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whats everyones opinion? ive heard some good things about "bio balls" but what do you guys think?
-Keith
-Keith
-
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best bio media?
- Thread starter Keith
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ive never used these kinds of filters, im used to the whole carbon refill deal. any recommendations?
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The best bio media is live rock.
Other medias such as bio balls/bale work good to keep ammonia and nitrites down, but you have to be diligent in keeping the media clean or your nitrates will sky rocket. There are other medias like seachem matrix that supposedly work even better then bio balls/bale. You can use it passively like a substrate in a sump or through a fluidized chamber. However, the problem with fluidized chambers is that if power goes out on them too long such as with a power outage, you can kill the entire bacteria colony in it.
Other medias such as bio balls/bale work good to keep ammonia and nitrites down, but you have to be diligent in keeping the media clean or your nitrates will sky rocket. There are other medias like seachem matrix that supposedly work even better then bio balls/bale. You can use it passively like a substrate in a sump or through a fluidized chamber. However, the problem with fluidized chambers is that if power goes out on them too long such as with a power outage, you can kill the entire bacteria colony in it.
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Paradox, by keeping the media clean you mean the bio balls? how often should you rinse them?
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good question deadhead. so paradox are you saying that i should use live rock instead of a filter? im guessing im readin that wrong, but i wanna make sure i put the right gear in the sump im building. if i need a filter too, should i put the live rock before or after the filter in the sump? and should i put the skimmer first or after the filter/live rock? sorry. lots of questions. this is gonna be my first octo, and i wanna make sure its done right.
-Keith
-Keith
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Live rock can go in the main aquarium so that your friend has some hiding places. You don't need an additional filter if you have enough live rock - usually 1-1/2 pounds per gallon. The skimmer should go in the sump along with the heater.
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cool. can i just put my stick submersable heater in the sump?
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Yes.Keith;119963 said:
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cool. hmm. thats gonna be one heavy tank. do you think a 75 gallon can hold 100 pounds in rock and all the water? the rock is definately gonna displace a lot, but still. lotta weight. think i should brace it or somethin?
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Keith;119971 said:
Yup. That's what they are built to do.
