For more fish keeping tips, check out these playlists: For "Best Fish Keeping Tips" click here: @t For tips and tricks with Fluval FX canister filters go here: @t For tips and tricks with SunSun canister filters go here: @t For videos on water changes and controlling nitrates, click here: @t For videos on general canister filter maintenance, click here: @t My Top 10 most popular videos of all time: @t
Okay. Back in the day 1970s, we used under gravel filters and a hang in the back filter for years on two 75 gallon tanks. We had crystal clear water and no fish issues.
Hello Mr Ben , Edwin from Costa Rica, i had 100 gallon used a hang in back filer with charcoal and cotton. That was all I used for filer , an inch from top of water change . Water was crystal clear . No fish loss and hardly no work , very cheap. Never worried about chemicals in water. Thinking about getting back in hobby. Enjoy life!!! Like we say here PURA VIDA !!!
your right years ago i ran 75 gallon discus tanks with ati large sponge filters and never had a problem. i use to squeeze them out every week but they were messy, and took up alot of room. they were in my breeding tanks with no substrate, and never had any issues. look at father fish he runs sponges in alot of his tanks loaded with a high fish load in his fish store.hes on youtube.
I have a feeling a lot of what we do in the hobby is overkill. Are we suckers for marketing? Probably. Personally, I'm willing to spend a few extra bucks to create a healthy environment for my fish based on the wealth of advice and information from others in the hobby. Is that always necessary? No. I've been in the hobby nearly 50 years. My first tank was a 10 gallon with a tiny clear plastic box that held some "angel hair" and a little bit of charcoal. For the most part it worked okay and I didn't lose many fish. In the early 80's when cannister filters were becoming popular I moved up to bigger tanks at one point having a 120 with three monster oscars, a huge arrowana and a clown knife. All those filters had was mechanical filtration and a lot of charcoal and they worked pretty well. And I used to rip that tank apart for a thorough cleaning at least once every six months. There was no concern for cycling the tank that I can recall. All I did was dump in a lot of Novaqua and it was good to go. Now I run two fx6's and one fx'4 on a 180 with a nice load of african cichlids. Overkill for sure but the tank looks amazing and the maintenance is minimal. So I can enjoy the look of the tank more now and not have to mess with it as much. The initial expense was substantial but once you have them established it isn't too bad. As a side note, the fx4 in my 180 runs nothing but sponge filters and water polishing media. It's a particular filter on steroids which allows me to put more bio media in the fx6's. Working really well. Apologies for the long post. It's 7:00 am and my caffeine level is high.
IMO they use sponge filters because they do everything well. They provide filtration. The have sufficient beneficial bacteria, surface agitation, oxygen. They can do it all😶
Hallo Ben, I salute from Europe (i live in Slovak republic, it is between Poland and Hungary). Sorry for my english. I see your chanel and i thank you for your tips and help. Your advices are very helpful for me. I have a 130 galon freshwater planted tank with fishes, crabs and shrimps. Thank you and make a lot of videos. Peter.
Hello Peter and greetings. I've met very fine people from Eastern Europe and thank you for stopping by, watching and commenting, and I assure you that your English is far better than my Slovak 😉
The big successful tank breeders have what we hobbyists lack...automatic daily water changes. That's why they can go with sponge filters and not have issues. We hobbyists rely on things like sumps because as you said, we need the water volume to reduce ppm. The common denominator has and always will be frequent water changes in order for the tank to thrive.
That's a bad argument. People did all kinds of things before "fancy things" landed in the scene. Doesn't mean things can't improve. People used lead paint, asbestos, cocaine in cola, all kinds of weird stuff before we found out better ways of doing things.
@@omegachar4754 Pushback central missing the point over here! 🤣 Is all this fancy dog food out now any different from what people fed their dogs in the 70s? I don't see dogs living any longer. Or is any of the fancy coffee they sell any different from the coffee they sold in the 70s. No it's from the same bean except now it's just marketed and dressed up differently. Hopefully that helps you see my original point. 👌
I run 3 aquariums without filters. The glass walls and substrate which has some flat rocks is enough to keep ammonia at zero so therefore I have enough bacteria. I also run plants to help.
Cool video, I used to like chemi pure blue. I ran out maybe 6 months ago and let it ride with filter pads and bio rings and I never noticed a difference
Adam C Adam, you and I have had a similar journey. I retired six recharged bags of Purigen and have seen no drop in water quality. Happy to see you drop by 😀👍🏻
Ben you totally correct , your analysis makes sense, always have the courage to speak what you believe, that is the only way you can help your subscribers, and all other viewers who look for advice. The manufacturers of these products may not like your comments, you never said stop using there products, But thousands of fish hobbyist might now be considering what I also believe to be many times unnecessary media and expense. From someone who has reared fish from about 7 or 8 years to his sixties. Trinidad West-Indies.
Sewage processing plants make use of the sewage solids themselves, as a biological medium for organisms to colonise and munch into, with both Aerobic and anaerobic microbiota sharing the floating and circulating floc.
With sponge filters comes lots and lots of water changes. Let those top fish keepers skip water changes for 3 to 4 weeks and see what happens. With enough substrate inside the tank, all that"s needed is mechanical filtration. That is where the external filters come in.
Ben, have you watched Jay's Aquarium series on setting up a no water change tank? It's extremely informative and explains the process of achieving a full cycle (zero ammonia, zero nitrites, zero nitrates). I know you've heard Richard (Pond Guru) talk about this. These two fishkeepers are the only ones talking about this, to my knowledge. Water changes should always be OPTIONAL, not NECCESSARY. Deep substrate, and an adequate amount of the PROPER filter media are two of the keys to the process. Imho, those plastic balls should be tossed on the floor for the cats to play with. Their open structure doesnt allow anaerobic bacteria to colonize. So many fishkeepers do water changes as part of their routine and dont understand that they can achieve a full cycle. It's not talked about nearly enough on UA-cam. End of rant.
I have a feeling over that more fishkeepers have achieved a full cycle that didn't even no about a cycle than the fishkeepers fretting about it with crazy equipment and enough water changes to drain a lake. In my experience I use about 2L by Volume of lava rock per 50 gallons of Water. Small powerhead or just bubble some air through it. 4-5" gravel substrate some driftwood and plants. For top up I use RO water, and do a small water chacge every couple of weeks as I like to clean some debris off the gravel. My Nitrates are never above 5ppm, even without water changes.
@DLS Shares Inc Go to Jay's Aquariums UA-cam channel. He has a series of videos, I believe 7 in total. They aren't long and tedious. They go quickly and are very informative. It's called "How to build a no water change tank" The videos are numbered. Obviously, start with Part 1.
@@redsev4484 do you break up the lava rock into small pieces, or do you keep them the size you bought them from the bag? I am assuming you are talking about the standard red lava rock and not the lighter weight grey pumice stone?
Hi Ben. I love your channel! I have been fish keeping for 45 years. I still feel I am learning. I do think the surface area is good to have in our canister and HOB filters. Because it is concentrated. This is important. The bacteria is spread out in the aquarium but weaker. Thats my thoughts. Thanks. Keep up the excellent videos!
I agree with you. Marketing, marketing, and more marketing. Filtration needs are based on the fish load. It is just to difficult to determine that need so most people, like myself, decide to play it safe. I guess your pocketbook decides.
You are right but you don't have to guess or worry if you know the basics. A canister or HOB filter can use cheap media and you will be fine. If you have a monster tank with a sump, the game changes and you would want the expensive stuff...it's all relative to the ecosystem.
I see a lot of the comment refer to water changes as the stabilizing element to balance the media volume and type. But my main argument is how close and consistent can you be with matching the water parameters your fish thrive with? I think good media helps retain stability.
Interestingly I've noticed a lot of fish death stories start with, "I had just done a water change..." so I think you make a good point. In some parts of the country, if there's been flooding, as a precaution, water treatment plants will increase the amount of chemicals in the water and this can shock fish (as one example).
Very interesting Ben. I suppose to really know you'd have to take on a science project. Set up a tank with some grown mature fish to keep things consistent. Pick your media, say sponges as in your question. Test the water, IDK, maybe daily or weekly for some given period of time, record the data. Then with the same tank and fish set it up with bio media, let it cycle, remove the sponge filters, let it stabilize, test the water over a period of time. Then compare results. All the while keeping everything consistent, feed exactly the same quantity daily, water changes, etc... Yes, alot of effort/work. Something like this would give us some interesting information to discuss for your CONVO GANG😊
The issue Ben is that the Nitrifying bacteria will accumulate most where the oxygen level is highest (in a wet dry system the bacteria loves oxygen from the air as there is 11000 times more then in the water), where water flow is the fastest and where the food source is most abundant. This is why our filters contain most of the beneficial bacteria that stabilize the aquarium and that's where everyone sells the idea that they need filter media containing loads of surface area. The issue with this is that most mechanical filtration gets dirty and plugged and water being water it takes the path of least resistance, so without regular maintenance most filters will loose their effectiveness. But you're completely right. If you start a tank from scratch and introduce the bioload slowly, the nitrifying bacteria will accumulate anywhere there is surface area. If you just used excellent water circulation and enough flow to break the surface for gas exchange, you don't necessarily need a filter, just add more rock and substrate.
I got my first aquarium 50 years ago. I have had HOBs and canister filters in the past. Started out with a corner box filter years ago. I use nothing but sponge filters on my 26 tanks now - with one exception. On my tank with fancy goldfish, I have 2 sponge filters and a HOB. But the HOB is set up as mechanical filtration only, because goldfish are messy.
I've been breeding tropical fish since the late 50's and my default filter has always been under gravel. I've heard and read all; about all the disadvantages and dangers of under gravel filters and I'm certain that none of them are based on actual experience. The pet shop industry has sold everyone on this stuff because they get to sell supplies! I use HOB filters and sponge filters for special applications, like bare bottom tanks and cichlids that dig in the gravel, but for routine use nothing beats the UG filter. The only maintenance is occasional gravel vacuuming. Another advantage is that you can install an extra airlift tube extending above the water and use this for water changes. No worries about sucking up fry.
Compared to how much the fish cost, I find the bio media to be cheap piece of mind. It is also great to be able to move media around and instantly cycle a tank. Agreed I likely have 10x what I need at the moment but if the bio load were to suddenly increase, for example a dead fish that I did not get out of the tank right away, I am pretty sure my tanks will be able to ramp up quickly.
Those breeders also do daily water changes which is why It works for them. If I ran sponge filters on my heavily stocked tank, id have to do change water a lot more regularly. I believe the marine pure and biohome is worth it compared to sponge filters for me because I dont like changing water more than once a week.
I run 20+ aquariums of mainly africans and I run sponge filters. In the past I ran cannisters but after following Cory became more conscious of the mighty power of the sponge, including ease of "instant cycling" new tanks by running additional sponges that you can transfer across instantly. You just need to make sure to give them a squeeze in a bucket every now and then.
I agree with Ben. The amount of bacteria that will be produced is dependent on the bio load. Once the maximum amount of BB has grown based on the bio load present, additional biological media is a waste of critical space. Instead, focus on mechanical filtration at that point. The more efficient the mechanical filtration is, the least amount of debris will collect on the biological media, enabling it (Biological media/beneficial bacteria) to do its part optimally. While there is BB throughout the aquarium (gravel, decor, etc...), these areas typically lack adequate circulation to nitrify at an effective level as compared to biological media in our filtration system.
That is a great question... Since Aerobic BB does exist inside the aquarium (glass, ornaments, plants, etc...) I suspect an increase in flow could result in more Aerobic BB since more oxygen will be recirculated, however, the bio load must be there to support growth. The other limiting factor would be the available (and favorable) surface area for colonization. As for gravel and sand being densely packed, even with an increase in flow to a specific area of substrate, Aerobic Bacteria is unlikely to populate, especially deep within the substrate bed devoid of oxygen where Anaerobic Bacteria thrives. I like your videos ( I am a subscriber as well). You provide excellent information and ideas. Your tanks and fish look amazing as well! Very Impressive !
Best talk on youtube I watched ever. Lot's of talks about filtration done by gurus nobody touched the most important and relevant "basic" information when come to filtration media. NO we don't need all that fancy stuff even though people might get excited when hear about redundancy. With a tank which have a substrate what you need is a sponge filter in normal conditions. WELL DONE Ben Orchart. MUST SEE VIDEO especially for beginners.
