Is SeaChem Matrix media Good?

[billybatz9]

Has anybody use seachem matrix media? Is it good?

[Mariaface]

It's basically like having live rock rubble. Only formulated to be more porous, I suppose? You still need to seed it, but after that it's large enough that you could even rinse it in tap water without compromising the bacteria inside very much. Make sure you keep it clear of debris, and only buy as much as you're going to need because you shouldn't need to replace it or add on later (unless of course the bioload goes up and you need more surface area.

[Azedenkae]

Yep, it is good.

 

I'd rather Marine Pure though, I find it better.

[hey]

im finishing my bottle of it and not going to replace it when I run out. I see no difference when using it vs not so why bother is my thought.

[glennr1978]

Which matrix, carbon or bio-media? I cant speak from any experience with their matrix carbon but I won't ever run a tank again with out bio matrix. Great stuff, IMO.

[hey]

Which matrix, carbon or bio-media? I cant speak from any experience with their matrix carbon but I won't ever run a tank again with out bio matrix. Great stuff, IMO.

how much are you using to the tank size?, I assumed it was the biomedia as well and I honestly see no difference but then again I run 50lbs of rubble in a 50g tank so the media may just not get the same effect as a smaller amount of live rock in a tank.

 

Also I run mine passively in the sump should it be receiving more flow?

[xiaoxiy]

Mine hasn't done any harm.

 

I don't run much liverock in my display, so I try to get use as much biomedia as possible in my sump.

[lkoechle]

I used the matrix in my old 20 reef and my current fresh water pico. I love it because it gives more area for bacteria. Can't ever have enough of that. And it's easier to keep clean then LR rubble

[happyhour99]

I've been using seachem matrix for a while, 8 gallon tank, 5 lb live rock, and a ton of matrix, My nitrates have been surpisingly stable, with very little nitrate creep. I've actually been lazy for the past month and haven't done any water changes, and has had no rise in nitrates. BUT my bioload is pretty small. 1 small clownfish about 1.5 to 2 inches long

[altiuscitius]

This is my matrix experience:

 

Ive got a 10gallon tank running for just over a year with a 4inch bicolour blennie, 2.5 inch ocellaris clown, a 1.5inch neon cleaner goby, a bloodred fire shrimp and a couple hermits and snails.

 

A bunch of mushroom corals and xenia. A large pipe organ coral. Some zoas. Some macroalgae. A ball of chaeto in a corner, some grape caulerpa and some random red types Im not sure what they are. So its definitely overstocked. (I have a 20inch, 34g cube that I've been slowly putting together for the last year that I'll be moving it all too, its just taking awhile to get going)

 

For filtration I have about 4 pounds of live rock and a hydor circ pump in the tank, and a canister filter, an eheim 2217 just jampacked with only matrix media and nothing else. I think it has 2 litres of media in there.

 

I sometimes go months without water changes (family issues, been a pretty crazy year, hence why its take me a year to get the 34g cube set up) and my nitrates have always been in the 0-5ppm range, just barely detectable with my salifert kits. Phosphate has never been detectable.

 

I attribute this partly to the macroalgae growth and partly to the matrix media, which Seachem says has just the right pore size to allow denitrification to occur, and my results agree with their claims. I feed really heavy. Like a cube of frozen food daily at night, and new life spectrum pellets and freeze dried cyclopeeze in the morning. Its almost an experiment to see how hard I have to push it to get nitrates building up. And I love all the life in the tank that comes from this sort of high bioload and not having a skimmer. There are multiple different types of pods, and sponges, dozens of tiny bristlestars, and featherdusters that are all thriving. I have some large (2inch diameter bright red fan) featherdusters that came in on one rock, and when Ive had low nutrient tanks with skimmers in the past, they would die out, but in high feeding no skimmer tank they are multiplying, I had one when I started and now I have four. Im attributing this to the lack of a skimmer pulling its food out of the water.

 

Also Ive gone up to 5 months without cleaning out the canister filter, and when I open it up, all I find is a bit of brown dust on the bottom of it, and a few bristleworms. I took it apart and rinsed all the media and I got less gunk out of it then I get out of a prefilter on the aquaclear of my freshwater tanks. So people who say you can never use a canister filter in a saltwater tank have never tried this media.

 

But who knows, its only been a year, maybe the system will crash any day.

 

But for my money, Id say that Seachem matrix is great replacement for live rock if your particular tank doesn't have much, for aesthetic reason or otherwise.

[farkwar]

The SeaChem Matrix appears to be like its ground up and rolled very expensive pumice stone.

 

 

 

Anyway, I was making frag plugs from Johns Reef Saver Rock. That stuff is ultra porous at all depths. So I crushed up a bunch and filled my sump biofilter media chamber. High speed up flow to help reduce accumulation of detritus. The water hitting this has been pre filtered 100micron sock, pre ZeoVit'ed(Vertex Z1.5), and pre protein skimmed(Vertex 150). Essentially the lowest amount of particulate water I can do. This one not running yet.

 

Ive done the same with the same size chamber, loaded with the Marine Pure Balls. 100 micron sock. No Zeovit. Crappy overrated SCA301 skimmer. This one is running. Upflow, but not fast enough throughput, so requires weekly stirring and basting to blow mulm off the balls. They have taken on a tan color as well, that matches the film algae in this tank. Hmmm.

