{"product_id":"seachem-matrix-500-ml-17-fl-oz","title":"Seachem Matrix 500 mL \/ 17 fl. oz.","description":"\u003cp\u003eMatrix\" is a high porosity biomedia that provides efficient biofiltration for  the removal of nitrogenous waste. Matrix\" is a porous inorganic solid about 10  mm in diameter. Each liter of Matrix\" provides as much surface (\u0026lt;~700 m2) as 170  liters of plastic balls! Plastic bio-materials provide only external surface  area, whereas Matrix\" provides both external and internal macroporous surface  area. These macropores are ideally sized for the support of nitrifying and  denitrifying bacteria. This allows Matrix\", unlike other forms of biomedia, to  remove nitrate along with ammonia and nitrite, simultaneously and in the same  filter. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cimg border=\"0\" src=\"\/seachem\/SEA-103-desc.jpg\" width=\"284\" height=\"284\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Matrix\" is completely inert and will not breakdown. It need not be replaced.  Since the majority of the bacteria are internal, Matrix\" may be rinsed when  needed without damaging the filter. Matrix\" is compatible with all types of wet  or wet-dry filters.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sizes: 100 mL 250 mL, 500 mL, 1 L, 2 L, 4 L, 20 L, 100 L \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Directions\u003cbr\u003e Use 500 mL of Matrix\" for each 200 L (50 gallons*) of water. Matrix\" may be  placed in any kind of filter, and is particularly effective in a canister  filter. Matrix\" is sufficiently large that no filter bag should be required for  most applications. Matrix\" works well in drip tray systems, but you may find  that the larger Pond Matrix\" is better suited for such applications.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Surface Area of Matrix, Eheim Substrat Pro, and JBL MicroMec\u003cbr\u003e Two competitors, Eheim (Substrat Pro) and JBL (MicroMec) have advertised their  own biological filter media (in both cases, sintered glass) and are claiming  larger specific surface areas than our claim for Matrix.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e For biological filter media, specific surface area (measured as surface area per  gram of material, or surface area per some specified volume of material) is very  important. These products provide surface sites for bacteria to attach and do  their work. The greater the surface area per gram of medium, the greater the  number of bacteria that can attach. Thus a high specific surface area is  desirable. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e There is a second consideration, and that is the size of the pores in the  medium. Generally, with very large pore diameters, we have smaller specific  surface area, so that is not good. This generally rules out pores above 10  microns in diameter. But we can go too far in the other direction. If we have a  very large number of very, very small pores, then our specific surface area  number will be phenomenal, but the medium will not work very well as a  biological medium. This is due to physical limitations, specifically too small a  volume to support bacterial growth, and the decreasing efficiency of fluid  transport (necessary to carry nutrients to the bacteria and waste away from the  bacteria) with very small pore sizes. (Small pores still play important roles in  physical and chemical processes, such as adsorption.) \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e For a more in depth report on this study, click here.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Directions\u003cbr\u003e Use 500 mL of Matrix\" for each 200 L (50 gallons*) of water. Matrix\" may be  placed in any kind of filter, and is particularly effective in a canister  filter. Matrix\" is sufficiently large that no filter bag should be required for  most applications. Matrix\" works well in drip tray systems, but you may find  that the larger Pond Matrix\" is better suited for such applications.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Seachem","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41721780273198,"sku":"SEA-113","price":7.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0583\/4276\/8686\/files\/11748.jpg?v=1765980847","url":"https:\/\/mattscorals.com\/products\/seachem-matrix-500-ml-17-fl-oz","provider":"Matt's Corals","version":"1.0","type":"link"}