Best biological media for sump / refugium

schooncw · Oct 1, 2019

When I say my nitrate is off the chart, It's not 0, it's way HIGH off the chart and if you want to reduce nitrate, you must have minimal flow for anaerobic bacteria. I think the MP blocks are getting too much flow, thus, nitrate.

BOWHUNTER4250 · Oct 1, 2019

schooncw said:
When I say my nitrate is off the chart, It's not 0, it's way HIGH off the chart and if you want to reduce nitrate, you must have minimal flow for anaerobic bacteria. I think the MP blocks are getting too much flow, thus, nitrate.

I don't know about that ? i get what your saying about flow but im pushing roughly 4700 gph thru my sump , i have a power head in my sump to keep detritus from building up blowing the opposite direction as my flow , in the picture you can see the compartment i made to hold the Siporax , that was 50L when i set up my tank , im down to 2 rows of that and i cant get ANY measurable readings of No3 or Po4 , now my Bio load is on the smaller side for the size tank i have ( 300 display & 220 sump)
i can add more back in if needed ........ flow thru these is pretty quick ?

schooncw · Oct 2, 2019

So, the flow in the compartment with Siporax is high? Really? Aerobic bacteria does not consume nitrate, it creates it! That is a large stack and if you don't have a powerhead in that section, I don't see how you could NOT have anaerobic, nitrate consuming bacteria. My MP blocks are too large to fit anywhere else in my sump, which is another reason I am considering siporax….it small enough to fit in a no flow area

BOWHUNTER4250 · Oct 2, 2019

schooncw said:
So, the flow in the compartment with Siporax is high? Really? Aerobic bacteria does not consume nitrate, it creates it! That is a large stack and if you don't have a powerhead in that section, I don't see how you could NOT have anaerobic, nitrate consuming bacteria. My MP blocks are too large to fit anywhere else in my sump, which is another reason I am considering siporax….it small enough to fit in a no flow area

Im using a Reefflo - Hammerhead / Barracuda Gold pump with a wide open gate valve , at Zero head that pushes approx. 6300 GPH , im at approx. 11' head so im estimating around 4500/4700 GPH ... so no matter where the Siporax is in my sump this much water has to pass thru it / over it etc.......

schooncw · Oct 2, 2019

If that's the case, I believe that your low PO/Nitrate is the result of good husbandry, lower bio load, etc. If your siporax is being blasted, it is not cultivating anaerobic, nitrate consuming bacteria.

Jimmyneptune · Oct 20, 2019

I have been wanting to start siporax. I have a 120 gallon mixed reef system with a No3 of 50 and a Po4 of 1.2, which I got to .65 with lanthanum chloride dose. I would like to get my numbers down, not 0, but just so they can be normal or a little bit above normal. I was planing on making a basket out of egg crate and placing in my sump
Any ideas on how much I should use and where to get the siporax?

AdamB · Oct 20, 2019

reeftivo said:
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.

Second that on matrix.

siggy · Oct 20, 2019

I placed my bio-media in the corner overflow chamber. The bottom has basically no flow and the top has 10x. In the end I only had 3 large rocks in the tank and zero nutrients.
As for the Best? I was using Marine-Pure Spheres and would use it again. BTW several ICP tests and no Aluminum

BOWHUNTER4250 · Oct 21, 2019

Jimmyneptune said:
I have been wanting to start siporax. I have a 120 gallon mixed reef system with a No3 of 50 and a Po4 of 1.2, which I got to .65 with lanthanum chloride dose. I would like to get my numbers down, not 0, but just so they can be normal or a little bit above normal. I was planing on making a basket out of egg crate and placing in my sump
Any ideas on how much I should use and where to get the siporax?

Google search Siporax , easy to find , i ended up taking most of mine out as i started with way too much , 1 litre will filter 265 U.S gallons , i used 500liters for 425 gallons and stripped it too clean . You can get 1 liter and use half in a reactor , mesh bag , etc..... it will take a good month plus to start " seeding " the siporax