Simple answer: it depends. You need a lot of Biomedia in an unplanted tank with sand or even without any kind of ground substrate. You don't need any Biomedia in a mature, planted tank. It can be even counterproductive for planted tanks because nutrients for plants can be reduced in the filter
Absolutely correct, here Germany where I live, a microbiology called Diana Walstat has amply demonstrated, and without more, aquariums with "unfiltered" aquatic plants of any kind, the only filter are the plants and sometimes roots of terrestrial plants placed in emergent form, on UA-cam you can see wonderful aquariums, without mechanical filter, in which the filter is the water, the substrate, the plants and for example, the roots of 2 titled boniatos on the aquarium cover, and you can see the progress of that aquarium and Its inhabitants from the first day, until more than a year later .... Many people who have paid hilarious prices for low quality pumice stone like Matrix, never in their life will get aquariums such as the one you can see on UA-cam, and uses stones, plants, substrate, sand and the roots of two Boniatos as a filter. People repeat like parrots what the advertising and marketer industry of the big Companies like Seachem tell them ... Fortunately, some of us, in our youth, study Biology, and to deceive us, they need to "lie better, and more imagination"
@@PerplexiaX Yes friend !!! LOL!!! Let's go to buy!!! Buy buy buy!!! What we buy? What is this that we buy??? Eeeehhh 🤔... I don't know... But that ist not important now ☝️😅!!! Buy buy buy!!!! Loooool!!! You made me laugh a good time !!! Have a nice day 👍
@@Iron-cesc LOL Yeah, and you notice how expensive everything is now... I Finally found a place that sells Nox-Ich... $4.00 for the tiny little bottle... I used to pay like 50 Cents for that thing! Yeah, I'm Old! LOL
Personally, I think the most important thing for a cycle is actually good water flow through the whole tank. The bacteria needs oxygen and oxygen as well as fish waste are the limiting factors of bacteria growth (NH3 to NO2 requires oxygen). Sponge filters are good, but they aren't the best with generating circulation around the whole tank. That may be good for some fish species, but I do saltwater and the flow is necessary. Even though us salty folks realize 90% of our filtration lives in the rocks anyway.
It was visiting salty sites that got me thinking about the substrate working as the home for BB. The oxygen point and circulation are key. I tell people when they are starting up a tank to start the powerheads and bubblers. That new BB will come along better with a lot of O2 available. Thanks for stopping by Marina.
Hi Ben In regards of filtration, it depends on the water changes you do and if you have a sump with sponges that have really good surface areas I believe that bio balls are not needed! Canister filters I believe you need both!
Great video Ben. Yes I think we do need all that media. Pond Guru has a formula for how much media by volume of water. I couldn’t get my heavily stocked 90 gallon tank to fully cycle until I increased my media. I went from 4 pounds to 10 pounds of biohome ultimate for my setup & the tank has been running for month & a half no water change & now my ammonia is zero also nitrite & nitrate are zero. I got a full cycle. I feed twice a day 9 am & 9 pm. I drive a truck over the road so everything is automated & I was happy when I checked my water to see that my bacteria is working. I couldn’t achieve that w/o the extra 6 pounds of media. So yes all of it helps in my opinion.
That's awesome. You might want to still do a once a month WC to add minerals that can settle but if the fish look great and tests are coming back perfect ... continue with what you're doing. Sounds perfect.
Lots to consider here @Ben Ochart, my thoughts: - What does it take to achieve a "steady-state" biological environment? That is, does a particular aquarium environment have the capacity to handle the variations in ammonia/nitrite producing sources. - Ammonia: our feeding patterns and number of fish control this. But can we control the feeding and fish waste so closely as to control the production of ammonia? It seems from a practical point of view this is not going to happen. - Ammonia and nitrite consuming bacteria: Two things come to mind here. How effective are our aquariums in getting the ammonia/nitrite in contact with the bacteria. Seems like they are only somewhat effective. So the more biologics the better. And of course higher filtration rates will help. How fast do biologics grow, reproduce, and die. What can affect the lives of the bacteria? Given the uncertainty here for most aquarists the move biologics the better. - Does the bacteria tend to consume more or less ammonia/nitrite as these chemicals rise and fall, and still remain alive? Or another way, can the biologics handle varying levels of ammonia/nitrite and still remain active. It seems the more biologics in an aquarium the more probable the aquarium is to handle rises and falls and remain stable biologically. Seems to me that having "too much" biologics would enable our aquariums to function in a more balanced state. However, determining just how much is enough to provide a so called "bio-buffer" is more or less a trial and error exercise. I tend to error on too much and I have had what I feel are stable aquariums.
I too prefer to error in the direction of too much instead of not enough. It's a balancing act between bio load (fish and food) and water circulation, oxygen levels and bio availability. Fun to create a big enough sweet spot so that we have wiggle room. Room to occasionally feed heavy protein like frozen krill or add 4 or 5 fish and not worry about the tank restarting a cycle. Thanks Roger!
Someone should make a video of an experiment. Take 2 equal sized tanks same species of fish(same size, amount) same exact set up. Just filter one with sponge filters and filter the other one with a HOB or something and test the water see which one works better
So i mentioned recently in one of your videos that i have gone to all sponges. I have an hob and just got rid of the cartridges now i have 40ppi sponge in the hob with a course pre intake sponge, then i have an actual sponge filter in my 75g. I have nothing else in my hob and its been over a mth. But tank and fish look so far so good. Ive been tempted to buy actual bio media as well but haven't and sponge seems to be working just fine. One lady argued with me that replacing cartridges i would be losing my good bacteria but ive never had a tank crash from replacing cartridges. So im a believer of the tank itself having great beneficial bacteria but now i have sponges that i dont need to throw away i think it will add the extra stability. Im sure many products work and all the companies are in business to make money but im totally believing that sponges alone are good enough and perhaps very underrated.
I only use sponges and nothing else in my canister filter. Crystal clear water and absolutely zero issues with my 9 plecos in a 40 gall tank. It's been quite a long time since i removed all the ceramic media away.
Good question Ben, i think it all depends on what type of tank you going for....size, stocking, etc. But we really don't need half the products on the market being sold.
filter media like Marine pure blocks are actually different. they convert Nitrates into nitrogen gas, that does reduce nitrates and it makes a difference vs other medias that will just convert into nitrates.
People do spend way too much on filter media when pot scrubby‘s are $.98 a pack I just bought two packages and I’m goin’ back to buy more I’m gonna replace half the media in the filter then replace the other half after the beneficial bacteria builds back up on the pot scrubby‘s💯
All of the top ceramic media such as Marine Pure, Biohome, Seachem Matrix and Eheim Substrat Pro allow more BB to inhabit smaller sized media as opposed to sponges. Also, many of us love to overpopulate our tanks to no end, and ceramic media(due to more porosity)will better cater to those who do. Yes, sponges will always appeal to individuals who don’t mind unsightly black blocks in their display tanks(myself included), but so many aquarium keepers don’t want to ruin the aesthetics of their “little worlds in glass boxes”. Anyway, don’t breeders tend to economize? I tend to enjoy and benefit from both types of biomedia🤫.
I think sponge filters are great, I think when you start to hit the 80 gallon mark is when you start using 2. I think the reason the pro breeders use sponge filters is due to the fact that there won't be a fast current for fry, or they won't get sucked up by an intake. Also it keeps detritus and uneaten food on the sponge filter for fry which is why it's a safer filter for fry.
I guess this almost goes back to the Walstad method which has plenty of nice examples that use minimal filtration (i.e. sponge filter). As long as there is a decent amount of surface area in the substrate, you will easily get rid of ammonia and nitrites. The nitrate is then taken up by plants, but of course this requires some delicate balancing of plants and fishload to become a continues cycle without massive waterchanges. So do we need all the expensive stuff...NO, do we get tricked to believe we need it and want it...YES!!!
Someday I hope to set up a tank that is a perfectly balanced eco-system using plants, snails, algae, etc and a light fish bio load, but stays perfect without other types of filtration. Like nature.
Great Video Ben, your a youtube legend. Using just sponges will work fine but downside to that would be the larger volume of water you need to change. 😎
I'm not an expert, but there IS a lot of talk about this subject... Basically the main thing is the activated charcoal for the ammonia and other poisons/chemicals, but if you have enough bacteria and plants, as long as you do your water changes (which in itself is questionable and controversial) that should be all kept in check... that's a matter of the fish/plant ratio. The main reason for a filter is for particulates, (and oxygenation, but the proper plants can take care of that, but again that depends on the fish/plant ratio) and stagnation. The easiest way to think about it (which I guess a lot of people don't realize) is "Natural Habitat" which in most cases for fresh water aquarium fish is rivers (or ponds/lakes), where there's always new water coming into the region that the fish call "Home!" :-)
I had a friend who loved his Jaguar auto back when ford owned Jaguar. One day he found out that 95% of the parts in his Jaguar were identical to those in a Ford Taurus. He did not want to face this reality for some time. Folks in our hobby who have over paid for FX 6's and biohome, among many others have trouble admitting, even to themselves that they fell victim to a marketing scam.
@@HalfManHalfCichlid I understand that... Believe Me, I Know!!! LOL I just wish everything I see on UA-cam (and elsewhere) was in agreement as to the reality of which is best! Are certain people being paid to recommend whichever products? Of course they are, and again, I understand that. So much disinformation out there... and, of course, everyone has what works well for them, and so they recommend what they think is best! I guess I just have to find the commonalities in everyone's advices and go from there!
main thing IMO is redundancy... that doesn't mean "all" systems are equal, only that having multiple biological filtration features to a system is smart
Without measuring the values of the water regularly you can’t now how good or bad your water is not two tanks have the same filtration or media setup so measuring is Alfa and omega.
The most controversial part about beneficial bacteria is you can't see them and you can't see how they work. You only know they exist due to what your test kits say. We all know how to measure medication to volume of water. Does anyone know how much bacteria should there be in volume of tank water x number of fishes? Its pure guess work when it comes to one of the most important determination of a healthy tank.
I don’t think its any better to go out and buy the bioballs or blocks of highly porous materials. When u can keep it very inexpensive by buying a bag of lava rocks, plain sponges and plastic pot scrubbies from the dollar stores and a huge bag of polyester pillow floss from Michaels. These have been working for me for years. Also instead of chemicals to heal, u can use garlic cloves chopped fine and added to bloodworms and using aquarium salt to heal bacterial, infections in and on fish.
The hobby will go full circle and eventually we will all do it inexpensively and naturally. Like using algae and plants to consume nitrates and add oxygen. Just like nature.
I have been keeping and breeding fish for over 55 years. I use only an undergravel filter, with a 3 inch substrate of coarse river sand. and plants in the tank and give only occasionally a 30% water change. With this filtration the fish droppings are drawn into the sand providing biological and fine particle filtration and easy access for the plant roots. I have recently changed from an air pump, to provide the water lift in the tubes, to low capacity power heads on the tubes. The plants are unbelievably healthy, the fish never get sick and virtually only die from old age. The water is crystal clear and, when it does start to appear a little cloudy, I do an alternate form of water change by attaching a hose to one of the water lift tubes and siphoning out 30 % of the water. This clears out all of the mulm that has collected under the sand. This is only necessary once a year or, sometimes, considerably longer. I am too old and experienced to fall for the manufactures and fish sellers hype and BS. They are only trying to line their own pockets. I also think that it is their advertising crap that caused undergravel filters to fall out of favour, as they were extremely popular years ago.
I believe that is unnecessary. Vacuuming out visible detritus/ waste often and doing more water changes is all you need. Water circulation and simply removing particulates is the most important. I've recently discovered that sponges or simple minimal filter media is all that's necessary to keep the water healthy and clear along with partial water changes to keep down ammonia and hormone levels which are released by the fish and stunts their growth. The gravel substrate I use in the tank provides plenty of surface area for the beneficial bacteria to thrive on as long as you don't take it out and overclean it. My water always looks the best and is crystall clear when I simply vacuum out visible particulates, do frequent partial water changes, use minimal filter media and make sure the flow of the filter isnt slowed by detritus/ waste by rinsing it out which keeps the water circulating. Wasting money on all types of filter media is unnecessary. Trust me I've done it and my water still became cloudy unless I was doing the things mentioned above!
