Equipment Review and Discussion :: Suggested Media Combinations

[ashipyor]

I just purchased a Rena XP3 filter for my 30g tank and I was wondering what media combination to use. I was hoping people could post what their current meida combination they are using is. Thanks!

[BullDog]

Mine (Fluval FX5):
Top: Prefilter + coarse filter pad
Middle: Carbon + bioballs
Bottom: Biomax

[meltedspork]

I use (Fluval 304):
Side: 4 foam pads
Bottom: Prefilter
Middle: Biomax
Top: AmmoCarb

[Daniel3507]

Fluval FX5
top-prefilter with some bioballs
middle-carbon and fine filter pad
bottom-bioballs

[grem89]

Don't buy filter media from the petstore. Its way overpriced for what your getting. Ive talked with a lot of people who are big in the aquarium hobby and they never buy their filter media from the petstore. When it comes to bio media, go buy a bunch of those pot scrubbers from the dollar store. They work great and have lots of surface area. For mechanical filtration go to walmart and buy a pillow with polyester fill. I got two pillows with enough polyfill to last me forever for only 5 dollars. I do go to the store to buy carbon but i will stop using carbon soon because after you get a really good bio load growing in your filter, you wont need the carbon eventually. This will also help with your GPH flow because carbon media really slows it down significantly. I use all of this media with a sump i made with a couple cut up 5 gallon buckets and a 300gph pond pump. You loose almost no flow rate from your pump due to filter media with a sump. If you want pics of my sump setup let me know and ill get some up tonight.

[ashipyor]

Thanks to everyone who has posted so far.

@Grem...that is VERY helpful! I would love to see pictures and I'm sure others would as well. If you can post some that would be greatly appreciated!

[grem89]

im glad to have helped. Here is a great site on filter media types that i found very useful and money saving. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88677. ill get some pictures up of my sump this afternoon when i get done work

[TheComputerGremlin]

Alternatively, you can purchase your media online for good prices. You won't go through media that quickly, the only thing that needs replaced more often than the others is the Zorb. I have found a place called petsolutions.com that has the best prices I've seen, esp. if you buy 3 of everything. And if you go on the website, they have a place where you give them your email and you get the sales emailed to you. I'm still waiting for a free shipping event and then I'm spending like $50 to set me up with media for a long time! The other benefit of having the Rena is that you can purchase the media at the pet store when you are in a pinch, though.

[grem89]

which zorb pouch are you using? they have a carbon based one, a phosphorus removing one as well as a nitrate/nitrite/amonia removing pouch as well. Couldn't you just use a filter sock and fill it with bulk zeolite or activated carbon rather than buying one of their zorb pouches? I know you can buy a good sized container of carbon for about $10. But then again, if you have good biomedia with high levels of colonization you shouldn't need these pouches. Correct?

[BullDog]

But then again, if you have good biomedia with high levels of colonization you shouldn't need these pouches. Correct?

That was my exact question not too long ago. I got tired of paying $11 for 3 bags of Fluval's carbon (pet supplies were limited here, until just recently), so I hadn't replaced the carbon for several months. Seems most people here use carbon. I've never had a problem with carbon, but I've never had a problem when I didn't replace it either. Long story short, I was able to get my hands on some loose carbon and a media bag, and have been using that since. And now, there's a new pet store in town, and they've got a better selection, where I can buy a big tubbo of loose carbon for a reasonable price (About $15 I think).

[Chrisbarnett]

In my opinion carbon is wasted space in your filter.

All you really need is bio media and mech filtration.

In my fluval 404 I have from top to bottom:
Water polishing media-filter floss and pantyhose micron filter.
Biomax
Biomax
Ceramic prefilter(completely useless in the fluval since water passes through foam first.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I use the biochem zorb and replace it when the tank starts smelling. For whatever reason, my tank starts to get stinky after about 3 months, replace the zorb and the stink is gone. I don't have the patience to buy the loose stuff right now, maybe someday when I want to save the extra money!

[grem89]

ill have those pictures up tonight of my sump. Photobucket kept freezing when i tried to upload pictures to it last night

[grem89]

Here are the baskets i made from the bottoms of the 5 gallon buckets i cut up.
In the bottom bucket i have my bio media (aka pot scrubbers and some ceramic rings to fill in the gaps. In the second basket I have a large mesh bag of lots of carbon and some zeolite (not shown but i have this in there temporarily while my tank cycles and i get a good bio load). Ill remove the carbon and zeolite in another 4 weeks. In the top basket i have my polyfill which is just the polyester filling from a pillow i bought at walmart.
There is a hole that runs through all of the baskets with the tube that is connected to the pump in the bottom of the 5 gallon bucket which acts as the return line.
Here is the system put all together


To get a syphon going i have an intake line in the tank that i suck the air out to get the water flowing into the bucket (like your syphoning gas from a tank). The key to sumps is that you match the intake to the output of the pump. I still have yet to build a proper overflow for the system but it works 10x better than my previous homemade canister filter.