Best biological media for sump / refugium

[phlibbyreefer]

Starting a new tank and trying to plan out my sump.

I do want to have a refugium growing chaeto algae. My question is what should I use as biological media? I originally thought marine pure but after researching and seeing the aluminum talks, I don't want to risk it.

Do I need a sand bed in my refugium? Would some dry rock from brs suffice?

In the sump I plan on having filter socks, protein skimmer , filter pad and media bag with carbon.

 

[sfin52]

Lr rubble is prob the best for refugium. Great for pods to hide in and populate and bacteria to grow. Just my two cents.

 

[Kayvon]

Dry rock from BRS that I smashed with a hammer is what I did. Does the job and no risk of Al contamination. Just rinse before using.

 

[phlibbyreefer]

Lr rubble is prob the best for refugium. Great for pods to hide in and populate and bacteria to grow. Just my two cents.

ok thanks. I just ordered some BRS dry rock. Stupid question but can I just smash some of this rock to be "rubble"?

 

[Areeflover]

There is a ceramic media called Marine pure.. comes in blocks, plates and balls, and it’s extremely porous.. I have a 10 quarantine tank with 2 small clowns and just a sponge filter and it the nitrates were at about 20 I took 6 of the balls seeded from my main tank and they are about 1 1/2 in and overnight the nitrates dropped to 10 or less..

 

[phlibbyreefer]

Dry rock from BRS that I smashed with a hammer is what I did. Does the job and no risk of Al contamination. Just rinse before using.

wow you read my mind. thanks!

 

[phlibbyreefer]

There is a ceramic media called Marine pure.. comes in blocks, plates and balls, and it’s extremely porous.. I have a 10 quarantine tank with 2 small clowns and just a sponge filter and it the nitrates were at about 20 I took 6 of the balls seeded from my main tank and they are about 1 1/2 in and overnight the nitrates dropped to 10 or less..

I was originally going to go with marine pure but then found some negative things about aluminum so I decided against the risk.

 

[Areeflover]

I have read what you are speaking of and it’s inconclusive.. wasn’t confirmed that it was marine pure.. even if it was.. the levels were so low almost untraceable.. no harm done

 

[Areeflover]

I have had no ill effects from the product.. my tank is thriving.. 0 Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate

 

[phlibbyreefer]

I have read what you are speaking of and it’s inconclusive.. wasn’t confirmed that it was marine pure.. even if it was.. the levels were so low almost untraceable.. no harm done

since this is a new tank I will avoid for now but if I run into some nutrient issues later I will revisit this to help later on.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I was originally going to go with marine pure but then found some negative things about aluminum so I decided against the risk.

Same here, read quite of bit of negative things about marine pure leaching aluminum over time.

 

[Kayvon]

I also use a Marinepure brick, and I have some elevated Al levels according to a recent Triton test. It might be best to avoid

 

[phlibbyreefer]

I also use a Marinepure brick, and I have some elevated Al levels according to a recent Triton test. It might be best to avoid

thanks for the input. The more I research the more I am confirming my decision to go with good ol fashioned dry rock / rubble.

 

[Areeflover]

That’s what products like carbon are for

 

[reeftivo]

i'll put a vote in for seachem matrix and siporax.

been using them in combination for a long time.

i have them both in separate reactors and every few months i'll disconnect the reactors, give them a shake, dump the water with mulm, then refill with fresh salt mix & put back on line.

i tried marine pure blocks a while back and they turned to mush and crumbled when i tried to move them. made quite the mess in my sump so i stay away from them.

 

[ReefInskeep]

Maxspect has a new product I’ll likely try myself. Nano-tech bio spheres. Supposed to have really, really high surface area. Intriguing design.

 

[phlibbyreefer]

Maxspect has a new product I’ll likely try myself. Nano-tech bio spheres. Supposed to have really, really high surface area. Intriguing design.

design looks good but what about material? Will it leach aluminum? Will it become extremely brittle and turn to mud?

 

[ReefInskeep]

From what I understand, no to all the above. It looks pretty solid and I don’t think it’s made of crumbly ceramic. More like lots of micro-balls (hehe) fused together

 

[James Johnson]

Um biological filter? That would be the live rock in the display, 1lb/1gal is all you need for bio filter. Rubble or live rock in your sump creats a place for debris and detritus to catch and break down turning into a nitrate factory. That's why no one uses bio balls in the sump anymore.

 

[Kyl]

I use pond matrix (larger than normal Seachem matrix, same product though), works fine. The Marinepure brick I had turned into a bunch of mush over a year in another tank, threw it out as it wasn't worth the hassle.