We do need. But its relative. Smaller the tank, greater the need for bio media. A 10 g with a kilo of media will make it much more stable. I have 10 and 30. My 30 has 4kg biohome. About 2.5 kilo more then needed. It doesn't matter what dies, my fish will be safe from ammonia. If my tap water has ammonia. Doesn't matter, it can proccess it. I did run tank with 1kg media. And at that stocking level, it was at the cusp of forever recycling. If sponges are of a resonable ppi. For ex poret 30ppi. Then yep it will also do the job. For me as a person if they can prove this media has this much surface area, that sponge has this much area. Then great I can make an informed choice
Yes, more media can help produce more bacteria to consume ammonia, however it's all dependant on your bio load. A 10g tank with 3-4 small fish would never be able to produce enough waste for 4 kilos of a high quality bio media. It's all relative to the ecosystem you are creating.
I agree. I think we are sold this idea that we need some much media. In my opinion lava rock crushed up does just as good of a job as any expensive media you can buy (if you must have media) I think we overblow this as hobbyist and as you said, look at Trevor and those guys doing this better than most. They don't fall for the hype simple sponge filter and water changes.
Interesting topic Ben.If you go into this hobby you are going to spend money. I do not know exactly how much filtration my fish need, but I know too little will harm the fish and the appearance of the water. This is why I am happy to over filter and know I have some in reserve. Also remember the fish breeders aren't worried about the appearance of the tank, as long as the fish breed healthy fry.
Water flow and water changes and my corner matten filter in my 135 is all I do. One large Oscar Texas cichlid three feather fin catfish and a large red tail shark.
Nope! As a matter of fact Ben, I am on a mission to remove all the filter media ( ceramic dodads and charcoal pellets) from my Sunsun canister today. I've some cheap pink filter in a roll coming from eBay to replace it. I've been waiting all week to do this. I have 2 turtles in a 60 gallon tank and all of that 'good' bacteria are smelling up my house. As I've fought the smell I've come to realize my canister filters have become a holding tank/breeding ground for noxious bacteria. All 4 of my canister filters are getting a makeover this weekend. It's nice to see a well known and respected aquarist come to the same conclusion I have. Thank you Ben.
I am young to this hobby and young in general. I am guilty of over building. I have grown to love Lava Rock for decor and filter media. there is a ton of surface area within each rock and thus more in the tank and in the filter. I have a 54 with a sponge and a UGF that has no (filter media bio balls etc..) so my gravel is the bio media along with the rocks and decorations. That tank is crystal clear for about 50$ between pvc, glue, a power head, the sponge filter, and pump. I also have a canister on a 10g and that is also crystal with lava rock in the filter. I know canister on a 10 (i was new and didn't find these videos yet...) My 80g that I was fortunate enough to acquire from a great friend for the hefty price of come get it, Is using a sunsun canister with bio sponge, floss, and 2 trays of lava rock. probably over kill but better then killed fish. I too have been seeing videos of pet stores on all sponge and breeders on all sponge. My thoughts on that come in several parts. Breeders and stores are dedicated to those tanks because to them that is a living, OR that is their passion and they have whole rooms dedicated to it. While it is likely the sponge is more then enough, I feel that us as hobbyists don't necessarily have the amount of time to keep up on maintenance as the stores and breeders do. Thus our tanks build up more waste then a bare bottom breeder with a sponge etc. breeders and stores are on auto water changes at 10% a day! I personally keep a check on parameters and change when my nitrates get out of hand or once a month which ever comes first. So i think that us having many more miles of Beneficial Bacteria is a good thing for the longevity and ENJOYMENT of our tanks that we like to look at from the couch. I personally am very attentive to my tanks and notice issues before they are issues and do my best to prevent problems now that i have gained a much broader knowledge base to do so. Ben thank you for your videos. You have inspired me and taken away my fears about a cichlid tank. My 80g will ke that tank!
Hi thanks for this info. Please advise me I have external filter and I want to start lava rocks as biological media!does it has any effects on water parameters such as Ph GH Please advise Thanks
Great vid Ben...I've ran tanks just with airstones...healthy fish. Had a large stingray tank system just based on water flow and oxygen...super healthy system.
You can only grow so much beneficial bacteria. It’s not an endless growing supply of bacteria. By adding additional surface area (biological media) to grow more bacteria. You do two things. 1 you pretty much guarantee all the water will pass through that beneficial bacteria so it can break down the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. 2 more beneficial bacteria means a better chance your fish will survive any mistakes.
Been a fan ben for a long time. I think the differences between everyones approach in this hobby is what makes it so great! Yes there are people who def over build. Like 60 gallon sump on 100 gallon tank. I do more a kiss approach. Keep it simply stupid. I like to change this around from time to time so keeping it simple works for me. Some people might something more permanent, then will just overdo it. Just my opinion
People are forgetting the sellers are there to sell and MAKE MONEY , you need to do research and now days we got the internet. One thing that is good is to do your own experimentation and diy. I see people commenting i need to get this new filter, new media that just came out to market and i say to my self why if your set up is doing fine and fish healthy you do not need nothing else. before all i had was HOB , small box filter, undergravel filter,( Angels hairs was made out of fiber glass was used as filter floss, charcoal was used then filter floss came in the market sump where there but was costly then canister came out to the market.
Here is an experiment test. Set up two tanks 40, 50, 60 ..... whatever available or afford you can, one tank fill with gravel and subtrate and one tank with bare bottom both of them filter with simple stock hang on back filter, add whatever fishes you can evenly to both of the fish tank and let them run as normal daily basic, after 3 months you will have the answer.
I use lava rock as an “under gravel filter” underneath the gravel in my tanks & I think it really helps with oxygenation & beneficial bacteria compared to just anaerobic sand substrate! Thank you for the tips!
i've been called far worse things than a sucker, lol!!!! I understand exactly what you are saying Ben. The following is just my opinion after being in this hobby for a very long time. You can use hundreds, thousands of different media that will allow the good bacteria to call it home. What many don't realize is that this bacteria is constantly being replaced as it gets older by younger and stronger bacteria. It's also true that the amount of bacteria that you have depends more on the fish and quantity and size of these fish than it does on the amount of media in your filter. One of my tanks is a 55 gal planted tank with Rainbows and other community fish and it is lightly stocked. I have much larger tanks but this is one of my favorites. For filtration I am using an FX4 that is packed with bio home ultimate and one sections of sponges going from coarse to fine. There is enough bio home media in that filter to support a heavy stocked Koi tank that's 4 times the size. I could have used one of the other thousands of media choices for the bacteria to colonize on but when I set the tank up I was getting back into the hobby after a decade off due to severe health issues, and Pond Guru provided a lot of good info and I was curious, so I gave it a shot. When I finally get my 240 gal up and running with a 75 gal sump and an FX6 I would have to refinance my home to load it up with Bio Home the way the FX4 is now, lol!!!! The main reason why so many fail in this hobby has nothing to do with the media they used, it has everything to do with the media between their ears that caused the failure. I can't begin to count how many times I helped people out on fish forums that were having nothing but problems and ready to give up. It amazed me how little they truly understood about what is actually going on in the tank and filter that is never seen by the human eye. Once you truly understand this the success rate soars. Today we have this thing called the world wide web, there is no excuse to not know what is going on in the tank and it won't cost you a penny. When I first got into the hobby over 30 years ago, nobody at any of the fish stores in So.Cal that I went to weekly ever said anything about the nitrogen cycle in my tank. I wonder how much they knew. Your average fish keeper will take a water sample to Petsmart for a free water test and let the person there tell them how many fish they can buy. Just for fun I had a 10 gal tank that I set up so the ammonia was off the chart high and took it into Petsmart to be tested. I was told my water was perfect, I was doing everything right and I could add as many fish as I wanted. This really happened and I am not saying that every Petsmart is like this either. What I am saying is that if you want to be successful in any hobby, but especially in fish keeping, you need to first feed and fill the media between your ears before you ever attempt to do it in your tank and filter. Keep up the great work. Over and Out from NC. Later
I personally overfilter all my tanks with overhead tricklerfilters, i got stingrays and big plecos in one and in my other i have big plecos small plecos turtles alot of smaller fish, i guess it depends on bioload! You probably could run your systems on a sponge filter only if you have only smaller fish but overfiltering is not harmfull! 😅 ALSO expensive filter media brands are fooling people though, sintered glass(MATRIX) can be picked up at constructions, potscrubbers are very cheap. But this is a whole other subject!
Believe me, I live in Southeast Asia when I was a kid I used to have fish like hundred of guppy, maybe 10-20 thumb side goldfish, and a hundred more random live bears in a big cement water holder that every household has, to store rainwater. It could store around 400-500 liter so it is around 125-150 gallons. I don't even know about the bacterial cycle or anything of that no substrate, no air pump, no nothing, and water change once a month as I please, not even top off because we have a lot of rain here. I never have a mass die-off. I don't even know about chlorine in the tap water killing my fish every time I do a water change is always 100% and then maybe 5 to 10 fish die after. Now I know it is chlorine that kills my fish. Never has I ever has mass die-off without doing water change so I can guarantee u the filter media and surface area those company tries to sell to u is just bs for your money.
DON'T get where circulation happens in a substrate? These even have been such dead zones that burrowing snails are suggested for control of dead zones. With canisters you get to control the flow over the media. The flow can be used to assist in specializing types of bacteria that reside within the media.
Well here's my take. I ran my very heavily stocked 240L Malawi peacock tank with internal filters for 2 years and a 300L for 6 months. I have since moved out and got a 120g for my frontosa and a 260L for my peacocks. I have only just purchased a external at weekend. And already there is a difference. Wether or not the amount of bio you have is excessive is more the question. Sponges clog and harvest the waste in the tank. In the long term sponges alone are no good for a medium or heavily stocked tank.
Surface space to water volume is a major factor. It seems like overkill, as much surface space as the moon, lol, but cleaning the tank disturbs bacteria colonies and can disrupt the cycle, so I alternate cleaning the tank substrate and the filter media sponges on different days of the week. Yes, to some extent big companies are taking advantage of us, but that doesn't mean the product is useless. If we want to use old media to cycle a new tank, we have to wonder how much colony was attached to the portion removed, if we use too much we spread the bacteria out because it is limited to the resources available. It's complicated. I have been experimenting with filtration, modifying my HOB and using sponge filters to test efficiency. I don't have a sump system yet, so all filteration is happening in the tank. The sponge filters alone were not enough for me, although for a nano tank my favorite is the QS-100A which has two sponges and filter media cups attached. I can put anything from pumice to carbon to filter floss inside for whatever issue I'm dealing with. Sponges do remove particulates, but for me, aren't enough on their own unless you have a planted tank or do overflow water changes. I have Anubias in my tanks and pothos growing out the back to remove nitrates and they also increase surface space. My favorite HOB filter is the Aqueon QuietFlow with the blue media pad holder on the water return. The special media pad thing is a gimmick, but they provided the perfect spot to use filter floss and remove fine particles from the water column. It comes with an ammonia reducer, and the standard carbon filter they all use. I cut down filter sponges and pads for ponds and make an intake sponge, some pumice in a mesh bag in the bottom, more sponges for mechanical filtration, and the whole thing is much more efficient. I only use carbon pellets and ammonia reducers on rare occasions. With the filtration provided by the company, a new fishkeeper may avoid losing fish to an uncycled tank, but it is very difficult to get it to cycle if you starve the beneficial bacteria. I put in seeded media and decor, but the carbon filter and ammonia reducer pad, as it comes from the store, starved the bacteria, even the added cultures. I removed the provided filtration, replaced it with my own, and the tank is balancing out now. This is the second aquarium I tried this product on, with the included filtration, and the results were the same both times. It won't begin to cycle if you starve the colony. This is great for new fishkeepers setting up a tank for the first time, to keep from ammonia burning the fish at the start. But it is a product that assumes that fishkeepers are undereducated and will never learn. I love that so many people are on UA-cam informing us and picking out the flaws in products so we can make informed decisions on how to care for our finned friends. So I think companies take us for fools, but that doesn't mean their product is useless, it just needs modifying. Companies sell people what they think they want. Like a one gallon betta cube that fits on the desk, looks sleek, has rainbow led lighting, but meets none of the fish's needs for a decent life. The fish isn't buying his habitat, the human with cash is. No matter how much filter media there is, only the proper amount of bacteria will grow anyhow, something these companies hope people don't realize. To them, consumers are easily impressed by large numbers, even if they don't understand what it means. Every aquarium has it's own balance, if you found it using a little more media, then no harm done. Some people have bare tanks and need that surface space in the canister or sump to handle the bioload. Every aquarium is different, and the nerd in me loves figuring out the best setup for each of mine. UA-camrs like you are the reason I'm successfully keeping aquatic pets. Thank you.
