media and their strengths and weaknesses. Now I've given Mike a bit of media to test that was the bio-woom stuff but I've also sent them something else. This stuff is a new sort of move-in-bed media. It's manufactured by Caldness and it's a very very small version of the standard K1. K1 is good but it doesn't have much of a surface area for the volume that takes up. In fact it's got 500 square meters per cubic meter of media. This stuff has 950 square meters per cubic meter so it's got almost twice the surface area per volume. What that means is that not only has this got much more surface area per volume but it also moves much more fluidly in a moving bed because of its smaller size. You can get more in there and it moves through the water a lot better and I've given some of this stuff to Mike. He's going to make a video about DIY internal moving bed filters so watch out for that one. As you know I was the first on YouTube to have an internal moving bed filter. Now I could just make a video of this new media in a moving bed filter myself but I'm going to give that honor to Mike because he'll make a much better job than me. Hey everybody Mike here from DIY Aqua Pros. Today we're going to be taking a look at five different media's used for biological filtration and talk about their pros and cons as well as their relative efficiencies. Now make sure you stick around to the end of the video where I'll be highlighting a newer type of media that might just be a secret weapon when it comes to aquarium filtration. Let's start our discussion. Now you've probably asked yourself at one point or the other what method of filtration should I use or what type of biomedia will work best in my take. Now after watching this video hopefully you'll have the answers to those questions. Let's begin with the classic filter sponge. This method of filtration is extremely common and can be adapted in several different ways. Among the most common are submerged air-driven sponge filters which work by pulling water upward through the sponge as it follows the oxygen escaping through the top. The sponge itself is a dense network of foam like plastic fibers providing good surface area for a beneficial bacteria as well as the ability to filter out particulates and plant debris from your tank. On the outer surface and even the inside of the sponge will be relatively aerobic meaning oxygen will be available and will see a good conversion of ammonia to nitrate as well as the breakdown of organic material by hetero-truffs who are mixed in with the microbial community. Relying solely on a submerged sponge filter for bio filtration can present some issues due to their 360 degree water suction. The exterior of these filters can become clogged quite easily. Now while they are easy to remove and wash out every time you do this your community of beneficial bacteria can be reduced significantly which could present a spike in ammonia in tanks with a high fish load. This is just one of the reasons why we recommend using this type of bio filter only as a complement to a larger more long term filtration system in tanks with food and no plants. In a heavily planted tank you can get away with this method of filtration due to plant's ability to consume free ammonium that may present itself after a filter cleaning. Now let's take a look at bio balls. This is another very popular plastic-based bio media that comes in a wide variety of designs each with their own relative surface area. Bioballs can be used in both submerged and emerged trickle filters. We like to use them in the latter to provide the maximum amount of oxygen our beneficial bacteria require. While the bio ball may appear to be smooth it actually has a rough groove structure to aid in cellular attachment and provides a great surface area. This type of media does not clog easily and depending on its application will generally promote the aerobic conversion of ammonia to nitrate. We like bio balls because they're lightweight making them great for a lot of our projects and recommend them for use in almost any style of aquarium filtration. Next up is ceramic rings. This bio media is extremely porous providing an almost unmatched surface area. The rough outer and inner texture combined with millions of small pores allows bacteria to adhere and colonize faster than the previous medias. While the porous nature of this media has its advantages don't forget that high surface area doesn't always equal more bacteria. Their relative population size is always dependent on the amount of available nutrients they require. Due to the small pores deep inside the ceramic ring structure over time this media will become clogged with organic material and create anaerobic micro zones. Many believe this to be a fault of the ceramic base medias but it creates an opportunity for denitrifying bacteria to colonize these anaerobic areas and reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas. Officially reducing the overall nitrogen load in your aquarium. This is a huge advantage that the previous medias can't compete with. We use ceramic rings and almost all of our non-inlightly planted tanks that have a high fish load because of this ability. Next let's talk about moving bed medias such as the commonly used called this series of biomedia. This media is plastic based like the first two but it's unique in that it possesses a near-neutral buoyancy making it easy to circulate in moving bed filters. This ability is heightened once bacteria colonize the majority of the media turning in a slight tan color. The most common adaption of this media is submerged in an air-driven filter making it extremely efficient at growing aerobic microbes including our coveted beneficial bacteria. It has a good surface area which gives it the ability to support a large community of microorganisms if the nutrient load permits. Now the number one benefit to this type of filter medium is its constant bumping and circulation that it receives when it's used properly. The moving media will slough off dead bacteria and organics and it will only retain the active microbes we want in our filter. This is a great choice of media if you have a non-planted aquarium with a high fish load while you're want the most efficient conversion of ammonia to nitrate. In a heavily planted tank where we want some ammonium to be available to our plants, this method of filtration may not be the best choice but again it all depends on your setup and what you're trying to accomplish. Now let's talk about our favorite bio media for both traditional and planted aquariums. Biohome ultimate is just one of several media's created by Richard Thue but you may know him better as Ponguru here on YouTube. All of the biohome media is made from a centered glass giving it superior surface area when compared to the previous media's. Its pores are larger and more absorptive than the other ceramic base media's reducing the potential for clogging and in theory you should create a relatively even distribution of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. This means we'll receive efficient ammonia detoxification as well as nitrate reduction to nitrogen gas. In the plants of the aquarium you don't need much of this media to get the job done. The ultimate version of biohome is our favorite for several reasons. It has all the advantages previously discussed with the added benefit of infused trace minerals and micronutrients such as iron. These additives will promote a faster colonization of nitrifying bacteria in turn potentially reducing the time it takes to properly cycle an aquarium. Richard also sends you live nitrifying bacteria with every purchase free of charge. Thus this media is a great choice for someone setting up a new tank or as a mature balanced aquarium. We've been using this media in all of our tanks for a while now and have been very pleased with the results. If you're curious about the biohome media collection of one more information check out the Ponguru's channel and eBay store. If you're in the US head to GreatWaveEngineering.com where you can save on shipping if you wish to purchase links are all in the description. To find any of the other media is presented in this video just throw them into a Google search they're all really easy to find. We hope you now have a better understanding of the common biological media is using the aquarium and have a good idea of what type to implement. Don't forget to check out DIYOccupros.com and subscribe for more aquarium science and project videos. Thanks for watching! Now this is the biohome that was in that video. This is the K1 micro that I was on about before. Both of these are available from my eBay shop. The link is in the video description. Please check out my channel you'll find a link in the video description. Thanks for watching! ......... ..please check out my channel. .. Hey finished there?!