Eheim Substrat Pro - anyone used it? Know where I can get in JHB?

I want to buy some eheim substrat pro and place it in my rear compartment of my tank to act as the filter.

Does anyone know and LFS's in JHB that sell it?

 

VIP Northgate. Take a big wallet with IIRC it aint cheap

 

its for such a small tank, is there something else I could substitute it with that isn't quite as expensive? I only need a small amount maybe they have small packets

 

The good stuff isn't cheap. Seachem Purigen? Sera Siporax?

 

Theres a place here in Cape Town that sells 250ml for R245! I bought a load back in the UK last June and paid roughly the same for 8L of the Subsrate Pro, and 4L of the Ceramic Tubes! Its rediculously expensive here! Maybe PM Henk Hugo? He may be able to point you to somewhere cheaper??

Be careful using Seachem Purigen as this is not just a filter substrate but a chemical used to strip the water of all compounds and trace elements. Whilst thats good for some things, used as a perminent substrate, would most likely remove all beneficial chemicals and the nutrients plants need from the water altogether!

Maybe you could try some of the Fluval Susbtrates? A fair bit cheaper than Ehiem! Maybe not quite so good, but certainly cheaper!

If all else fails, just use different density sponges, and try and get hold of a Filter Bacteria additive to place on the sponges and speed up colonisation. Again Henk Hugo or Veegal can help you here! They have imported some new stuff called Microblift, that is supposed to be better than the dogs dangly bits!

Cheers
Big G

 

seachem purigen is not a filter media that can be used instead of eheim substrat pro.

purigen is 'chemical' media while substrat pro is biological

how can chemical media be substituted for bio media :sick:

furthermore, how does one recommend such a media without 1st understanding the dynamics of the aquarium it will be used in? this particular aquarium is a planted tank and the guy is dosing Seachem Excel... What value is the seachem excel if there is purigen in the filter???


now, the closest alternative to eheim substrat pro offering similar surface area properties for bacteria is hydroton, which costs R15 for 1L...

 

Ahmed, do you have any proof that hydroton is on the same sort of level as substrat pro in terms of porousness?

 

research it...

my proof is in my tanks which all run on Hydroton.

 

Sorry, I've never heard of Hydroton before! May be worthwhile looking into! For now, I have bags of Substrate Pro, so not something I'll need for a while!

Cheers Dolph!
Big G!

 

Eheim Substrat Pro and Seachem Matrix

I must agree with Ahmed's first reply - Seachem Purigen is not a traditional filter media (such Eheim Substrat Pro) as used for the colonisation of bacteria in biological filtration. It is however an excellent product if used for the intended application.

I use both Eheim Substrat Pro and Seachem Matrix with the latter intended as a bacteria colonisation media. Seachem did however publish a comparison claiming in open domain, that Matrix has substantially more colonisation surface area than Substrat Pro.

See: http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Matrix.html

Quote: BET surface area measurements indicate that Matrix™ contains nearly 10 times the specific surface area of Substrat Pro, and more than 20 times the specific surface area of MicroMec. Practically all the specific surface area of both Substrat Pro and MicroMec are in the range of pore diameters to be biologically useful, while some of the surface area of Matrix is in pores that are reserved for physical and chemical processes, not biological processes. Estimates from two different pore geometries indicate that Matrix contains between 4 to 4.5 times the biologically active surface area of Substrat Pro, and between 8 to 9 times the biologically active surface area of MicroMec.

 

Wow, that's quite interesting... I don't think I've actually ever seen the Matrix product though... I'll have a look for it when I go to the LFS again...

 

I'm dosing excel and have recently bought and installed purigen because the link below says that purigen does not absorb excel.

http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/showthread.php?t=1860

 

01-21-2008, 08:58 AM #8 (permalink)

Seachem
Sponsor

​

Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Madison, GA
Posts: 917

iTrader Ratings: 0

​

Plant Points: 35740
Re: Purigen And Silicates
Purigen specifically removes organic nitrogenous waste, so it should not remove these medications. However, it is generally a good practice to remove chemical filtration when medicating.




see the full thread here
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/seachem/46193-purigen-silicates.html

based on the above statement, you "should" consider how much of the excel "could" be adsorbed by purigen...

I'd rather not stop to juggle between the shoulds or should nots when I dose or when I recommend how someone else must dose... I'd like to know that what I dose is in the tank and doing what its supposed to be doing...


My CO2 ran out last week and I've been running my main tank exclusively on Seachem Excel since then and its a forest with all plants (except carpet plants) breaking the surface... I dont know if that would be their condition if there was purigen in there...

 

I'd have to agree with Dolphin on this one.

My plants suddenly exploded the last few weeks. I haven't been able to recharge the purigen, as I been away, then home for 2 days, then away, then home for 2 days, and then away again. So the Purigen pretty much exhausted itself, and suddenly the plants have exploded whan I put in the liquid fertz now!

 

From what I've read over the last couple of years, there's as many people that will say one thing, and just as many that will say the exact opposite. I guess the challenge is to find what works for you and stick to it.

I was dosing with excel and fertz for awhile and got decent growth. Now I've introduced purigen, and the water is very clear. I've maintained a similar dosing regiment and get the same plant growth...as far as I can see.