I keep turtles and have never had a media that didn’t work great. Dollar store stuff in a skippy is awesome but lava rock is my personal favorite. Even have it in my tree frog paludariums as filter media and 3” pieces as my drainage layer.
I've been practicing for 3 months plus. I've really noticed the water clarity has increased. I really don't check peramiters in tanks that have been running for years. I still use 2 trays of growstone in my 704b and my hw-3000. I'm more impressed with Sponge/pads. Wouldn't do more than 2 trays, but yes, I love it.
' Consumption ' This word it's the main title of this era In values, principles, ethics and of course ' money' And, publicity, social media, are the means to impose the policy of consumption to withdraw money from people's pockets I'saw people made home filter and cost them only 20$ and ìt's work in effective way just like a'commercial filter cost about 200$ .
I know this much keeping tanks of all sizes close to 30 years with some pretty big fish over the years and I have run about every filter there is and I have run some with a hang on back and cartridge filters only with big fish and once tank is matured I have seen no ammonia in over 20 years even on tanks I let slide for few months do to burn out .I thank we all just love the hype new thing and there glad to take are moneys
There's truth in that. Otherwise there wouldn't be lines of people ready to turn in their working-perfect iPhone 10 for the iPhone 11 ... just because they got to have it. LOL!
I think pricier bio media is much more valuable for people who run well-stocked or non-planted tanks, like many cichlid or goldfish keepers. People who have community or planted tanks probably won’t be needing all of that surface area but having it certainly doesn’t cause any harm, except to your bank account lol On the other hand lot of public aquariums have systems with loads of fish and nitrate levels that are so high that test solutions have to be diluted to get an accurate measurement, and their fish have to be presentable to the general public. So really it just comes down to whether or not your fish are healthy and look good.
WeeStrom CO Guy I don’t have a source. I actually interned at an aquarium for a few months and that’s just how things were. I’m sure it’s somewhat variable between institutions. And by diluting test solutions, I was referring to diluting the actual water sample with the testing solution already mixed in. We measured water parameters using a spectrometer so if the sample was too opaque, it would just give us the max value. So we diluted it with some distilled water and multiplied the result by the dilution factor. Hope that helps!
WeeStrom CO Guy That was one thing I forgot to ask the aquarists whenever they introduced new fish into the main exhibit, which always had the highest nitrate levels. I also don’t remember any specific nitrate ppms, unfortunately. All I remember is having to dilute the sample from the main exhibit at least twice to get the spectrometer to cooperate lol
I bought an fx6 and put bio home and polyfil and after a couple months of no carbon my water became a little cloudy so I did maintenance and added new polyfil but added even more polyfil. My water got super cloudy so I removed extra polyfil and went back to the amount I had before but added carbon. My water looks magnificent! Not sure about beneficial bacteria from bio home if I'm overdoing that or not but I won't risk that. It's probably needed. Matter of fact I went with no carbon listening to youtubers
Being over protective is as bad as being not protective at all. Everything in life has to have a balance, the game is to get that balance right. My thoughts ! We fish keepers are masters of keeping water for fish fend for themselves with in the water we provide. As bruce lee may of said, Be good with water, lol
I think using different types of media gives you more versatility. Meaning if you exclusively use a sponge, you will loose some BB, when you clean the sponge, versus bio balls and ceramic media , where they don’t require as much maintenance.
I totally agree sir. Sponges are way better than spending unneeded money on biohome or even growstone which I personally have 50 lbs of. I've started adding an additional tray of Sponge in my canisters, yes it's a big jump, but 2 trays of Sponge and 2 trays of media seems to be working better actually. The water clarity is definetly better and the fish seem happy. Daddy is happy too, lol.
Very simple.. odds are any simple tank with half decent water circulation will have way more surface area for bacteria to grow in just the substrate alone then you could ever hope to put in any filtration method including sumps. If you have good substrate all you need is some mechanical filtration to keep water looking good and circulation for o2 exchange. And to keep bacteria fed along the substrate. The bottom of your substrate has low flow and thus very low oxygen levels. It’s your best place to achieve full cycle. The real question is does it work for you and how clean do you want the inside of your tank to look. We don’t use sponge filters in the hobby side cause we don’t want to look at them. Now you could just use sponges in the sump and get both worlds. Personally I’d use corse sponge to bio balls to sand to fine sponge. Running the sand section 5-6” deep. I use bio balls as a mechanical filter more so then biological cause they are actually really good at catching gunk. You can do the same with a simple fine woven fishing net packed in fairly tight tbh. Netting is what is used in aquaponics for denitrification filters allowing them to gunk up and create anoxic areas where things collect and slow down water and as such o2. If you want to try something really interesting that could show everyone how full cycle can be done cheap and easy in a tank.. setup a cheap sump and use nothing but a corse sponge to prefilter followed by fine fish net. You’ll want the water to flow over sponge baffle trickling top down through netting and then an under over air trap baffle setup to return pump. All you’ll ever need to do is hose out the corse sponge about every 2 months and leave the netting alone. Don’t clean it. Let it get dirty and clogged. Make sure you have an overflow built into the baffle setups cause over time the netting will have reduced flow enough that it can’t flow enough water and will result in the sump backing up and overflowing. This is fine.. people have the misguided view that water bypassing your bio is bad. It’s not. There is always some water still flowing through it and the longer that dwell from reduced flow means better filtration per pass. (Do you want to cycles water at 1000gph that filters 10% per hourly pass of the media, or 100gph filtering 90% per pass? End result is the same the only thing that changes is more oxygenated water inside the filtration area which means you will never get full cycle. High flow is what kills petiole from ever getting denitrification) That means your bio is working the best that it can with reduced flow and o2 which means you’re getting a full denitrification process. I’ve not gone to this extreme yet. However I use prefilters on my intakes on canisters and hob filters and never clean the inside of the filters unless the flow is so slow it’s almost completely clogged and stopped working entirely. I’ve got an fx6 that’s prob only pushing 150gph cause it’s so gunked up. That pinkish red slime (detritus) that everyone is always trying to keep out of their filtration system is the very thing you want. That film covers media and turns it anoxic. Nothing beats deep sand though for filtering. Look at Simple water collection and filtering which is nothing more then a 55g drum packed full of sand with water entering top slowing flowing down through the sand then exiting the bottom. What comes out is about as pure a drinking water as you can get. Now this method is a little too slow of a flow for fish tanks. But can still be achieved if you understand the basics of how it works. It’s all about biofilm.. even a septic system works on similar concepts. Biofilm (which we cal detritus in the fish keeping world) is good! I have tanks setup with just mechanical filtration, 2-3” fine sand substrate and 3500gph wave makers that are linked together to keep alternating currents in the tank and keep water oxygenated. I clean these mechanicles with a water hose cause they are not meant for bio only mechanical and I was them as clean as possible when I clean them. I’ve got few different setups running across 7 different tanks right now. They are all in full cycles. After spending years buying and trying everything having to do 50% changes weekly I’ve spent the last 1-1/2 years simply topping off my tanks and rinsing out mech. I run mostly open top tanks so I get maximum evap so I need more top offs with more water to top off which works similar to small water changes wo the work and time involved. I’ve not invested any time or money into these systems in some time or I could get them even better. My systems are around 70% denitrification. I’m positive if I take what I’ve learned over the past year and redid these systems I could have 100% pretty easy but I’m comfortable with the low level of maintenances have to invest already so seems counter productive to spend more money and time just to get that last little bit of denitrification. I have a 220 I need to finish rebuilding and when I do I’ll likely do a 55g sump build for it like I described above and with that I’m 100% confident I can achieve 100% denitrification within 6months of operation. I’m sure you can do the same using just foams but the issue with foam is you’ll need to do many foam baffles leaving space between was his 2” foam in order to get good biofilm buildup. The film only builds on the surface of items so you need say 2” foam followed by 2” space then another 2” foam over and over. It’s not as efficient as netting or sand cause it clogs to the point of zero flow easier. Ideally you also want to keep all bio slightly suspended off the bottom of any surface to keep full flow through the entire media. Something as simple as say lighting diffuser stand covered with corse foam 1” thick with 5” sand on top. Or if using netting just place netting on top of diffuser. When media sits directly on glass or plexi you are not getting good flow all the way through. With the setup you currently have Ben if I were to try something cheap.. simply keep your system exactly like it is. Turn your return pump down to say 100-200gph add two cheap dc wave makers like maybe Jeboa PP-8 one each end of tank facing each other and out on 30second alternating flows. Stop servicing your sump unless your sponge is completely clogged. Leave the rest of the sump alone. I bet you in 3 months you’ll have 1/2 the nitrates you do now and tank will be just as clean and fish just as happy.
For more fish keeping tips, check out these playlists:
For "Best Fish Keeping Tips" click here:
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For tips and tricks with Fluval FX canister filters go here:
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For tips and tricks with SunSun canister filters go here:
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For videos on water changes and controlling nitrates, click here:
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For videos on general canister filter maintenance, click here:
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My Top 10 most popular videos of all time:
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You can make this hobby as easy or difficult, as cheap or expensive as you want.
That's one of the best comments on here, thanks!
Indeed one of the best and straightforward comment I've seen on any Aquarium related video.
True👍
It's like having a friend with a pool. It's a lot more fun using it when not having to deal with the cost and maintenance time.
Okay. Back in the day 1970s, we used under gravel filters and a hang in the back filter for years on two 75 gallon tanks. We had crystal clear water and no fish issues.
Yes exactly 👍✌️🇨🇦
Hello Mr Ben , Edwin from Costa Rica, i had 100 gallon used a hang in back filer with charcoal and cotton. That was all I used for filer , an inch from top of water change . Water was crystal clear . No fish loss and hardly no work , very cheap. Never worried about chemicals in water. Thinking about getting back in hobby. Enjoy life!!! Like we say here PURA VIDA !!!
As my dear ol' granpappy used to say,
"Keep It Simple, Stupid"
HORNET1 I would have gotten along well with your granpappy 😉😀👍🏻
HORNET1 Yep, the more complicated, the more that can go wrong! :-)
your right years ago i ran 75 gallon discus tanks with ati large sponge filters and never had a problem. i use to squeeze them out every week but they were messy, and took up alot of room. they were in my breeding tanks with no substrate, and never had any issues. look at father fish he runs sponges in alot of his tanks loaded with a high fish load in his fish store.hes on youtube.
Yes, I think it was all made more complicated by people selling us products, LOL!
I have a feeling a lot of what we do in the hobby is overkill. Are we suckers for marketing? Probably. Personally, I'm willing to spend a few extra bucks to create a healthy environment for my fish based on the wealth of advice and information from others in the hobby. Is that always necessary? No. I've been in the hobby nearly 50 years. My first tank was a 10 gallon with a tiny clear plastic box that held some "angel hair" and a little bit of charcoal. For the most part it worked okay and I didn't lose many fish. In the early 80's when cannister filters were becoming popular I moved up to bigger tanks at one point having a 120 with three monster oscars, a huge arrowana and a clown knife. All those filters had was mechanical filtration and a lot of charcoal and they worked pretty well. And I used to rip that tank apart for a thorough cleaning at least once every six months. There was no concern for cycling the tank that I can recall. All I did was dump in a lot of Novaqua and it was good to go. Now I run two fx6's and one fx'4 on a 180 with a nice load of african cichlids. Overkill for sure but the tank looks amazing and the maintenance is minimal. So I can enjoy the look of the tank more now and not have to mess with it as much. The initial expense was substantial but once you have them established it isn't too bad. As a side note, the fx4 in my 180 runs nothing but sponge filters and water polishing media. It's a particular filter on steroids which allows me to put more bio media in the fx6's. Working really well. Apologies for the long post. It's 7:00 am and my caffeine level is high.
