Filter media and Beneficial bacteria myth

Hi, thanks for sharing. :) Looks like good stuff. Great reviews and good price. I currently have a seeded sponge that I'm ready to change out. Does Fluval media come with a mesh bag to keep it encased together, or does it float freely in the filter? Also, curious if it's easy to rinse (in aquarium water) when needed? Thx!
Doesn't come with a bag, I make my own...once bagged, very easy to rinse in old tank water
 
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What about the Hamburg Mattenfilter. Best filters I have ever used, I use Poret foam for mine. The foam is the key.

The Mattenfilter, Hamburg Mattenfilter, or foam sheet filter design dates back to the 1960s in Germany. According to various reports, the filter was invented by aquarists near the city of Hamburg, hence the name “Hamburger Mattenfilter” or “HMF”. While the basic design has changed very little, the parts used today are longer lasting. Reticulated polyurethane foam invented in 1956 made the design possible. Producing reticulated polyurethane foam is a two-step process: regular polyurethane foam is produced and then the membranes of the foam are removed by combustion. This creates a maze of polyhedral cell struts without windows and a very large surface. In terms of weight/volume and specific surface area, polyurethane foams surpass most other filter media.

Filter community

The term filter for a Mattenfilter is actually misleading. The purpose of the foam is not to filter the water as is often assumed. The foam serves as the habitat for a vast array of microorganisms that include bacteria, archaea, worms, ciliates, flagellates, and many others. These microorganisms live in a community that is based on biofilms. The biofilms are created by bacteria that secrete extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), which is often called “slime”. The community forms a bioreactor that processes the waste and turns it into food and energy for its members, and ultimately into organic or inorganic products that are then used by plants, evaporate, or removed by water changes. It takes a considerable amount of time to establish this “filter community”; consequently, it is very important not to disturb it unless absolutely necessary. The brown filter sludge in a filter is for the most part alive and not simply waste. Removing this mud does more harm than good. The Mattenfilter with its large inflow area and specific surface is ideal to maintain the filter community long term since it works for years.

Mattenfilter working principle

The Mattenfilter works like the soil, sand, and gravel layers along creeks and river banks. This area is called the riparian zone from the Latin term ripa = river bank. Sediments are trapped, which creates clear water, and dissolved pollutants are processed by microorganisms, which improves water quality via biofiltration.

The Mattenfilter replaces the riparian zone in the aquarium. Since riparian zones work best when undisturbed, Mattenfilters should not be cleaned, unless the water flow get visibly reduced (i.e. the water level behind the sheet drops).

Also, it is nitrospira not Nitrobacter which converts nitrite to nitrate in aquariums. Neither is anaerobic. The Nitrobacter rquired higher level of nitrite to thrive than is found in aquariums.

Hovanec, Timothy & DeLong, E. (1996). Hovanec T, DeLong E.. Comparative analysis of nitrifying bacteria associated with freshwater and marine aquaria. Appl Environ Microbiol 62: 2888-2896. Applied and environmental microbiology. 62. 2888-96. 10.1128/AEM.62.8.2888-2896.1996.
Link to paper

Hovanec, Timothy & Taylor, Lance & Blakis, Andrew & Delong, Edward. (1998). Nitrospira-Like Bacteria Associated with Nitrite Oxidation in Freshwater Aquaria. Applied and environmental microbiology. 64. 258-64. 10.1128/AEM.64.1.258-264.1998.
https://journals.asm.org/doi/full/10.1128/aem.64.1.258-264.1998


Nitrification
B.B. Ward, in Encyclopedia of Ecology, 2008

"Nitrification is the step in the nitrogen cycle that links the oxidation of ammonia (produced from the degradation of organic matter) to the loss of fixed nitrogen in the form of dinitrogen gas. It is performed by a few different groups of microorganisms, including the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, the ammonia-oxidizing archaea, and the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. These microbes are all aerobes and are predominantly autotrophic."

from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/nitrification
 
I use the Marineland ceramic rings or whatever. I bought a set of mesh bags off ebay many years ago and they have lasted fine until this day.
 
