Dick,
I basically do exactly what you describe with regards to aeration. On the egg crate under the J-mat there are perforated tubes that pass air up through the J-mat keeping it relatively free of detritus. Plus the Static K1 means the water coming into the chamber will be much cleaner as well.
I might add that because of the nature of nitrification the matting will always be building up a layer of dead cells withing the matting even if the water entering was absolutely particle free. These will come loose to a greater of lesser extent every time you agitate the matting. So by not meants will you ever get it completely without maintainance. I still does need a good rinse every now and again.
Teddy, instead of reposting all the info, here is a link were you can read it as a whole. The problem I have seen with using the whole vortex is that it give the crap no place to settle before it mixes with the K1. This makes cleaning much harder. Also if you suffer from even a little bit of stringy algae, it cannot be washed out of the K1 and just gets caught up and rots. With an interal van (much like an EASY) the junk stays outside the K1 and can be flushed to waste.
http://www.koiquest.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=748
B.Scott