I have a tank with the false bottom and one with hydroballs. They both work well.

I did get tired of cleaning out the hydroballs though, so I sewed a fiberglass mesh screened bag for mine. Now I can pull the whole thing out and rinse it rather than siphon through the substrate to the balks. Works great .



I rinse them through with regular tap water followed by a dechlorinated water rinse. I love it .