The Next Generation Filter Media - look here

[An Ly]

hi Hansen, sounds like a great deal, you have the web. site for those bioballs
Thanks
An

[hansen]

this is his email mraquatic@sbcglobal.net

he sold me 3000pc 1.5 inch bio balls (black or blue) for 40.00 and 19.99 for shipping. so far that was the best deal that i could find. think i payed 50.00 for 1 cubic foot (150pc)back then when i was doing the salt water thing. lmk if it works out.

[JasPR]

still, the very best bang for the buck! Huge surface area. excellent void space and excellent packing properties and ---------very cheap! JR

[hansen]

JR, what does that run? $$$ ?

[gregbickal]

Quote: I like your Bio-Rope™ very much. You don't mind if I include it in my filter media comparison chart?

Of course you can

[JasPR]

Hi, Can't remember the exact amount? I buy it in bulk and it was so cheap that they hit me with a minimum charge to cover the hassle of shipping it! I'll see if I can find the last bill. Stay tuned. Best, JR

[Sallybet]

JR - what is that? And where do you get it?

[bekko]

James, did I ever tell you about bottle caps? They work much better than those bio-barrels and have more surface per cubic foot. I have bio-barrels too but they are made for sewage treatment and have huge voids so pieces of toilet paper do not constrict them.

-ste

[JasPR]

Bioballasts have been around for a generation and are used in both oil recovery area and in the waste treatment industry. In the 1980s they were being bought in bulk by ornamental fish industry folks and broken into small packaging for the hobbyist ( and then sold for a fortune!) and also used in TT applications at modern trout farms. The size is KEY, with the 1/2 and 1 inch castings giving the most surface space compared to the 'fist size' units made for waste treatment. Because they are made for massive applications, a typical order is by the truck load. I buy large boxes full ( almost the size of a home washing machine) for about $75. On this price you need to add a $150 'nuisance tax' in the form of a handling charge. But this is a fixed cost so it can be amortized over several boxes- this explains WHY I have six full unused boxed in my garage! LOls
These are ideal for TTs as they are untrapping, unlike bottle caps that would hold water pools and also be trapping ( a counter productive thing in a TT). A koi pond is about both organic and inorganic waste management and bottle caps will trap due to one closed end. They will also not allow for self cleaning the way a bioballast would. See picture below for packing characteristics of bioballasts--
Steve, the reason you would need blocking with TP in a waste treatment application is because they are non trapping and the flocs need both retention time and organic accumulation. We, on teh other hand , need the opposite for inorganic management. We separate out inorganic and organic processing and are therefore needing different applications.
One of the tests for a long term self sustaining biofilter is it's ability to cleanse itself. TTs give flow and spaced Jmat even give flow so that natural mechanical and genetically programmed sloughing ( a form of 'shedding' needed for healthy biofilm) of the biofilm surface can take place. A closed end bottle cap will not allow for this and organic fouling is greatly increased, changing the nature of the biofilm over time.
In addition, efficiency of a biofilm is directly effected by media design. You want eddies within and around biofilm- and NEVER any dead space. If one really wanted to use bottle caps then perhaps placing the caps on the bottle and using a hobby soldering tool to punch-heat several holes thru the top might create a better design.
JR

[Auntiesue]

Some folks here locally have had good luck using shotgun wads. There are many styles, you just need to pick one that doesn't have areas where gunk can collect. We are a big hunting state so they are cheap and easy to purchase at local sporting goods stores.

Some now are also bio-degradable so be careful which you select.