I remember Angel Hairs it was painful for me allergic to fiber glass.
Me and You like simple and easy.
IMO they use sponge filters because they do everything well. They provide filtration. The have sufficient beneficial bacteria, surface agitation, oxygen. They can do it all😶
I use lava rock in one of my canister filters and it keeps the level right and the tank clean
Lava rock is great...in a canister filter, you don't need anything more.
All I use in my three canister and my bettas aquaclear 30
Agreed! Negative on the $$$ Biohome 'Ultimate.' Absolutely like burning your cash.
Joey, the "King of DIY" did a video on lava rock. He loved it.
@@fhpd350 I think Lava rock is the best
Hallo Ben, I salute from Europe (i live in Slovak republic, it is between Poland and Hungary). Sorry for my english. I see your chanel and i thank you for your tips and help. Your advices are very helpful for me. I have a 130 galon freshwater planted tank with fishes, crabs and shrimps. Thank you and make a lot of videos. Peter.
Hello Peter and greetings. I've met very fine people from Eastern Europe and thank you for stopping by, watching and commenting, and I assure you that your English is far better than my Slovak 😉
The big successful tank breeders have what we hobbyists lack...automatic daily water changes. That's why they can go with sponge filters and not have issues. We hobbyists rely on things like sumps because as you said, we need the water volume to reduce ppm. The common denominator has and always will be frequent water changes in order for the tank to thrive.
People have been keeping fish long before all this fancy bio media landed on the scene 👌
Truth.
@@BenOchart I still got 4kg of it in my filters though and 2kg in the post coming on Wednesday 🤣
That's a bad argument. People did all kinds of things before "fancy things" landed in the scene. Doesn't mean things can't improve.
People used lead paint, asbestos, cocaine in cola, all kinds of weird stuff before we found out better ways of doing things.
@@omegachar4754 Pushback central missing the point over here! 🤣
Is all this fancy dog food out now any different from what people fed their dogs in the 70s? I don't see dogs living any longer. Or is any of the fancy coffee they sell any different from the coffee they sold in the 70s. No it's from the same bean except now it's just marketed and dressed up differently.
Hopefully that helps you see my original point. 👌
@@KeyMacGamingKeyz We have nearly tripled our average life expectancy over the last 1000 years.
I remember when I started in the hobby under gravel filters was the way to go with 1 HOB for some additional flow.
Me too. Aquaking hob and a UGF. That was it. Zero issues. Lol
I run 3 aquariums without filters. The glass walls and substrate which has some flat rocks is enough to keep ammonia at zero so therefore I have enough bacteria. I also run plants to help.
Interesting. Are the low stocked? I imagine plants would provide a lot of surface area though
Cool video, I used to like chemi pure blue. I ran out maybe 6 months ago and let it ride with filter pads and bio rings and I never noticed a difference
Adam C Adam, you and I have had a similar journey. I retired six recharged bags of Purigen and have seen no drop in water quality. Happy to see you drop by 😀👍🏻
Ben you totally correct , your analysis makes sense, always have the courage to speak what you believe, that is the only way you can help your subscribers, and all other viewers who look for advice. The manufacturers of these products may not like your comments, you never said stop using there products, But thousands of fish hobbyist might now be considering what I also believe to be many times unnecessary media and expense. From someone who has reared fish from about 7 or 8 years to his sixties. Trinidad West-Indies.
Sewage processing plants make use of the sewage solids themselves, as a biological medium for organisms to colonise and munch into, with both Aerobic and anaerobic microbiota sharing the floating and circulating floc.
With sponge filters comes lots and lots of water changes. Let those top fish keepers skip water changes for 3 to 4 weeks and see what happens. With enough substrate inside the tank, all that"s needed is mechanical filtration. That is where the external filters come in.
Ben, have you watched Jay's Aquarium series on setting up a no water change tank? It's extremely informative and explains the process of achieving a full cycle (zero ammonia, zero nitrites, zero nitrates). I know you've heard Richard (Pond Guru) talk about this. These two fishkeepers are the only ones talking about this, to my knowledge. Water changes should always be OPTIONAL, not NECCESSARY. Deep substrate, and an adequate amount of the PROPER filter media are two of the keys to the process. Imho, those plastic balls should be tossed on the floor for the cats to play with. Their open structure doesnt allow anaerobic bacteria to colonize. So many fishkeepers do water changes as part of their routine and dont understand that they can achieve a full cycle. It's not talked about nearly enough on UA-cam. End of rant.
I have a feeling over that more fishkeepers have achieved a full cycle that didn't even no about a cycle than the fishkeepers fretting about it with crazy equipment and enough water changes to drain a lake. In my experience I use about 2L by Volume of lava rock per 50 gallons of Water. Small powerhead or just bubble some air through it. 4-5" gravel substrate some driftwood and plants. For top up I use RO water, and do a small water chacge every couple of weeks as I like to clean some debris off the gravel. My Nitrates are never above 5ppm, even without water changes.
Olaf Von haegele Thats what I call a balanced system!!!
@DLS Shares Inc Go to Jay's Aquariums UA-cam channel. He has a series of videos, I believe 7 in total. They aren't long and tedious. They go quickly and are very informative. It's called "How to build a no water change tank" The videos are numbered. Obviously, start with Part 1.
@@redsev4484 do you break up the lava rock into small pieces, or do you keep them the size you bought them from the bag? I am assuming you are talking about the standard red lava rock and not the lighter weight grey pumice stone?
@ James Glenn
Jay's aquariums are heavily planted and very very lightly stocked
The plants are using up all of the nitrates
Hi Ben. I love your channel! I have been fish keeping for 45 years. I still feel I am learning. I do think the surface area is good to have in our canister and HOB filters. Because it is concentrated. This is important. The bacteria is spread out in the aquarium but weaker. Thats my thoughts. Thanks. Keep up the excellent videos!
Good points Greg and thanks for the encouraging words.
Heck yeah we NEED extra billions of surface area ..... I love my one gold fish in 180
I agree with you. Marketing, marketing, and more marketing. Filtration needs are based on the fish load. It is just to difficult to determine that need so most people, like myself, decide to play it safe. I guess your pocketbook decides.
You are right but you don't have to guess or worry if you know the basics. A canister or HOB filter can use cheap media and you will be fine. If you have a monster tank with a sump, the game changes and you would want the expensive stuff...it's all relative to the ecosystem.
I guess it depends on how often you want to do water changes.
Do you know why you need to do a water change?
I see a lot of the comment refer to water changes as the stabilizing element to balance the media volume and type. But my main argument is how close and consistent can you be with matching the water parameters your fish thrive with? I think good media helps retain stability.
Interestingly I've noticed a lot of fish death stories start with, "I had just done a water change..." so I think you make a good point. In some parts of the country, if there's been flooding, as a precaution, water treatment plants will increase the amount of chemicals in the water and this can shock fish (as one example).
Very interesting Ben. I suppose to really know you'd have to take on a science project. Set up a tank with some grown mature fish to keep things consistent.
Pick your media, say sponges as in your question. Test the water, IDK, maybe daily or weekly for some given period of time, record the data.
Then with the same tank and fish set it up with bio media, let it cycle, remove the sponge filters, let it stabilize, test the water over a period of time. Then compare results.
All the while keeping everything consistent, feed exactly the same quantity daily, water changes, etc...
Yes, alot of effort/work. Something like this would give us some interesting information to discuss for your CONVO GANG😊
I have 150 gallon aquarium with know filters. Only power heads. Green terror tank. Been running for 2years.
The issue Ben is that the Nitrifying bacteria will accumulate most where the oxygen level is highest (in a wet dry system the bacteria loves oxygen from the air as there is 11000 times more then in the water), where water flow is the fastest and where the food source is most abundant. This is why our filters contain most of the beneficial bacteria that stabilize the aquarium and that's where everyone sells the idea that they need filter media containing loads of surface area. The issue with this is that most mechanical filtration gets dirty and plugged and water being water it takes the path of least resistance, so without regular maintenance most filters will loose their effectiveness. But you're completely right. If you start a tank from scratch and introduce the bioload slowly, the nitrifying bacteria will accumulate anywhere there is surface area. If you just used excellent water circulation and enough flow to break the surface for gas exchange, you don't necessarily need a filter, just add more rock and substrate.
I got my first aquarium 50 years ago. I have had HOBs and canister filters in the past. Started out with a corner box filter years ago. I use nothing but sponge filters on my 26 tanks now - with one exception. On my tank with fancy goldfish, I have 2 sponge filters and a HOB. But the HOB is set up as mechanical filtration only, because goldfish are messy.
I agree the substrate and decor inside the tank hold a very large amount of bacteria.
I've been breeding tropical fish since the late 50's and my default filter has always been under gravel. I've heard and read all; about all the disadvantages and dangers of under gravel filters and I'm certain that none of them are based on actual experience. The pet shop industry has sold everyone on this stuff because they get to sell supplies! I use HOB filters and sponge filters for special applications, like bare bottom tanks and cichlids that dig in the gravel, but for routine use nothing beats the UG filter. The only maintenance is occasional gravel vacuuming. Another advantage is that you can install an extra airlift tube extending above the water and use this for water changes. No worries about sucking up fry.
Compared to how much the fish cost, I find the bio media to be cheap piece of mind. It is also great to be able to move media around and instantly cycle a tank. Agreed I likely have 10x what I need at the moment but if the bio load were to suddenly increase, for example a dead fish that I did not get out of the tank right away, I am pretty sure my tanks will be able to ramp up quickly.
That's the boat I ride on !
That's exactly how I feel about it.
Agreed
Those breeders also do daily water changes which is why It works for them. If I ran sponge filters on my heavily stocked tank, id have to do change water a lot more regularly. I believe the marine pure and biohome is worth it compared to sponge filters for me because I dont like changing water more than once a week.
DJ Cichlid I totally agree. It also helps avoid spikes.
The only good reason for a sump, hang on back, or canister is for better mechanical filtration.
I run 20+ aquariums of mainly africans and I run sponge filters. In the past I ran cannisters but after following Cory became more conscious of the mighty power of the sponge, including ease of "instant cycling" new tanks by running additional sponges that you can transfer across instantly. You just need to make sure to give them a squeeze in a bucket every now and then.
Very true. When you consider cost and time to maintain, nothing compares to spones.
I agree with Ben. The amount of bacteria that will be produced is dependent on the bio load. Once the maximum amount of BB has grown based on the bio load present, additional biological media is a waste of critical space. Instead, focus on mechanical filtration at that point. The more efficient the mechanical filtration is, the least amount of debris will collect on the biological media, enabling it (Biological media/beneficial bacteria) to do its part optimally. While there is BB throughout the aquarium (gravel, decor, etc...), these areas typically lack adequate circulation to nitrify at an effective level as compared to biological media in our filtration system.
Would good water movement, such as that provided by powerheads, help deliver oxygen to those areas?
That is a great question... Since Aerobic BB does exist inside the aquarium (glass, ornaments, plants, etc...) I suspect an increase in flow could result in more Aerobic BB since more oxygen will be recirculated, however, the bio load must be there to support growth. The other limiting factor would be the available (and favorable) surface area for colonization.
As for gravel and sand being densely packed, even with an increase in flow to a specific area of substrate, Aerobic Bacteria is unlikely to populate, especially deep within the substrate bed devoid of oxygen where Anaerobic Bacteria thrives.
I like your videos ( I am a subscriber as well). You provide excellent information and ideas. Your tanks and fish look amazing as well! Very Impressive !
Best talk on youtube I watched ever. Lot's of talks about filtration done by gurus nobody touched the most important and relevant "basic" information when come to filtration media. NO we don't need all that fancy stuff even though people might get excited when hear about redundancy. With a tank which have a substrate what you need is a sponge filter in normal conditions. WELL DONE Ben Orchart. MUST SEE VIDEO especially for beginners.
