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Re: bioballs and ceramic rings
BC writes <<The ceramic ring on the other hand is good in terms of surface
area. These rings have varied porosity depending on the material. I have
came across Sera Siropax which is extremely porous and has very high
surface area per unit volume. These type of design is good for canister
type filters where the water fully fill the pores. However, these rings
have limited lifespan as these pores will get clogged. >>
I'm pretty sure that Siporax rings are glass make with a sintering process
(like Eheim's Ehfisubstrat) and not ceramic. Unlike Eheim, the makers of
Siporax claimit doesn't need replacing. However, someone on a BB said they
e-mailed the company, who replied that their "research" was one tank
running a few years. (Of course you can leave these pricey media in place
when their internal surface is clogged and they still function more or less
like the other balls and ceramic rings -- a tank's biofilter wouldn't
fail.) I've seen suggestions about reclaiming sintered glass -- boiling,
microwaving -- but I doubt these would do more than clean the outside. I
see no way that a biofilm could slough off and flow out of the micropores
and micro-fissures of sintered glass. Had I to do our tank over I would go
with all Ehfimech for our Eheim -- easy to clean and more than enough
reserve area for a planted tank with a large fish load.
Jared
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jared Weinberger
http://www.brainyday.com/jared