EHEIM FilterMec or FilterBio filter media for pond filters
Regular price
¥3,000
Regular price
Sale price
¥3,000
Unit price
/
per
¥1,000 × 3 with no fees
Klarna.
These two EHEIM media are used in LOOP, LOOPpro and PRESS pond filters. FilterMec, made of plastic spirals, traps particles; FilterBio, made of highly porous sintered quartz granules, houses the bacteria that purify the water.
Each box contains 2 litres of media.
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The summary
- Which to choose: FilterMec for cloudy water, FilterBio for ammonia.
- Which filters they suit: the EHEIM LOOP, LOOPpro and PRESS pond filters.
- Where to place them: the mechanical media first, the biological media next.
- How to maintain them: rinse in pond water, never under the tap.
The two stages of a pond filter: trapping the dirt, then purifying the water
A pond filter treats the water in two stages. First it traps the suspended particles, plant debris, uneaten food and fish waste, so that the water becomes clear again. It then purifies the water with bacteria that convert the fish's ammonia into nitrites, then into much less toxic nitrates. Each of these stages needs its own media: FilterMec for the mechanical part, FilterBio for the biological part, both cut to fit the EHEIM LOOP pond filters, LOOPpro and PRESS. In your filter, they complement each other, since the first protects the second from clogging and the second carries out the purification that the first does not.
🧽 FilterMec, the mechanical media
FilterMec comes as small, dark, very light plastic spirals: a 2-litre box weighs 145 g. In the filter compartment they form an airy bed in which the water slows down and drops its small and medium particles, while still finding a way through between the spirals, so the flow rate holds up for longer than it would through a compact mass. Place them at the start of your filter's circuit, where the water arrives loaded with debris, before the biological media, which they protect from clogging in this way.
When the return flow to the pond drops noticeably, take out the spirals and rinse them in a bucket of water taken from the pond, then put them back: they can be reused this way season after season. The spirals, like the FilterBio granules, are best placed in a filter media bag, which holds them in place and makes them easier to lift out during maintenance. Fill the compartment provided without packing it down, and add a second box if space allows in a heavily stocked pond. Compacted media creates channelling: the water then bypasses part of the volume, which no longer filters anything.
🦠 FilterBio, the biological mass
FilterBio is made of highly porous sintered quartz granules, 1,440 g for 2 litres. Their structure offers a large internal surface area that nitrifying bacteria colonise: the larger this surface, the bigger the colony and the more ammonia your filter converts. The granules are placed after the mechanical filtration, where the water arrives already cleared of its coarse particles, which prevents their pores from clogging. A new biological medium carries no bacteria yet, and colonising it takes several weeks, and longer still when the water is cold.
Bacteria on the day the pellets are added
On the day you install FilterBio, add a dose of concentrated bacteria powder for ponds near the pump intake, so that the strains settle on the granules. The colony then establishes itself faster, which matters most in spring, when the fish start eating again while the water is still cool. If you are renewing an old filter medium, replace only part of it and keep the rest for a few weeks: the bacteria in the old medium will then seed the new one.
Rinse the media in pond water
Chlorine in mains water and hot water kill the bacteria established in FilterBio, and your filter then loses part of its purifying capacity. So rinse both media in a bucket of water taken from the pond, without detergent, and only when the flow rate requires it. Avoid rinsing the mechanical medium and the biological medium on the same day, so that one of the two keeps its colony intact.
🔁 The media through the seasons
FilterBio almost never needs cleaning: you only rinse it if it is visibly clogged, and you replace it by half, never all at once. FilterMec, by contrast, is rinsed whenever the flow drops noticeably. In autumn, falling leaves quickly load the spirals, and checking the flow every week prevents the water from bypassing the mechanical medium and fouling the granules. If you switch the filter off for the winter, rinse both media and store them somewhere frost-free; if you leave it running, keep them in place, because the preserved colony speeds up the restart in spring.
🌱 In aquaponics
In aquaponics, biological filtration plays a central role, since it is the bacteria that convert fish waste into nitrates, the form of nitrogen that plants absorb. In a pond connected to grow beds, FilterBio increases the surface area available to these bacteria, while FilterMec traps the particles that would otherwise settle on the roots and in the clay pebbles. The nitrogen cycle in aquaponics explains these stages in detail. Measure ammonia and nitrite every week during the first month after installing FilterBio, for example with a nitrite drop test, while the colony establishes itself on the granules.
Technical specifications
FilterMec
- Role
- Mechanical filtration
- Material
- Plastic spirals
- Contents
- 2 L, or 145 g
- Maintenance
- Rinse in pond water, reusable
FilterBio
- Role
- Biological filtration
- Material
- Very porous sintered quartz granules
- Contents
- 2 L, or 1,440 g
- Compatible filters
- EHEIM LOOP, LOOPpro and PRESS, freshwater
In the box
- 1 2 L box of the chosen media
Materials, weights and compatible filters recorded on 09/10/2026 from EHEIM packaging and product descriptions.
Which media for your filter?
The two media complement each other: one clarifies the water, the other purifies it.
Mechanical or biological?
Three questions about your pond, and the table highlights the filter media that suits you.
| Role | Material | Place in the filter | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EHEIM FilterMec or FilterBio filter mediaYour choice | Mechanical, traps particles | Plastic spirals | First | ¥3,000 |
| Recommended EHEIM FilterMec or FilterBio filter mediaYour choice | Biological, houses bacteria | Porous sintered quartz | After the mechanical media | ¥6,400 |
EHEIM FilterMec or FilterBio filter media
What the media does
RoleMechanical, traps particles
MaterialPlastic spirals
Place in the filterFirst
EHEIM FilterMec or FilterBio filter mediaRecommended
What the media does
RoleBiological, houses bacteria
MaterialPorous sintered quartz
Place in the filterAfter the mechanical media
Roles, materials and position in the filter taken on 09/10/2026 from the EHEIM packaging and descriptions.
Help choosing
Three questions about your pond
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Delivered to your door by Colissimo or Chronopost, as you choose during checkout. The exact cost is shown in your basket, based on the total weight of your order.
Frequently asked questions
8 questions
6 key questions, 8 in the detailed view
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