Apologies for the lack of videos in the last couple of months but I've pretty much broken my neck (going hard and crashing a few times while testing electric bikes) so haven't been in the best of form lately. Constant pain, very limited sleep, numb right arm and all that jazz.... Hopefully it will get more-or-less fixed this week so I can get back to full fitness. Chronological age = 52, Physical age (in my mind) = 18 .... which is a recipe for disaster. On a separate note I've had the full Athens University study arrive here at FilterPro HQ and through my rudimentary understanding of science-speak it looks like the Biohome media not only led to the total processing of ridiculously high levels of nitrite and nitrate (through aerobic and anaerobic bacteria activity) but it also detoxified the heavy metals (they threw all sorts of pollutants into the water) AND stabilized the pH when acidic water was added to the system - I'm not sure exactly how that happened but it may have had something to do with the added trace elements acting as a neutralizer of metal contaminants? - almost like a catalytic converter? (yes, I did have to look up how to spell 'catalytic'...) Please note: the Athens University study did NOT use a water conditioner which negatively affects the food bacteria needs to prosper. I've always advised that you should avoid using the likes of seachem prime / safe / API aqua essential / fritz complete or anything else which messes with the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate - a normal dechlorinator (e.g. API stress coat) is all you need to ensure that the water is safe for life and once the system is seeded you will never need to add bacteria again since it will have a self-sustaining population as long as it is being fed with the food it needs to thrive. I'm lucky enough to have had 10,000+ hours of communication and feedback from Biohome users all over the world (flat or ball) in the last decade or so and that has created the 'recommended amount' to use which has proved to be very accurate - the more feedback reports the better as far as I'm concerned since anyone can make up claims to sell products. Basically when enough Biohome media is used for the tank size and stocking situation you can expect a full cycle - 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. However when you use much less that the recommended amount (Kaveman?) or / and choose to use a damaging water conditioner (e.g. prime) (yup..) then the results will be no better than if you'd chosen plastic or ceramic media .... or pot scrubbers .... (due to the population of bacteria being severely limited by the food it needs being locked up). There is no lie in Nature - when we understand Nature and question 'the science' the filter will be efficient and effective since science is simply the study of Nature. A fair 'test' really does involve a basic understanding of Nature, listening to what the recommended amounts of media are to use and not holding the bacteria population back with damaging conditioners - if you 'need' to do an 80% water change every week and need to add bacteria along with a host of other 'treatments' then your filter is DEAD. If anyone reading this post has a science background and wants to take a look at the full Athens report so they can give me some detailed feedback (suitable for a simpleton) I would be very grateful since I don't want to make a video about the report until I can fully understand exactly what is being said in it. I will get the printed report digitized and uploaded to a specific page on the FilterPro website in the next few days. www.filterpro.co.uk/ Aaaaand...on an additional note I've just had a great report from Nathan at 'Cichlid Fanatics' on Instagram: www.instagram.com/cichlid_fanatics?igsh=Y3huNmRqYm… who has a 260 litre African cichlid tank (no plants) with the FX6 upgrade kit I have on the FilterPro site. Guess what? 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate in under 3 months ..... API stress coat used as the conditioner. Call me a coincidence theorist but all these positive reports about Biohome are forming a trend... As I didn't make a Christmas or New Year video wishing you all the best take this post as me wishing you all the best and also thanking you for listening to my boring voice, amateur editing and sproadic video output - all the best for 2025 and thanks for watching / reading.
Pondguru
Apologies for the lack of videos in the last couple of months but I've pretty much broken my neck (going hard and crashing a few times while testing electric bikes) so haven't been in the best of form lately. Constant pain, very limited sleep, numb right arm and all that jazz....
Hopefully it will get more-or-less fixed this week so I can get back to full fitness. Chronological age = 52, Physical age (in my mind) = 18 .... which is a recipe for disaster.
On a separate note I've had the full Athens University study arrive here at FilterPro HQ and through my rudimentary understanding of science-speak it looks like the Biohome media not only led to the total processing of ridiculously high levels of nitrite and nitrate (through aerobic and anaerobic bacteria activity) but it also detoxified the heavy metals (they threw all sorts of pollutants into the water) AND stabilized the pH when acidic water was added to the system - I'm not sure exactly how that happened but it may have had something to do with the added trace elements acting as a neutralizer of metal contaminants? - almost like a catalytic converter? (yes, I did have to look up how to spell 'catalytic'...)
Please note: the Athens University study did NOT use a water conditioner which negatively affects the food bacteria needs to prosper. I've always advised that you should avoid using the likes of seachem prime / safe / API aqua essential / fritz complete or anything else which messes with the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate - a normal dechlorinator (e.g. API stress coat) is all you need to ensure that the water is safe for life and once the system is seeded you will never need to add bacteria again since it will have a self-sustaining population as long as it is being fed with the food it needs to thrive.
I'm lucky enough to have had 10,000+ hours of communication and feedback from Biohome users all over the world (flat or ball) in the last decade or so and that has created the 'recommended amount' to use which has proved to be very accurate - the more feedback reports the better as far as I'm concerned since anyone can make up claims to sell products.
Basically when enough Biohome media is used for the tank size and stocking situation you can expect a full cycle - 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. However when you use much less that the recommended amount (Kaveman?) or / and choose to use a damaging water conditioner (e.g. prime) (yup..) then the results will be no better than if you'd chosen plastic or ceramic media .... or pot scrubbers .... (due to the population of bacteria being severely limited by the food it needs being locked up). There is no lie in Nature - when we understand Nature and question 'the science' the filter will be efficient and effective since science is simply the study of Nature.
A fair 'test' really does involve a basic understanding of Nature, listening to what the recommended amounts of media are to use and not holding the bacteria population back with damaging conditioners - if you 'need' to do an 80% water change every week and need to add bacteria along with a host of other 'treatments' then your filter is DEAD.
If anyone reading this post has a science background and wants to take a look at the full Athens report so they can give me some detailed feedback (suitable for a simpleton) I would be very grateful since I don't want to make a video about the report until I can fully understand exactly what is being said in it. I will get the printed report digitized and uploaded to a specific page on the FilterPro website in the next few days. www.filterpro.co.uk/
Aaaaand...on an additional note I've just had a great report from Nathan at 'Cichlid Fanatics' on Instagram: www.instagram.com/cichlid_fanatics?igsh=Y3huNmRqYm… who has a 260 litre African cichlid tank (no plants) with the FX6 upgrade kit I have on the FilterPro site. Guess what?
0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate in under 3 months ..... API stress coat used as the conditioner.
Call me a coincidence theorist but all these positive reports about Biohome are forming a trend...
As I didn't make a Christmas or New Year video wishing you all the best take this post as me wishing you all the best and also thanking you for listening to my boring voice, amateur editing and sproadic video output - all the best for 2025 and thanks for watching / reading.
10 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 46