To bag ceramic media, I use nylon mesh bags that I get from the grocery store, lots of different items are sold in them....wash well before use, and use zip-ties on each end of the bag...cheap and easy...one bag will make 3 or 4 media bags, depending on the original size...see below for an example
 

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To bag ceramic media, I use nylon mesh bags that I get from the grocery store, lots of different items are sold in them....wash well before use, and use zip-ties on each end of the bag...cheap and easy...one bag will make 3 or 4 media bags, depending on the original size...see below for an example
Good idea. Thanks!
 
I'm wondering what, exactly, is the 'myth' here?
Many filters come with sponges.
These act as both mechanical filters AND, once the BB is established, biological filters.
That isn't a myth, it is a fact.
Nothing 'gimmicky' about it.

Granted, there may be better media upon which to grow the BB, but I don't think that was the main thrust of the original post.
But...sponges do have a lot of surface area and the finer the sponge, the more surfaces it has.

I've never had any difficulty pulling out a mucky sponge, giving a good squeeze or three in water from the tank and then putting it back.
Aeons ago, a microbiologist friend of mine tested different media for bacterial count and concluded that sponges appeared to hold more bacteria than old carbon and easily more than the plastic 'noodles' that were appearing to dominate the market at the time.
 
Of course ! Cheeeaaaper than "rings".


Yes but not enough porous. And needs to be cleaned regularly and replaced. Not "rings".
Whilst I'm happy to accept that some rings are way better, I've found cleaning a sponge in tank water can shift a large amount of detritus, without impacting on the BB.
 
Long ago I bought into the marketing hype for bio-medias be they pumice, ceramics, plastics or whatever. However, in time I came to realize that these were all just cash cows for manufacturers that offer no more surface area than bio-sponge material. Newer hobbyists are all but brain washed by a profit motivated industry that convinces them the beneficial biology only lives in their specialized media. Some even go so far as to claim that there are internal areas that support anoxic/anaerobic bacteria to convert nitrates. There is no objective evidence, merely anecdotal claims. In reality, as mentioned, culturing anoxic/anaerobic bacteria is very difficult in the highly oxygenated aquarium.
ALL of my filters are COMPLETELY filled with sponge material and I only clean when the output flow is noticeably reduced, and then I clean only enough to restore flow. The method to my madness is that beneficial bacteria and microbes establish bio-film in the filter that improves water quality. Excessive cleaning merely upsets the 'bio-cleansing machine'. Now in addition I have a 2-3" sand substrate and leverage fast growing floating plants - all to enhance water quality (see The Very Best Aquarium Filter). But none of the above negates the need for routine partial water changes as "there's no such thing as too much fresh, clean water"! :)
 
Seems everyone has differing opinions. I've tried mostly sponges and mostly hard media. Sponges just got filthy quicker and cycles bumped way easier when changing tanks or when there was any type of hiccup such as a power outage. With just the bio rings, I still have perfect water quality and never have to clean sponges. So I saw no need for the sponges and stopped using them. I can even clean the bio rings in tap water and it not kill the beneficial bacteria nearly as much as the sponges because it is seemingly embedded deeper. Rinse a sponge in tank water and it's over. Horrible cycle bump. Trust me I learned this ages ago.
 
Seems everyone has differing opinions. I've tried mostly sponges and mostly hard media. Sponges just got filthy quicker and cycles bumped way easier when changing tanks or when there was any type of hiccup such as a power outage. With just the bio rings, I still have perfect water quality and never have to clean sponges. So I saw no need for the sponges and stopped using them. I can even clean the bio rings in tap water and it not kill the beneficial bacteria nearly as much as the sponges because it is seemingly embedded deeper. Rinse a sponge in tank water and it's over. Horrible cycle bump. Trust me I learned this ages ago.
Surely you have that wrong way around..?
Washing media in unconditioned tap water WILL kill ALL bacteria...that's the whole purpose of chlorine/chloramine in our drinking water!
Washing media in tank water will do no such thing.
 
That actually isn't true... especially with pond media. I blast my pond rings with the hose and I can take those same rings and bring them inside and they still hold enough beneficial bacteria to instantly cycle a tank. I've done this several times so I know I am correct. Maybe TANK media will not hold its beneficial bacteria but never had an issue with my pond media.
 

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