Biohome is known as a ‘SINTERED GLASS’ media as it is mostly constructed from special sand. This material is colonised much faster than ‘CERAMIC’ media which is made from clay.
The 3D shape with the highest surface area per volume is a sphere. Imagine a media made from thousands of tiny spheres, all different sizes. That is Biohome.
Biohome has been around for approximately 15 years but has been mostly sold in the Far East where keepers of Koi and Arowana appreciated its remarkable ability to process the waste generated from these demanding species. In 2012 the manufacturer of Biohome contacted Richard from the Pondguru channel on Youtube and asked him to take a look at the media which was incredibly popular in Asia but was still relatively unknown in the rest of the world.
As the Asian market tended to be skewed toward large tanks or nano systems the available forms of Biohome (Standard, Plus and Ultra) were perfect for many of the fish keepers there but the UK and US is different. Although extremely popular, fish keeping in UK and US tends to have many more ‘average size’ aquariums of between 100-300 litres capacity which are typically filtered by external canister filters.
As the extreme porosity of the ultra media is perfect for supporting aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in higher flow rates Richard suggested that the Ultra be made in a smaller form making it more suitable for use in the trays of external filters and ‘Mini Ultra’ was created.
With the combined knowledge of the biohome manufacturer and a chemist the perfect balance of size, porosity and performance was achieved resulting in the revolutionary Mini Ultra media which allows the full nitrogen cycle to be completed inside an external filter. A later improvement to the mini ultra (addition of trace elements for benefit of bacteria) resulted in Biohome Ultimate which allows for even faster bacterial colonisation and faster processing of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
Through years of Biohome being used in all sorts of aquariums and ponds the recommended amounts of Biohome needed to see a good reduction in nitrate (full cycle filtration) are as follows:
(100 litres is approx. 26 US gallons and 1kg = 2.2 lbs)
Average community tropical aquarium = 1kg (2.2 lbs) per 100 litres (26 US gallons)
Average coldwater aquarium = 1kg (2.2 lbs) – 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) per 100 litres (26 US gallons)
Goldfish aquarium = 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) – 2kg (4.4lbs) per 100 litres (26 US gallons)
Predator aquarium = 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) – 2kg (4.4 lbs) per 100 litres (26 US gallons)
Large cichlid / discus aquarium = 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) – 2kg (4.4 lbs) per 100 litres (26 US gallons)
Malawi / Tanganyikan aquarium = 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) – 2kg (4.4 lbs) per 100 litres (26 US gallons)
Marine aquarium = 1.5kg (3.3 lbs) – 2kg (4.4 lbs) per 100 litres (26 US gallons)
Average mixed fish pond = 1kg (2.2lbs) per 200 litres (52 US gallons)
Average koi pond = 1kg (2.2lbs) per 150 litres (39 US gallons)
Ammonia and nitrite will be reduced at much lower amounts but full cycle filtration is the only ‘proper’ filtration therefore the figures above are for the filtration job to be done properly resulting in more stable water conditions. REMEMBER – It is always better to over-filter than under-filter as a filter with a larger capacity will react more quickly to any pollution incidents and process waste before levels rise above safe amounts.
Having filtration capable of reducing ammonia, nitrite and nitrate reduces the need for water changes, allows for pH reduction and creates a much more stable environment than is possible with any other media.
Now there is a form of Biohome for every filter application and as Biohome is manufactured from sustainable materials (sand, trace elements and recycled glass) it is environmentally friendly, inert, allows for pH increase / reduction if necessary and will easily last 6-10 years at high efficiency in a properly set up filter.
You will not find a more environmentally friendly, efficient and cost effective media anywhere else.
