I had to euthanize my 1st fish today, and I feel awful.

[Mpwallace1]

Matrix is good media, I have 2 aquaclears a 110 and a 70, the baskets never raise on mine I clean them alternating every 2-3 weeks to a month, there are many good media brands out there but you don't want to just change media I would just add it to the existing you have in the canister if you decide to get matrix don't take the old out you will crash your cycle.

To clarify, I am running the Matrix since the switch to the canister. I took the cycled bio rings from the HOB and put them in the canister, added some larger rings that came with the unit, added some BIO balls I bought, mixed in some Matrix, rubbed and squeezed the residue from the HOB sponge onto the canister’s sponge, added new floss and put the carbon that came with it into a mesh bag and added that (but that has since been removed).
I think I bought too much Matrix as I got half a container left, and you don’t really replace it.
The lifting on the basket on the HOB was a concern for me. It stopped locking into place long term. It was annoying and I wanted some filtration that took less babysitting for me, and I wanted to be in a position to go away for a week without any worry. That and the rattling of the lid after time drove us bananas. We are in a smaller condo so we were looking for something as a quiet as possible as well. On a positive note, the HOB did its job and did cycle with the help of 2 dwarf gouramis faithfully.
Thanks