If I may ask. What is caking up your filters already? Is it fish poo, cat food, fish food... What?
Also, have you ever heard of Heterotropic, Isotropic, and Anaerobic bacteria?
You are going to have to deal with TDS (Total Dissolved Solids), which most forget about. This is greatly enhanced when you churn up the suspended solids, keep them in suspension, beat them up, and they break down to particles so small that they are easily dissolved in water. Hefty price tag to avoid this, without building it properly in the first place. Not to mention a bunch of other junk.
I may be out of the loop, but what specific microbes are you talking about to colonize your filters?
Anyway, This has been a fun thread to follow, and probably great fun for you, being a Fire, Aim, Ready kinda guy.