Simple answer: it depends. You need a lot of Biomedia in an unplanted tank with sand or even without any kind of ground substrate.
You don't need any Biomedia in a mature, planted tank. It can be even counterproductive for planted tanks because nutrients for plants can be reduced in the filter
If your planted tank has lots of fish, you still need bio media.
Absolutely correct, here Germany where I live, a microbiology called Diana Walstat has amply demonstrated, and without more, aquariums with "unfiltered" aquatic plants of any kind, the only filter are the plants and sometimes roots of terrestrial plants placed in emergent form, on UA-cam you can see wonderful aquariums, without mechanical filter, in which the filter is the water, the substrate, the plants and for example, the roots of 2 titled boniatos on the aquarium cover, and you can see the progress of that aquarium and Its inhabitants from the first day, until more than a year later .... Many people who have paid hilarious prices for low quality pumice stone like Matrix, never in their life will get aquariums such as the one you can see on UA-cam, and uses stones, plants, substrate, sand and the roots of two Boniatos as a filter. People repeat like parrots what the advertising and marketer industry of the big Companies like Seachem tell them ... Fortunately, some of us, in our youth, study Biology, and to deceive us, they need to "lie better, and more imagination"
@@Iron-cesc LOL They have a product to sell, so... yeah!!! LOL :-)
@@PerplexiaX
Yes friend !!! LOL!!!
Let's go to buy!!!
Buy buy buy!!!
What we buy? What is this that we buy???
Eeeehhh 🤔... I don't know... But that ist not important now ☝️😅!!!
Buy buy buy!!!!
Loooool!!!
You made me laugh a good time !!! Have a nice day 👍
@@Iron-cesc LOL Yeah, and you notice how expensive everything is now... I Finally found a place that sells Nox-Ich... $4.00 for the tiny little bottle... I used to pay like 50 Cents for that thing! Yeah, I'm Old! LOL
Personally, I think the most important thing for a cycle is actually good water flow through the whole tank. The bacteria needs oxygen and oxygen as well as fish waste are the limiting factors of bacteria growth (NH3 to NO2 requires oxygen). Sponge filters are good, but they aren't the best with generating circulation around the whole tank. That may be good for some fish species, but I do saltwater and the flow is necessary. Even though us salty folks realize 90% of our filtration lives in the rocks anyway.
It was visiting salty sites that got me thinking about the substrate working as the home for BB. The oxygen point and circulation are key. I tell people when they are starting up a tank to start the powerheads and bubblers. That new BB will come along better with a lot of O2 available.
Thanks for stopping by Marina.
Hi Ben
In regards of filtration, it depends on the water changes you do and if you have a sump with sponges that have really good surface areas I believe that bio balls are not needed! Canister filters I believe you need both!
Great video Ben. Yes I think we do need all that media. Pond Guru has a formula for how much media by volume of water. I couldn’t get my heavily stocked 90 gallon tank to fully cycle until I increased my media. I went from 4 pounds to 10 pounds of biohome ultimate for my setup & the tank has been running for month & a half no water change & now my ammonia is zero also nitrite & nitrate are zero. I got a full cycle. I feed twice a day 9 am & 9 pm. I drive a truck over the road so everything is automated & I was happy when I checked my water to see that my bacteria is working. I couldn’t achieve that w/o the extra 6 pounds of media. So yes all of it helps in my opinion.
That's awesome. You might want to still do a once a month WC to add minerals that can settle but if the fish look great and tests are coming back perfect ... continue with what you're doing. Sounds perfect.
It makes a lot of sense when broken down.
Lots to consider here @Ben Ochart, my thoughts:
- What does it take to achieve a "steady-state" biological environment? That is, does a particular aquarium environment have the capacity to handle the variations in ammonia/nitrite producing sources.
- Ammonia: our feeding patterns and number of fish control this. But can we control the feeding and fish waste so closely as to control the production of ammonia? It seems from a practical point of view this is not going to happen.
- Ammonia and nitrite consuming bacteria: Two things come to mind here. How effective are our aquariums in getting the ammonia/nitrite in contact with the bacteria. Seems like they are only somewhat effective. So the more biologics the better. And of course higher filtration rates will help.
How fast do biologics grow, reproduce, and die. What can affect the lives of the bacteria? Given the uncertainty here for most aquarists the move biologics the better.
- Does the bacteria tend to consume more or less ammonia/nitrite as these chemicals rise and fall, and still remain alive? Or another way, can the biologics handle varying levels of ammonia/nitrite and still remain active. It seems the more biologics in an aquarium the more probable the aquarium is to handle rises and falls and remain stable biologically.
Seems to me that having "too much" biologics would enable our aquariums to function in a more balanced state. However, determining just how much is enough to provide a so called "bio-buffer" is more or less a trial and error exercise. I tend to error on too much and I have had what I feel are stable aquariums.
I too prefer to error in the direction of too much instead of not enough. It's a balancing act between bio load (fish and food) and water circulation, oxygen levels and bio availability. Fun to create a big enough sweet spot so that we have wiggle room. Room to occasionally feed heavy protein like frozen krill or add 4 or 5 fish and not worry about the tank restarting a cycle.
Thanks Roger!
Someone should make a video of an experiment. Take 2 equal sized tanks same species of fish(same size, amount) same exact set up. Just filter one with sponge filters and filter the other one with a HOB or something and test the water see which one works better
That would be a great experiment
Anyone do this??
Another advantage of sponge is it hardly fills with debris which make it better n disadvantage is u need to change it as it will spread in pcs
So i mentioned recently in one of your videos that i have gone to all sponges. I have an hob and just got rid of the cartridges now i have 40ppi sponge in the hob with a course pre intake sponge, then i have an actual sponge filter in my 75g. I have nothing else in my hob and its been over a mth. But tank and fish look so far so good. Ive been tempted to buy actual bio media as well but haven't and sponge seems to be working just fine. One lady argued with me that replacing cartridges i would be losing my good bacteria but ive never had a tank crash from replacing cartridges. So im a believer of the tank itself having great beneficial bacteria but now i have sponges that i dont need to throw away i think it will add the extra stability. Im sure many products work and all the companies are in business to make money but im totally believing that sponges alone are good enough and perhaps very underrated.
Good move. They are the best of both words, mechanical and biological filtration, inexpensive and reusable practically forever.
😀👍🏻
HMF Filter with air are enough for my 2 80 liters aquariums. I never change water, im just fill up water when necessary.
Regards, Martin from Denmark
I only use sponges and nothing else in my canister filter. Crystal clear water and absolutely zero issues with my 9 plecos in a 40 gall tank. It's been quite a long time since i removed all the ceramic media away.
Good question Ben, i think it all depends on what type of tank you going for....size, stocking, etc. But we really don't need half the products on the market being sold.
I love that you keep the camera pointing to your fish,instead of your face. Great video thanks.
I'm not sure how I feel about this comment ... LOL!
Thanks for watching.
Bag of pumice, garden stones, or lava rock. Best bang for your buck. I just cant see myself spending extra on other media (biohome) not necessary.
I've had good results with both the expensive and the inexpensive choices.
The FX6 goes for $600(aud). You can make a bigger better filter for $150 and it does a better job.
filter media like Marine pure blocks are actually different. they convert Nitrates into nitrogen gas, that does reduce nitrates and it makes a difference vs other medias that will just convert into nitrates.
Hey Walter, have you looked into the Brightwell NO3 products? Curious what you think if you are familiar with them.
Hello Ben no I have not. But I will take a look for sure.
with a deep enough (and planned) substrate all you need is sponge to clean off particles
People do spend way too much on filter media when pot scrubby‘s are $.98 a pack I just bought two packages and I’m goin’ back to buy more I’m gonna replace half the media in the filter then replace the other half after the beneficial bacteria builds back up on the pot scrubby‘s💯
Let's keep the pot scrubber scret to ourselves, LOL. So true. Bene Bacteria grows everywhere.
All of the top ceramic media such as Marine Pure, Biohome, Seachem Matrix and Eheim Substrat Pro allow more BB to inhabit smaller sized media as opposed to sponges. Also, many of us love to overpopulate our tanks to no end, and ceramic media(due to more porosity)will better cater to those who do. Yes, sponges will always appeal to individuals who don’t mind unsightly black blocks in their display tanks(myself included), but so many aquarium keepers don’t want to ruin the aesthetics of their “little worlds in glass boxes”.
Anyway, don’t breeders tend to economize?
I tend to enjoy and benefit from both types of biomedia🤫.
I think sponge filters are great, I think when you start to hit the 80 gallon mark is when you start using 2. I think the reason the pro breeders use sponge filters is due to the fact that there won't be a fast current for fry, or they won't get sucked up by an intake. Also it keeps detritus and uneaten food on the sponge filter for fry which is why it's a safer filter for fry.
Yes, ideal for breeders, and not sharing the same water makes it less likely to cross contaminate. Thank you for watching.
I guess this almost goes back to the Walstad method which has plenty of nice examples that use minimal filtration (i.e. sponge filter). As long as there is a decent amount of surface area in the substrate, you will easily get rid of ammonia and nitrites. The nitrate is then taken up by plants, but of course this requires some delicate balancing of plants and fishload to become a continues cycle without massive waterchanges. So do we need all the expensive stuff...NO, do we get tricked to believe we need it and want it...YES!!!
Someday I hope to set up a tank that is a perfectly balanced eco-system using plants, snails, algae, etc and a light fish bio load, but stays perfect without other types of filtration. Like nature.
Great Video Ben, your a youtube legend. Using just sponges will work fine but downside to that would be the larger volume of water you need to change. 😎
"Legend" ... LOL ... thank you Paul, I appreciate you!
I'm not an expert, but there IS a lot of talk about this subject... Basically the main thing is the activated charcoal for the ammonia and other poisons/chemicals, but if you have enough bacteria and plants, as long as you do your water changes (which in itself is questionable and controversial) that should be all kept in check... that's a matter of the fish/plant ratio. The main reason for a filter is for particulates, (and oxygenation, but the proper plants can take care of that, but again that depends on the fish/plant ratio) and stagnation. The easiest way to think about it (which I guess a lot of people don't realize) is "Natural Habitat" which in most cases for fresh water aquarium fish is rivers (or ponds/lakes), where there's always new water coming into the region that the fish call "Home!" :-)
I had a friend who loved his Jaguar auto back when ford owned Jaguar. One day he found out that 95% of the parts in his Jaguar were identical to those in a Ford Taurus. He did not want to face this reality for some time. Folks in our hobby who have over paid for FX 6's and biohome, among many others have trouble admitting, even to themselves that they fell victim to a marketing scam.
@@HalfManHalfCichlid I understand that... Believe Me, I Know!!! LOL I just wish everything I see on UA-cam (and elsewhere) was in agreement as to the reality of which is best! Are certain people being paid to recommend whichever products? Of course they are, and again, I understand that. So much disinformation out there... and, of course, everyone has what works well for them, and so they recommend what they think is best! I guess I just have to find the commonalities in everyone's advices and go from there!
main thing IMO is redundancy... that doesn't mean "all" systems are equal, only that having multiple biological filtration features to a system is smart
Without measuring the values of the water regularly you can’t now how good or bad your water is not two tanks have the same filtration or media setup so measuring is Alfa and omega.
The most controversial part about beneficial bacteria is you can't see them and you can't see how they work. You only know they exist due to what your test kits say. We all know how to measure medication to volume of water. Does anyone know how much bacteria should there be in volume of tank water x number of fishes? Its pure guess work when it comes to one of the most important determination of a healthy tank.
Good point. We’re driving blind. A BB volume test kit would be a great addition to the hobby.
Yes,agreed. I put a plenum in the bottom of my tank as suggested by Dr.Novak.Works wonders I use sponges.
I don’t think its any better to go out and buy the bioballs or blocks of highly porous materials. When u can keep it very inexpensive by buying a bag of lava rocks, plain sponges and plastic pot scrubbies from the dollar stores and a huge bag of polyester pillow floss from Michaels. These have been working for me for years. Also instead of chemicals to heal, u can use garlic cloves chopped fine and added to bloodworms and using aquarium salt to heal bacterial, infections in and on fish.
