Compatible media

Need to purchase media for my fluval 405 canister filter.

Been using all fluval media so far which come with the filter from new. Looking on Ebay tonight and there is Compatible media for cheaper. (Fluval seems expensive really)

Anyone used compatible media before and found it reliable?

Im not an expert on this but i found this old thread. Thought it might help https://www.fishforums.net/threads/media-for-fluval-405.352362/

SRbettas said:

Im not an expert on this but i found this old thread. Thought it might help https://www.fishforums.net/threads/media-for-fluval-405.352362/

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Thanks for that

Do you mean the bio media or the sponges?

Food for thought....
I'm not sure exactly what media you are referring to...but there's nothing sacred about media brands...or media types for that matter. For example, many are convinced they need commercial bio-medias made of ceramic, rock, or plastic. I bought that media marketing hype for a time, but years ago I discovered that bio-sponge was every bit as good as ceramics, rocks, or plastics!!
So ALL my filters are filled ONLY with coarse, medium, and fine sponge material. Works great, cleans easily, lasts forever and a day.
(Many large fish rooms are run exclusively with air driven sponge filters - says a lot for the biological capability of the sponge!)

seangee said:

Do you mean the bio media or the sponges?

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Both really seangee. I had 4 filter sponges then 4 baskets with bio foam and biomax rings in.

Priced the fluval brands up and it was 50 pound to replace like for like. 25 for compatible brands

AbbeysDad said:

Food for thought....
I'm not sure exactly what media you are referring to...but there's nothing sacred about media brands...or media types for that matter. For example, many are convinced they need commercial bio-medias made of ceramic, rock, or plastic. I bought that media marketing hype for a time, but years ago I discovered that bio-sponge was every bit as good as ceramics, rocks, or plastics!!
So ALL my filters are filled ONLY with coarse, medium, and fine sponge material. Works great, cleans easily, lasts forever and a day.
(Many large fish rooms are run exclusively with air driven sponge filters - says a lot for the biological capability of the sponge!)

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Wow really so all the bio ceramic rings etc are just a load of hype then.

Im not that clued up with filter media. Ive just used what come with the filter from the start. I just changed carbon for the bio foam sponges.

So what would you recommend to put in my baskets? Just different grades of bio sponges.

These are what i had in 2 of my baskets

Ah just put 2 and 2 together. Is this for the tank with the unknown infection where you want to replace all the media? @AbbeysDad is right, there really is nothing in it.

seangee said:

Ah just put 2 and 2 together. Is this for the tank with the unknown infection where you want to replace all the media? @AbbeysDad is right, there really is nothing in it.

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Yes, ive stripped the whole tank and filter down today and give everything a deep clean.

Just trying to source all the supplies i need again now. So should i just put 4 more bio foam sponges in place of the 4 lots of ceramic rings would you say?

do those ribby type sponges have a benefit over flat sponges? ...I use reticulated flat foam sponge in my aquaclear 50 filter along with ceramics and a layer of filter floss...perhaps canisters are different and require different type sponges.

Fishmanic said:

do those ribby type sponges have a benefit over flat sponges? ...I use reticulated flat foam sponge in my aquaclear 50 filter along with ceramics and a layer of filter floss...perhaps canisters are different and require different type sponges.

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Fluval say the 3 Dimensional shape helps increases surface area better to help grow the good bacteria etc. I think they all do the same job in the end and theyve designed it this way so it easily fits all the size canisters they sell for a guess.

Russjw said:

Just trying to source all the supplies i need again now. So should i just put 4 more bio foam sponges in place of the 4 lots of ceramic rings would you say?

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Personal preference - whatever you prefer. One thing I can say for the fluval sponges is they are top quality. They quite literally last forever.

Personally I think the notion that the egg crate sponges have more surface area is incorrect. Imagine if we were to fill those valleys with sponge material, we'd effectively increase the actual surface areas that the BB would have to colonize. I think the idea came from a kindof two dimensional thinking rather than three dimensional.
As far as what to put in there, it's up to the hobbyist to decide. In the end, for BB, it's all about surface area,,,and bio-sponge has as much or more surface area than ceramics, rocks, or plastics.

EDIT: By the above, I mean that "surface area" is not merely the physical surface of a substance, but the surfaces within that the bacteria can adhere to. Consider gravel in the substrate. Bacteria would inhabit an entire 1" deep in the gravel particles (or as deep as there is available oxygen), not just the surface of the gravel.

AbbeysDad said:

Personally I think the notion that the egg crate sponges have more surface area is incorrect. Imagine if we were to fill those valleys with sponge material, we'd effectively increase the actual surface areas that the BB would have to colonize. I think the idea came from a kindof two dimensional thinking rather than three dimensional.
As far as what to put in there, it's up to the hobbyist to decide. In the end, for BB, it's all about surface area,,,and bio-sponge has as much or more surface area than ceramics, rocks, or plastics.

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Ive upped my bio sponges

Thanks for your help