 

While my Johns media looks like smashed up rocks, because it is. Not pretty as the Marine Pure, not round so stirring will be a chore. It is %100 Aragonite. And a fraction the cost of the Ceramic Marine Pure.

 

Double Double Plus Good. So we shall see, when the experiment really starts up.

[Drexellake]

It's awesome. I've been using it for years.

[farkwar]

It's awesome. I've been using it for years.

 

Is it pumice?

[Drexellake]

Is it pumice?

No. It's a porous inorganic solid. http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Matrix.html

[farkwar]

Ok. Pumice is a porous inorganic solid.

 

Why I asked.

 

Thanks.

[Drexellake]

Ok. Pumice is a porous inorganic solid.

 

Why I asked.

 

Thanks.

LOL It's not pumice. Just like most anything else rumors abound. It's top secret.

[glennr1978]

Ok. Pumice is a porous inorganic solid.

 

Why I asked.

 

Thanks.

 

 

LOL It's not pumice. Just like most anything else rumors abound. It's top secret.

 

 

It's pumice that has been acid washed to remove silicates, IIRC. Great stuff, regardless!

[glennr1978]

how much are you using to the tank size?, I assumed it was the biomedia as well and I honestly see no difference but then again I run 50lbs of rubble in a 50g tank so the media may just not get the same effect as a smaller amount of live rock in a tank.

 

Also I run mine passively in the sump should it be receiving more flow?

 

 

Sorry, I missed this. My big system is roughly 350g's and I think i've got something like 10 liters of matrix in my 20g refugium. i run it passively in very low flow (the refugium sits above the sump and is plumbed as if it were a display...the only flow is a mj1200 return pumping roughly 150gph, maybe less, and a koralia nano that goes for something like 250gph). I've also got probably 50lbs of LR rubble in there too. Needless to say, that 20g is basically jam packed. i barely have enough room to grow macro's in it. Nitrates have never been an issue but I did just have a po4 spike after a couple of fish died.

 

I can snap a pic if you want

[hey]

Sorry, I missed this. My big system is roughly 350g's and I think i've got something like 10 liters of matrix in my 20g refugium. i run it passively in very low flow (the refugium sits above the sump and is plumbed as if it were a display...the only flow is a mj1200 return pumping roughly 150gph, maybe less, and a koralia nano that goes for something like 250gph). I've also got probably 50lbs of LR rubble in there too. Needless to say, that 20g is basically jam packed. i barely have enough room to grow macro's in it. Nitrates have never been an issue but I did just have a po4 spike after a couple of fish died.

 

I can snap a pic if you want

 

thanks for the idea, I run about 1 liter passively right now in my 50 wondering if I would benefit from more or if it would just have diminishing returns, I mean I am pretty sure I have massive surface area the way I scaped my tank.

[glennr1978]

thanks for the idea, I run about 1 liter passively right now in my 50 wondering if I would benefit from more or if it would just have diminishing returns, I mean I am pretty sure I have massive surface area the way I scaped my tank.

 

There really isn't a down side to adding more but if your tank is doing well as it is then I see no reason why you would need to change anything.

[Drexellake]

It's pumice that has been acid washed to remove silicates, IIRC. Great stuff, regardless!

No, it's not. This is the email from Seachem I received a while back. Of course you could say they are lying, but I have never had a reason to suspect them of lying n over 25 years of using their products.

 

"Thank you for your email. Several of our customers have mentioned that Seachem Matrix looks like pumice, and indeed the base material for Matrix is a variety of porous stone, but no, it is not pumice. The difference is that not every porous stone is the same; Matrix is a specific type chosen for its porosity, pore size, durability, and inert nature. When you buy Matrix, you know what you are getting. It has been tested in the lab and in thousand of hobbyist's aquariums for more than a decade with excellent results. You aren't just purchasing the physical material when you buy a container of Matrix; you are purchasing the research which has sourced and tested this specific type of stone, and the assurance that it is safe for use in your aquarium. You also get support when, like now, you have questions about the product or if you need aquarium advice. You can't buy any of those things at a garden center or rock yard."

[glennr1978]

I like the part where they tell you the physical characteristics of matrix but not exactly what it is. Then in the very next sentence they state that you know what you're getting, lol. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of matrix and as I've already stated in this thread, I will never run another tank without it. It's great stuff for sure, whatever it is

[Drexellake]

I like the part where they tell you the physical characteristics of matrix but not exactly what it is. Then in the very next sentence they state that you know what you're getting, lol. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of matrix and as I've already stated in this thread, I will never run another tank without it. It's great stuff for sure, whatever it is

That's not how I read it. Being a business owner I know the importance of trade secrets. Why would they give you all of the info so you could possibly bypass them. No business does this. They are simply stating that you know what you're getting as in it's a clean quality product that's been researched and tested as apposed to buying lava rock or pumice at a local store that has not been.

[MrNanoReef]

I run Matrix in 75g tank, keeps nitrate in control, and it's Cichlid tank that poops heavily. I also run matrix in the 12g reef tank, just put them in mesh bags and throw them into the refugium.

[Drexellake]

I use it on my 75 g African Cichlid tank as well in one of the canister filters. Years ago I had a 120g Discus tank with a wet dry using bio balls when I ran into Nitrate and other water quality issues. A friend of mine who is into reef tanks suggested I change the bio balls out with Matrix. I did this and never had problems again. I've been using it ever since.

 

I also use half a liter mixed with live rock in my 10g sump on a 17g Mr Aqua.