Seachem Matrix Bio Media 1 Liter

I am using one big bag of Seachem matrix in my refugium for biological filtration. I have never seen any issue with nitrates and phosphates in my tank. I don’t use any skimmer... just the bio filtration. I do think that part of my tank success goes to Sechem Matrix.

After reading the feedback from other buyers I can only say Ive lucked up with receiving a full bottle. By no means am I as experienced in the hobby as everyone else so I may not know about the actual performance of this product but through reading I do expect to enjoy some benefits from this.

When you first open the bottle you will think you just bought a bottle of expensive grey pebbles, but this shit is actually awesome. I decided to try it on a whim to see if it would help keep nitrates under control. I put it in my media basket, added some extra bacteria to the tank for a few days, and a few weeks later its hard to detect any nitrates in the tank. This has stayed consistent for months now. My bio load is moderate, I already use a skimmer, have an active clean-up crew and I feed somewhat heavily. I could easily go months without water changes... but I still do them bi-weekly for overall tank health. I have read slow-ish flow over the matrix media may provide optimal efficiency, but I havent experimented much because the results are already good.

Large bottle enough for least 6 months, this media is great and transformed my tank that I had let get away from me. I will say my water has looked clearer after using this than other media. After exhausted you can leave it and it will continue to be your biological media after. 2 uses with no change on your part.

Excelllent

I have an adult RES male who if Im being honest didnt have a proper setup for a VERY long time. Ive been chipping away at investing in a better remainder of his life for him and this was a very nice thing to have! Ive been using it for about a year now and its really helped grow the bacteria needed to keep his water level stable and healthy. I havent needed to use much of it either, although I will probably be adding more soon!

While it did seem a bit dusty at first, Ive had no problem with it clouding up the aquarium at all. Ive get to do a filter change since receiving it, but the water is still beautifully clear after over a month of running. Theyre wonderfully absorbent and have plenty of surface area. I will remind you that it is one liter, which is half of a two liter bottle of soda. The size took me by surprise, but that was my own mistake. One bottle filled one of the chambers in my 175 gallon canister filter.

The bio media was a good size. I did not need break it into any smaller pieces. I recommend rinsing before placing into aquarium, it can make water little cloudy without rinsing.

A lot more in the container than expected! I got 2 for my three canister filters. A bit more than a 1.25 of a litre. It is natural rock so there was a few rocks that I not look like they had pours in the rock so decided to toss them out. Just the lid’s worth of cast off. Surprised that their quality control is so lax that that many black rocks would get through in a white product. Since I am replacing bio media already in an established tank I’m doing it 1/4 at a time. So every week and a half I am doing doing another 1/4th so that the existing bio media is not wiped out in a huge swap.

These works great at removing ammonia and nitrite. Remember the end product is nitrate at the end of the nitrogen cycle which is actually not broken down by beneficial bacteria but by plants. Ammonia - toxic to fish Nitrite - toxic to fish Nitrate - tolerable by fish even at semi high levels If you have plants in your aquarium and use sachem matrix it would greatly reduce water changes. I actually change water 6 months- 1 year in my 135 gallon tank and only 20-30% as a result of not chemical buildup but by mineral deposits left by water evaporation. These makes water crystal clear. Make sure to test your water every 2-4 weeks to make sure your water parameters are good. Petco has free aquarium water testing Take a look at the nitrogen cycle here: [...]