Bio-media How much?

[flukes]

Ok i have a box at the end of my tank, and I need to fill it with media, there will be a sponge ontop so that leaves 18"x4.5"x10" of space for biological media.
So how can i work out how much is enough, they sell 10ltrs of bio-balls here for $40 so i was wondering how much will 10ltrs do?
Should i use ceramic noodles instead? But again how much do i need?
Is there any calculations to work out how much surface area there is for bacteria and how much surface area is needed to filter "X" amount of water? Or is this just all guess work.

I think there is more than enough room, as this space is bigger than any cannister filter could hold. So should i just not bother with working out the exact amount and fill it with a mixture of bio-balls and ceramic noodles?

Cheers
Scott

[Chris McMahon]

1:30 is about right for bioballs, ie 1 litre of bioballs to 30 litres of water. If you have plenty of room for filter material then some people use gutter guard available for $2/roll from hardware stores.

If you're using a canister, then using more expensive media might be necessary, due to lack of space. There are products that offer greater surface area for more money. Up to $130/ltr for stuff like Seachem Purigen.

Look here (http://www.aquaria.com.au/cgi-bin/db/show?db=aquariacat&Section=Freshwater&Category=Filter+Media) for some idea of what's available.

[flukes]

dont need to point me in the direction of aquaria.com.au one site i will actually order plants/equipment though interstate, I got plenty of space. Thats not a problem. So if its 1:30, the tank is 225. Thats 7.5ltrs of media. I read a rating on some bioballs 1:50 and that the ehiem ones are 1:100. Might just see whats available, even if i fill 5ltrs of bioballs and just a thick layer of ceramic noodles at the bottom.

Well still have to clean the tanks first, the lady that owned these tanks i just got kept african with sand and they are dirty as all hell. The tanks are actually in perfect condition it just needs a bit of work to see it.

Back to the scrubing

Scott