The hobby will go full circle and eventually we will all do it inexpensively and naturally. Like using algae and plants to consume nitrates and add oxygen. Just like nature.
I have been keeping and breeding fish for over 55 years. I use only an undergravel filter, with a 3 inch substrate of coarse river sand. and plants in the tank and give only occasionally a 30% water change. With this filtration the fish droppings are drawn into the sand providing biological and fine particle filtration and easy access for the plant roots. I have recently changed from an air pump, to provide the water lift in the tubes, to low capacity power heads on the tubes. The plants are unbelievably healthy, the fish never get sick and virtually only die from old age. The water is crystal clear and, when it does start to appear a little cloudy, I do an alternate form of water change by attaching a hose to one of the water lift tubes and siphoning out 30 % of the water. This clears out all of the mulm that has collected under the sand. This is only necessary once a year or, sometimes, considerably longer. I am too old and experienced to fall for the manufactures and fish sellers hype and BS. They are only trying to line their own pockets. I also think that it is their advertising crap that caused undergravel filters to fall out of favour, as they were extremely popular years ago.
More like what nature does.
I believe that is unnecessary. Vacuuming out visible detritus/ waste often and doing more water changes is all you need. Water circulation and simply removing particulates is the most important. I've recently discovered that sponges or simple minimal filter media is all that's necessary to keep the water healthy and clear along with partial water changes to keep down ammonia and hormone levels which are released by the fish and stunts their growth. The gravel substrate I use in the tank provides plenty of surface area for the beneficial bacteria to thrive on as long as you don't take it out and overclean it. My water always looks the best and is crystall clear when I simply vacuum out visible particulates, do frequent partial water changes, use minimal filter media and make sure the flow of the filter isnt slowed by detritus/ waste by rinsing it out which keeps the water circulating. Wasting money on all types of filter media is unnecessary. Trust me I've done it and my water still became cloudy unless I was doing the things mentioned above!
We do need. But its relative.
Smaller the tank, greater the need for bio media. A 10 g with a kilo of media will make it much more stable.
I have 10 and 30.
My 30 has 4kg biohome. About 2.5 kilo more then needed.
It doesn't matter what dies, my fish will be safe from ammonia.
If my tap water has ammonia. Doesn't matter, it can proccess it.
I did run tank with 1kg media. And at that stocking level, it was at the cusp of forever recycling.
If sponges are of a resonable ppi. For ex poret 30ppi. Then yep it will also do the job.
For me as a person if they can prove this media has this much surface area, that sponge has this much area. Then great I can make an informed choice
Yes, more media can help produce more bacteria to consume ammonia, however it's all dependant on your bio load. A 10g tank with 3-4 small fish would never be able to produce enough waste for 4 kilos of a high quality bio media. It's all relative to the ecosystem you are creating.
I agree. I think we are sold this idea that we need some much media. In my opinion lava rock crushed up does just as good of a job as any expensive media you can buy (if you must have media) I think we overblow this as hobbyist and as you said, look at Trevor and those guys doing this better than most. They don't fall for the hype simple sponge filter and water changes.
EXACTLY!!!! Agreed 100%
Interesting topic Ben.If you go into this hobby you are going to spend money. I do not know exactly how much filtration my fish need, but I know too little will harm the fish and the appearance of the water. This is why I am happy to over filter and know I have some in reserve. Also remember the fish breeders aren't worried about the appearance of the tank, as long as the fish breed healthy fry.
Good points John. Thanks for stopping by and watching.
Water flow and water changes and my corner matten filter in my 135 is all I do. One large Oscar Texas cichlid three feather fin catfish and a large red tail shark.
Test the waters literally and check the difference would solve the disputes in our minds and tank Ben
Nope! As a matter of fact Ben, I am on a mission to remove all the filter media ( ceramic dodads and charcoal pellets) from my Sunsun canister today. I've some cheap pink filter in a roll coming from eBay to replace it. I've been waiting all week to do this. I have 2 turtles in a 60 gallon tank and all of that 'good' bacteria are smelling up my house. As I've fought the smell I've come to realize my canister filters have become a holding tank/breeding ground for noxious bacteria. All 4 of my canister filters are getting a makeover this weekend. It's nice to see a well known and respected aquarist come to the same conclusion I have. Thank you Ben.
You might want to run a little charcoal for a few weeks to fully remove the bad odor.
I am young to this hobby and young in general. I am guilty of over building. I have grown to love Lava Rock for decor and filter media. there is a ton of surface area within each rock and thus more in the tank and in the filter. I have a 54 with a sponge and a UGF that has no (filter media bio balls etc..) so my gravel is the bio media along with the rocks and decorations. That tank is crystal clear for about 50$ between pvc, glue, a power head, the sponge filter, and pump. I also have a canister on a 10g and that is also crystal with lava rock in the filter. I know canister on a 10 (i was new and didn't find these videos yet...) My 80g that I was fortunate enough to acquire from a great friend for the hefty price of come get it, Is using a sunsun canister with bio sponge, floss, and 2 trays of lava rock. probably over kill but better then killed fish.
I too have been seeing videos of pet stores on all sponge and breeders on all sponge. My thoughts on that come in several parts.
Breeders and stores are dedicated to those tanks because to them that is a living, OR that is their passion and they have whole rooms dedicated to it. While it is likely the sponge is more then enough, I feel that us as hobbyists don't necessarily have the amount of time to keep up on maintenance as the stores and breeders do. Thus our tanks build up more waste then a bare bottom breeder with a sponge etc. breeders and stores are on auto water changes at 10% a day! I personally keep a check on parameters and change when my nitrates get out of hand or once a month which ever comes first.
So i think that us having many more miles of Beneficial Bacteria is a good thing for the longevity and ENJOYMENT of our tanks that we like to look at from the couch. I personally am very attentive to my tanks and notice issues before they are issues and do my best to prevent problems now that i have gained a much broader knowledge base to do so.
Ben thank you for your videos. You have inspired me and taken away my fears about a cichlid tank. My 80g will ke that tank!
Hi thanks for this info.
Please advise me I have external filter and I want to start lava rocks as biological media!does it has any effects on water parameters such as
Ph
GH
Please advise
Thanks
I thing what ever works for you and your fish are doing well,i would not change a thing.
You are so right.
I don't know but you're fish look happy and healthy don't fix it if it ain't broken
I've been saltwater fowlr for three amnd a half years. Never had a filter, skimmer etc. Only wavemaker in 60 gallon with good surface agitation.
Great vid Ben...I've ran tanks just with airstones...healthy fish. Had a large stingray tank system just based on water flow and oxygen...super healthy system.
You can only grow so much beneficial bacteria. It’s not an endless growing supply of bacteria. By adding additional surface area (biological media) to grow more bacteria. You do two things. 1 you pretty much guarantee all the water will pass through that beneficial bacteria so it can break down the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. 2 more beneficial bacteria means a better chance your fish will survive any mistakes.
Been a fan ben for a long time. I think the differences between everyones approach in this hobby is what makes it so great! Yes there are people who def over build. Like 60 gallon sump on 100 gallon tank. I do more a kiss approach. Keep it simply stupid. I like to change this around from time to time so keeping it simple works for me. Some people might something more permanent, then will just overdo it. Just my opinion
People are forgetting the sellers are there to sell and MAKE MONEY , you need to do research and now days we got the internet.
One thing that is good is to do your own experimentation and diy.
I see people commenting i need to get this new filter, new media
that just came out to market and i say to my self why if your set up is doing fine and fish healthy you do not need nothing else.
before all i had was HOB , small box filter, undergravel filter,( Angels hairs was made out of fiber glass was used as filter floss, charcoal was used then filter floss came in the market
sump where there but was costly then canister came out to the market.
Here is an experiment test. Set up two tanks 40, 50, 60 ..... whatever available or afford you can, one tank fill with gravel and subtrate and one tank with bare bottom both of them filter with simple stock hang on back filter, add whatever fishes you can evenly to both of the fish tank and let them run as normal daily basic, after 3 months you will have the answer.
I use lava rock as an “under gravel filter” underneath the gravel in my tanks & I think it really helps with oxygenation & beneficial bacteria compared to just anaerobic sand substrate! Thank you for the tips!
i've been called far worse things than a sucker, lol!!!! I understand exactly what you are saying Ben. The following is just my opinion after being in this hobby for a very long time. You can use hundreds, thousands of different media that will allow the good bacteria to call it home. What many don't realize is that this bacteria is constantly being replaced as it gets older by younger and stronger bacteria. It's also true that the amount of bacteria that you have depends more on the fish and quantity and size of these fish than it does on the amount of media in your filter. One of my tanks is a 55 gal planted tank with Rainbows and other community fish and it is lightly stocked. I have much larger tanks but this is one of my favorites. For filtration I am using an FX4 that is packed with bio home ultimate and one sections of sponges going from coarse to fine. There is enough bio home media in that filter to support a heavy stocked Koi tank that's 4 times the size. I could have used one of the other thousands of media choices for the bacteria to colonize on but when I set the tank up I was getting back into the hobby after a decade off due to severe health issues, and Pond Guru provided a lot of good info and I was curious, so I gave it a shot. When I finally get my 240 gal up and running with a 75 gal sump and an FX6 I would have to refinance my home to load it up with Bio Home the way the FX4 is now, lol!!!! The main reason why so many fail in this hobby has nothing to do with the media they used, it has everything to do with the media between their ears that caused the failure. I can't begin to count how many times I helped people out on fish forums that were having nothing but problems and ready to give up. It amazed me how little they truly understood about what is actually going on in the tank and filter that is never seen by the human eye. Once you truly understand this the success rate soars. Today we have this thing called the world wide web, there is no excuse to not know what is going on in the tank and it won't cost you a penny. When I first got into the hobby over 30 years ago, nobody at any of the fish stores in So.Cal that I went to weekly ever said anything about the nitrogen cycle in my tank. I wonder how much they knew. Your average fish keeper will take a water sample to Petsmart for a free water test and let the person there tell them how many fish they can buy. Just for fun I had a 10 gal tank that I set up so the ammonia was off the chart high and took it into Petsmart to be tested. I was told my water was perfect, I was doing everything right and I could add as many fish as I wanted. This really happened and I am not saying that every Petsmart is like this either. What I am saying is that if you want to be successful in any hobby, but especially in fish keeping, you need to first feed and fill the media between your ears before you ever attempt to do it in your tank and filter. Keep up the great work. Over and Out from NC. Later
I personally overfilter all my tanks with overhead tricklerfilters, i got stingrays and big plecos in one and in my other i have big plecos small plecos turtles alot of smaller fish, i guess it depends on bioload! You probably could run your systems on a sponge filter only if you have only smaller fish but overfiltering is not harmfull! 😅
ALSO expensive filter media brands are fooling people though, sintered glass(MATRIX) can be picked up at constructions, potscrubbers are very cheap. But this is a whole other subject!
Believe me, I live in Southeast Asia when I was a kid I used to have fish like hundred of guppy, maybe 10-20 thumb side goldfish, and a hundred more random live bears in a big cement water holder that every household has, to store rainwater. It could store around 400-500 liter so it is around 125-150 gallons. I don't even know about the bacterial cycle or anything of that no substrate, no air pump, no nothing, and water change once a month as I please, not even top off because we have a lot of rain here. I never have a mass die-off. I don't even know about chlorine in the tap water killing my fish every time I do a water change is always 100% and then maybe 5 to 10 fish die after. Now I know it is chlorine that kills my fish. Never has I ever has mass die-off without doing water change so I can guarantee u the filter media and surface area those company tries to sell to u is just bs for your money.
DON'T get where circulation happens in a substrate? These even have been such dead zones that burrowing snails are suggested for control of dead zones. With canisters you get to control the flow over the media. The flow can be used to assist in specializing types of bacteria that reside within the media.
Good points. Especially with a hard packed sand substrate. But a deep "dead zone" can be a home for anaerobic bacteria which I hear eats nitrates.
Well here's my take. I ran my very heavily stocked 240L Malawi peacock tank with internal filters for 2 years and a 300L for 6 months. I have since moved out and got a 120g for my frontosa and a 260L for my peacocks. I have only just purchased a external at weekend. And already there is a difference. Wether or not the amount of bio you have is excessive is more the question. Sponges clog and harvest the waste in the tank. In the long term sponges alone are no good for a medium or heavily stocked tank.
