SeachemMatrix, 4 L / 1 gal.

Great product working well for my large aquarium

I purchased the 1 gallon sized Matrix due to the cost savings when split with a friend. We each got 2L of Matrix for our canister filters.This filter media works very well. My water is clear. My water tests all show good values, with no signs of ammonia, nitrate or nitrites. All fish are happy and thriving. My planted tank is looking great!I can't say how this will work over years, but for the last 2.5 months, this has been doing its job and the fish are all thriving.Maintenance thus far has been a bi-weekly rinse out of my filter sponges, and for the first time, a quick shake and rinse of the basket full of Matrix. I didn't scrub or do anything to remove more than the loose sludge that was sitting on the media. My sense is the less you do in disturbing the good bacteria, the better. Just need to clean out the gunk to allow for good water flow.I had some extra and added it to my son's 3 gallon tank filter. I can't say it's changed the world, but I would think it's helping in keeping those fish happy too.

This review is meant for both Seachem's Stability and Seachem's Matrix.I helped my son set up his 120 gallon African cichlid tank. We went through about 5 or 6 different filters and settled on an Eheim. From what we had learned from our research on tank setups we had understood that the filter media, once properly colonized, will remove ammonia and nitrites from the water but will not remove nitrates (ammonia gets converted by one kind of bacteria in the filter to nitrites and in turn another kid of bacteria will convert the nitrites into nitrates). The only way to reduce the nitrate levels is by either having live plants or even better, periodic water changes. We were also told that if we have a deep enough substrate then after about 6 months or so, if we get lucky, deep in the substrate will develop a bacterial colony that will help reduce the nitrates.As I continued my research I stumbled on to the Seachem web site. I was impressed by the specs of their Matrix product. It claimed to be able to support bacteria that will eliminate nitrates from the water. Great! Now all I have to do is buy this filter media, wait six months and I'm all set. Not only that, but from what I've read on the Internet, it could take up to two whole months for the ammonia and nitrites eating bacteria to properly develop.Well, luck for me, I found the Stability product. I added both the Matrix filter media and Stability to my setup (Stability needs to be added to the water on a daily basis for one week) and tested the water after one week. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the ammonia and nitrites levels had dropped down to 0! My son was telling me not to bother testing for nitrates because it's guaranteed that they'll be there. I tested anyway and guess what? Zero!This works like magic!

I have used Seachem Matrix for well over a year now, and I can say for a fact that it is by far the best media out there, and the results I have had using it prove it.Every bio media will give your filter the surface area to grow aerobic beneficial bacteria that convert ammonia and nitrites into nitrates. What's so special about Matrix is that each piece of the bio media is so porous yet dense that there are nooks and crannies in each piece that a special type of beneficial bacteria is able to grow, specifically anaerobic bacteria. This anaerobic bacteria consumes nitrates. This type of beneficial bacteria is one that can only grow in environments that are not oxygenated (which is why the porosity and nooks and crannies Matrix bring to the table are important).I keep African Cichlids (Mbuna specifically), which have a reputation for being some of the most demanding fish when it comes to bio load. I keep the tank stocked moderately, overfiltered, and chalked full of as much Seachem matrix as I can fit. Before switching to Matrix I was using the typical ceramic rings and doing weekly water changes. My Nitrates would get up to 30-40 PPM after 1 week with no ammonia and no nitrites. After switching to Seachem Matrix and giving the anaerobic beneficial bacteria a couple months to establish itself, it is a night and day difference. I test my water weekly. I was shocked to begin seeing a decline in the numbers on my nitrate tests. Probably around the 6 month mark or so, there began to be such a little amount of nitrates that I could skip water changes. I keep everything recorded in a spreadsheet and there was one point that I went 2.5 weeks without a water change and my nitrates were only at 25 PPM, KEEP IN MIND THESE ARE FULL SIZE MBUNA WITH NO PLANTS IN THE TANK. I still do weekly water changes and test my water weekly, but typically there is so little nitrates that it wont even register on a dip test strip and API registers between 0 and 5 PPM. Truly amazing.The proof is in the pudding, Seachem Matrix makes big claims and much like every other Seachem product, it backs them up. 10/10 would recommend, I will never run another bio media in any tank.

Works great