• We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

The experiment has begun!

I remember back when the pot scrubbers for aquarium media started, and never quite understood the logic. To save money?

Yeah, I remember puzzling over that trend when it first arose. I had no interest in trying them out myself; they just seemed way too expensive for me...:)


While it may be true that not all aspects of the hobby can be made 'cheap', some, including filter media can. 25 years ago the quantity and quality of everything was top notch, and the prices were resonable too, unlike today, where low quality products are being sold for sky rocketing prices.

I certainly recall the way things were 25 years ago, but...I know you don't! :)

Trust me, 25 years ago there was plenty of crap on the market, and much of it was overpriced for what it was. The old adage "you get what you pay for" was intended to mean that if you buy the cheapest crap you can, you will end up with especially cheap crap. It should also mean that paying for quality gets you quality. While these simple observations can often be true, it's also true that thoughtful analysis can save money on almost any purchase, and that there are plenty of high-value bargains and also plenty of over-priced over-hyped crap on the market. Buyer beware.


I have no problem with anyone looking to save money. I also never bought into the hype that many still do, that being that you need shovel fulls of bio media for every fish swimming in a glass box. lol

Dang...beat me to it again! I wonder if it might have something to do with the fact that you used about the same number of words as I used of sentences...:)
 
First of all i remember mentioning in my first post that this is the phase of my experiment. Eventhough @Midwater and @Backfromthedead mentioned that these pot scrubbies may require several months or years to rust i still wanted to personally see how quickly do these rust, thus the phase 1. If they don't within a week then i will remove my old filter media and add few more metal pot scrubbies.

Second, i am not risking the lives of my fish. The reason behind using only three metal pot scrubbies and conducting the experiment in 500 gallons of water is that any toxins produced will be small in quantity and will take time to affect my fish. If the fish act lethargic or/and stop feeding, swimming, etc then i will be sure there are toxins in water. I will also keep testing the water regularly.

Btw my pond has large fish thus i will take each and every step with my filter carefully just to make sure that nothing dangerous happens.
 
. The plastic ones will degrade faster than steel ones
Are you sure about that have plastic scrubbers in one of the drawers of a w/dry
Trickle filter sump over 10 years now.
I suggest doing the experiment on a separate aquarium.
 
For your sake and your fishes, I hope your experiment goes well. I'm just not sure there's an upside here. I personally agree that biomedia is overhyped and overpriced but am in the camp that believes there is likely plenty of surface area in tank and substrate etc, filter floss, plants, anything you have in your tank, for bb to grow that we likely don't need biomedia at all. If that doesn't suffice I think the amount we need is likely far less than many try to shove into their systems.

Then we move on to the media of choice. I get looking for cheaper alternatives, but there are other cheap alternatives that don't involve plastic or metal. Others have posted using lava rock, crushed coral, pea gravel, crushed seashells, and other such media which seem far safer, and cheap and available in most places.

And finally I'm not sure how you're going to determine that the bacteria are colonizing the pot scrubbers. Even if you removed all other pot scrubbers or "biomedia" from a tank, there is so much surface area in your system, I can't remember if you have substrate or not, but surely you've got some kind of filter floss or sponge or sock, etc and any rockwork, especially porous rock etc. that I don't see any way to prove that it's doing anything besides whther or not it deteriorates in your system. By all means tinker and fiddle, document and photograph, and report back any info there is to report but frankly you could pop a few fake plants in your pond to add the same amount of surface area and no one would claim they were revolutionizing the biomedia system by doing so.
 
Are you sure about that have plastic scrubbers in one of the drawers of a w/dry
Trickle filter sump over 10 years now.
I suggest doing the experiment on a separate aquarium.
The only other aquarium i have is a growout tank with some more valuable fish so i won't risk it. As for your other questions my plastic pot scrubbies are feeling brittle more and more each time i take them out for cleaning
For your sake and your fishes, I hope your experiment goes well. I'm just not sure there's an upside here. I personally agree that biomedia is overhyped and overpriced but am in the camp that believes there is likely plenty of surface area in tank and substrate etc, filter floss, plants, anything you have in your tank, for bb to grow that we likely don't need biomedia at all. If that doesn't suffice I think the amount we need is likely far less than many try to shove into their systems.

Then we move on to the media of choice. I get looking for cheaper alternatives, but there are other cheap alternatives that don't involve plastic or metal. Others have posted using lava rock, crushed coral, pea gravel, crushed seashells, and other such media which seem far safer, and cheap and available in most places.

And finally I'm not sure how you're going to determine that the bacteria are colonizing the pot scrubbers. Even if you removed all other pot scrubbers or "biomedia" from a tank, there is so much surface area in your system, I can't remember if you have substrate or not, but surely you've got some kind of filter floss or sponge or sock, etc and any rockwork, especially porous rock etc. that I don't see any way to prove that it's doing anything besides whther or not it deteriorates in your system. By all means tinker and fiddle, document and photograph, and report back any info there is to report but frankly you could pop a few fake plants in your pond to add the same amount of surface area and no one would claim they were revolutionizing the biomedia system by doing so.
I appreciate you guys showing concern for my fish. If there are any negative signs in my fish then i will abandon this experiment. But for the sake of science and my own knowledge i will continue.
 
I smoked cig’s for 40+ years before the toxic effects showed up.
 
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