Surface space to water volume is a major factor. It seems like overkill, as much surface space as the moon, lol, but cleaning the tank disturbs bacteria colonies and can disrupt the cycle, so I alternate cleaning the tank substrate and the filter media sponges on different days of the week. Yes, to some extent big companies are taking advantage of us, but that doesn't mean the product is useless. If we want to use old media to cycle a new tank, we have to wonder how much colony was attached to the portion removed, if we use too much we spread the bacteria out because it is limited to the resources available. It's complicated. I have been experimenting with filtration, modifying my HOB and using sponge filters to test efficiency. I don't have a sump system yet, so all filteration is happening in the tank. The sponge filters alone were not enough for me, although for a nano tank my favorite is the QS-100A which has two sponges and filter media cups attached. I can put anything from pumice to carbon to filter floss inside for whatever issue I'm dealing with. Sponges do remove particulates, but for me, aren't enough on their own unless you have a planted tank or do overflow water changes. I have Anubias in my tanks and pothos growing out the back to remove nitrates and they also increase surface space. My favorite HOB filter is the Aqueon QuietFlow with the blue media pad holder on the water return. The special media pad thing is a gimmick, but they provided the perfect spot to use filter floss and remove fine particles from the water column. It comes with an ammonia reducer, and the standard carbon filter they all use. I cut down filter sponges and pads for ponds and make an intake sponge, some pumice in a mesh bag in the bottom, more sponges for mechanical filtration, and the whole thing is much more efficient. I only use carbon pellets and ammonia reducers on rare occasions. With the filtration provided by the company, a new fishkeeper may avoid losing fish to an uncycled tank, but it is very difficult to get it to cycle if you starve the beneficial bacteria. I put in seeded media and decor, but the carbon filter and ammonia reducer pad, as it comes from the store, starved the bacteria, even the added cultures. I removed the provided filtration, replaced it with my own, and the tank is balancing out now. This is the second aquarium I tried this product on, with the included filtration, and the results were the same both times. It won't begin to cycle if you starve the colony. This is great for new fishkeepers setting up a tank for the first time, to keep from ammonia burning the fish at the start. But it is a product that assumes that fishkeepers are undereducated and will never learn. I love that so many people are on UA-cam informing us and picking out the flaws in products so we can make informed decisions on how to care for our finned friends. So I think companies take us for fools, but that doesn't mean their product is useless, it just needs modifying. Companies sell people what they think they want. Like a one gallon betta cube that fits on the desk, looks sleek, has rainbow led lighting, but meets none of the fish's needs for a decent life. The fish isn't buying his habitat, the human with cash is.
No matter how much filter media there is, only the proper amount of bacteria will grow anyhow, something these companies hope people don't realize. To them, consumers are easily impressed by large numbers, even if they don't understand what it means. Every aquarium has it's own balance, if you found it using a little more media, then no harm done. Some people have bare tanks and need that surface space in the canister or sump to handle the bioload. Every aquarium is different, and the nerd in me loves figuring out the best setup for each of mine. UA-camrs like you are the reason I'm successfully keeping aquatic pets. Thank you.
I keep turtles and have never had a media that didn’t work great. Dollar store stuff in a skippy is awesome but lava rock is my personal favorite. Even have it in my tree frog paludariums as filter media and 3” pieces as my drainage layer.
I've been practicing for 3 months plus. I've really noticed the water clarity has increased. I really don't check peramiters in tanks that have been running for years. I still use 2 trays of growstone in my 704b and my hw-3000. I'm more impressed with Sponge/pads. Wouldn't do more than 2 trays, but yes, I love it.
' Consumption '
This word it's the main title of this era
In values, principles, ethics and of course ' money'
And, publicity, social media, are the means to impose the policy of consumption to withdraw money from people's pockets
I'saw people made home filter and cost them only 20$ and ìt's work in effective way just like a'commercial filter cost about 200$ .
Truth, thank you!
Texas Aquatics where I buy most of my fish use a single sponge, but they do THREE water changes a week. I am not that dedicated.
I've heard good things about that place. I need to make the little drive and check it out sometime. I'm about 30 minutes outside of Fort Worth.
I know this much keeping tanks of all sizes close to 30 years with some pretty big fish over the years and I have run about every filter there is and I have run some with a hang on back and cartridge filters only with big fish and once tank is matured I have seen no ammonia in over 20 years even on tanks I let slide for few months do to burn out .I thank we all just love the hype new thing and there glad to take are moneys
There's truth in that. Otherwise there wouldn't be lines of people ready to turn in their working-perfect iPhone 10 for the iPhone 11 ... just because they got to have it. LOL!
I think pricier bio media is much more valuable for people who run well-stocked or non-planted tanks, like many cichlid or goldfish keepers. People who have community or planted tanks probably won’t be needing all of that surface area but having it certainly doesn’t cause any harm, except to your bank account lol
On the other hand lot of public aquariums have systems with loads of fish and nitrate levels that are so high that test solutions have to be diluted to get an accurate measurement, and their fish have to be presentable to the general public. So really it just comes down to whether or not your fish are healthy and look good.
WeeStrom CO Guy I don’t have a source. I actually interned at an aquarium for a few months and that’s just how things were. I’m sure it’s somewhat variable between institutions. And by diluting test solutions, I was referring to diluting the actual water sample with the testing solution already mixed in. We measured water parameters using a spectrometer so if the sample was too opaque, it would just give us the max value. So we diluted it with some distilled water and multiplied the result by the dilution factor. Hope that helps!
WeeStrom CO Guy That was one thing I forgot to ask the aquarists whenever they introduced new fish into the main exhibit, which always had the highest nitrate levels. I also don’t remember any specific nitrate ppms, unfortunately. All I remember is having to dilute the sample from the main exhibit at least twice to get the spectrometer to cooperate lol
I bought an fx6 and put bio home and polyfil and after a couple months of no carbon my water became a little cloudy so I did maintenance and added new polyfil but added even more polyfil. My water got super cloudy so I removed extra polyfil and went back to the amount I had before but added carbon. My water looks magnificent! Not sure about beneficial bacteria from bio home if I'm overdoing that or not but I won't risk that. It's probably needed. Matter of fact I went with no carbon listening to youtubers
Being over protective is as bad as being not protective at all. Everything in life has to have a balance, the game is to get that balance right. My thoughts ! We fish keepers are masters of keeping water for fish fend for themselves with in the water we provide. As bruce lee may of said, Be good with water, lol
My opinion. Yes. Thank you.
Ben u r honest just always keen to learn from others.. very less people do that nowadays
Thank you
I think using different types of media gives you more versatility. Meaning if you exclusively use a sponge, you will loose some BB, when you clean the sponge, versus bio balls and ceramic media , where they don’t require as much maintenance.
I totally agree sir. Sponges are way better than spending unneeded money on biohome or even growstone which I personally have 50 lbs of. I've started adding an additional tray of Sponge in my canisters, yes it's a big jump, but 2 trays of Sponge and 2 trays of media seems to be working better actually. The water clarity is definetly better and the fish seem happy. Daddy is happy too, lol.
You've already started conducting the experiment this video was leading to.
Very simple.. odds are any simple tank with half decent water circulation will have way more surface area for bacteria to grow in just the substrate alone then you could ever hope to put in any filtration method including sumps. If you have good substrate all you need is some mechanical filtration to keep water looking good and circulation for o2 exchange. And to keep bacteria fed along the substrate.
The bottom of your substrate has low flow and thus very low oxygen levels. It’s your best place to achieve full cycle.
The real question is does it work for you and how clean do you want the inside of your tank to look. We don’t use sponge filters in the hobby side cause we don’t want to look at them. Now you could just use sponges in the sump and get both worlds. Personally I’d use corse sponge to bio balls to sand to fine sponge. Running the sand section 5-6” deep. I use bio balls as a mechanical filter more so then biological cause they are actually really good at catching gunk. You can do the same with a simple fine woven fishing net packed in fairly tight tbh. Netting is what is used in aquaponics for denitrification filters allowing them to gunk up and create anoxic areas where things collect and slow down water and as such o2.
If you want to try something really interesting that could show everyone how full cycle can be done cheap and easy in a tank.. setup a cheap sump and use nothing but a corse sponge to prefilter followed by fine fish net. You’ll want the water to flow over sponge baffle trickling top down through netting and then an under over air trap baffle setup to return pump. All you’ll ever need to do is hose out the corse sponge about every 2 months and leave the netting alone. Don’t clean it. Let it get dirty and clogged. Make sure you have an overflow built into the baffle setups cause over time the netting will have reduced flow enough that it can’t flow enough water and will result in the sump backing up and overflowing. This is fine.. people have the misguided view that water bypassing your bio is bad. It’s not. There is always some water still flowing through it and the longer that dwell from reduced flow means better filtration per pass. (Do you want to cycles water at 1000gph that filters 10% per hourly pass of the media, or 100gph filtering 90% per pass? End result is the same the only thing that changes is more oxygenated water inside the filtration area which means you will never get full cycle. High flow is what kills petiole from ever getting denitrification) That means your bio is working the best that it can with reduced flow and o2 which means you’re getting a full denitrification process.
I’ve not gone to this extreme yet. However I use prefilters on my intakes on canisters and hob filters and never clean the inside of the filters unless the flow is so slow it’s almost completely clogged and stopped working entirely. I’ve got an fx6 that’s prob only pushing 150gph cause it’s so gunked up. That pinkish red slime (detritus) that everyone is always trying to keep out of their filtration system is the very thing you want. That film covers media and turns it anoxic.
Nothing beats deep sand though for filtering. Look at Simple water collection and filtering which is nothing more then a 55g drum packed full of sand with water entering top slowing flowing down through the sand then exiting the bottom. What comes out is about as pure a drinking water as you can get. Now this method is a little too slow of a flow for fish tanks. But can still be achieved if you understand the basics of how it works.
It’s all about biofilm.. even a septic system works on similar concepts. Biofilm (which we cal detritus in the fish keeping world) is good!
I have tanks setup with just mechanical filtration, 2-3” fine sand substrate and 3500gph wave makers that are linked together to keep alternating currents in the tank and keep water oxygenated. I clean these mechanicles with a water hose cause they are not meant for bio only mechanical and I was them as clean as possible when I clean them. I’ve got few different setups running across 7 different tanks right now. They are all in full cycles. After spending years buying and trying everything having to do 50% changes weekly I’ve spent the last 1-1/2 years simply topping off my tanks and rinsing out mech. I run mostly open top tanks so I get maximum evap so I need more top offs with more water to top off which works similar to small water changes wo the work and time involved. I’ve not invested any time or money into these systems in some time or I could get them even better. My systems are around 70% denitrification. I’m positive if I take what I’ve learned over the past year and redid these systems I could have 100% pretty easy but I’m comfortable with the low level of maintenances have to invest already so seems counter productive to spend more money and time just to get that last little bit of denitrification. I have a 220 I need to finish rebuilding and when I do I’ll likely do a 55g sump build for it like I described above and with that I’m 100% confident I can achieve 100% denitrification within 6months of operation. I’m sure you can do the same using just foams but the issue with foam is you’ll need to do many foam baffles leaving space between was his 2” foam in order to get good biofilm buildup. The film only builds on the surface of items so you need say 2” foam followed by 2” space then another 2” foam over and over. It’s not as efficient as netting or sand cause it clogs to the point of zero flow easier. Ideally you also want to keep all bio slightly suspended off the bottom of any surface to keep full flow through the entire media. Something as simple as say lighting diffuser stand covered with corse foam 1” thick with 5” sand on top. Or if using netting just place netting on top of diffuser. When media sits directly on glass or plexi you are not getting good flow all the way through.
With the setup you currently have Ben if I were to try something cheap.. simply keep your system exactly like it is. Turn your return pump down to say 100-200gph add two cheap dc wave makers like maybe Jeboa PP-8 one each end of tank facing each other and out on 30second alternating flows. Stop servicing your sump unless your sponge is completely clogged. Leave the rest of the sump alone. I bet you in 3 months you’ll have 1/2 the nitrates you do now and tank will be just as clean and fish just as happy.
Excellent points.