sirdarksol

I've got a box of potting media for a hydroponic garden. It's supposed to be a neutral substance. Any ideas if this would work as a biological filtration media? It would fit perfectly in the AC cartridges for my BioWheel filter.

drumbum540

Hey! yes i'm pretty sure it would make a good biological filter media. mainly because it is porous and the bacteria will better grip in the ceramic. I don't think it will dissolve either. it is used for plants and plants need water so I think it will do fine when coming in contact with water. I hope I helped!

sirdarksol

Thanks for the help. My biggest concern is that it will have something that would be troublesome to fish. There's stuff in the dirt in my garden that would be harmful to my fish, but my plants love it. I was specifically wondering if anyone knew if this kind of stuff was neutral.

andy65

Take a bit of it and drip some plain vinegar on it. If it fizzes, don't use it it will mess with your Ph.
If it do not,then you should be fine.
I would give it a GOOD wash in LOTS of warm/hot water before I would put in my filter.

sirdarksol

Thanks. Had forgotten about that.
It only tests if the substance is alkaline, but it's an excellent start.

drumbum540

I'm sorry, I did not know that they were used pots. but yes, I agree and would test it with the vinegar.

Peterpiper

If it is made of Ceramic, you will have no issues using it in your bio filter.
You can get ceramic noodles at the lfs.

sirdarksol

They're not actually pots, or used. I was just using my gardens to illustrate that what's good for plants may not be good for the fish.
Thanks for the input folks, it seems like the general guess is it will be okay. We'll try it and see how it works out.

drumbum540

Okay, let me know how it goes!