I have a question for some folks who are "in the know" on media for a bakki shower.
I am aware of Bacteria House media, and also aware of the price for that product ($$$$$$$). I have found, however, that there are many knock-off versions of that product, most of which are not made to the same quality or are downright flimsy.
Today at a new koi store in Toronto, I happened across a bakki shower running on their main tank. It had a clear glass window so you could see the media inside. The owner informed me that it had been running for a little over a week and he quickly volunteered that the media inside was NOT Bacteria House, but rather a Chinese substitute. Knowing the variance in manufacturing, I asked for an explanation. He informed me that he had traveled to China and seen a couple of manufacturers, and was genuinely unimpressed. However, at his last visit, he encountered a much better quality media than he had seen, and while it still did not match the genuine article, the price it could be delivered for made it attractive to offer in his store.
He told me it is 100% ceramic, just as in the real product. Each piece measures approximately 6" x 1.5" (round) and is available in a square or rounded shape. Upon touching it and applying a little shearing force, I was only able to break off a couple small crumbs from the ends, which is to say that it felt quite durable to me, and not fragile enough that I can accuse the product of not being 100% ceramic as claimed.
The owner told me to take a piece home for free and test the durability under water flow for myself, as well as the "wicking" properties of the media. Apparently the higher quality media will hold quite a good volume of water and this helps demonstrate that the media is a porous as claimed.
I took the owner's offer and brought a piece home. My limited tests this evening have shown that yes, the product does "wick" up water a fair degree (as much as can be expected from ceramic, at least) and it holds about 3 - 5x its weight in water once it's been submerged for a short time. You can shake the media and hear it draining out... it sounds something like the last bit of water running down a drain. As for durability, while it appeared fine under heavy flow from my kitchen tap, I have placed the test piece in my waterfall and will leave it there for a few days before finalizing my thoughts.
For each 6" x 1.5" (round) piece, the price is $2.85 CAD, or about $2.25 USD. Based on my description above and my pictures below, I would be interested in hearing thoughts on if this will be a valid substitute for the genuine article. The total cost to fill a single 24" x 24" x 6" bakki shower tray will be about $395 CAD ($315 USD), so it's still enough that I'd like to know if anyone has any thoughts before I proceed. I think at best, I would fill 2 of my 3 shower trays with it, using Feather Rock for the upper tray to save some money.
Here are a couple pictures:
Please note that I am not affiliated with the manufacturer or seller, and have no financial interest in the product other than wanting to understand if it's worth the money. At this time, I do not endorse it in any way, but will be pleased to offer my opinion later in this thread if I go ahead with the purchase.