Can anyone tell me if would work?

[hot pursuit]

Today I observed a truck carrying a load of oyster shells away and it got me to thinking. I have long wanted to fill one of my sump chambers with something that would provide more surfaces for bacteria to grow on. I've been considering a few hundred pounds of rock, but have been dragging my feet hoping to find something less expensive. Can I accomplish the same results by using oyster shells? I will save a small fortune since I can acquire these shells free. After a good cleaning it seems to me they should do the trick. Can anyone tell me if would work or not? Please go easy on me if this is a dumb idea…..lol. I am the kind of person that is always trying something different & my ideas don’t always work.
Thanks, Ken

 

[btkrausen]

The only dumb question is the one not asked Never be afraid to ask us questions as everyone here is always happy to help.

It sounds like a viable solution to me if you can get the water to flow around them adequately.

 

[hot pursuit]

The first chamber has a very heavy flow, so that might be the one to try.
Thanks for the comment
ken

 

[boxer]

Today I observed a truck carrying a load of oyster shells away and it got me to thinking. I have long wanted to fill one of my sump chambers with something that would provide more surfaces for bacteria to grow on. I've been considering a few hundred pounds of rock, but have been dragging my feet hoping to find something less expensive. Can I accomplish the same results by using oyster shells? I will save a small fortune since I can acquire these shells free. After a good cleaning it seems to me they should do the trick. Can anyone tell me if would work or not? Please go easy on me if this is a dumb idea…..lol. I am the kind of person that is always trying something different & my ideas don’t always work.
Thanks, Ken

yes they would give you surface area for bacteria to grow on, but not as much as live rock because live rock is extremely porous.

 

[hot pursuit]

I just wanted to be sure it would not work against me in anyway. I do have a large amount of rock in the tank already. (Not less than a thousand lbs) I just wanted to use that chamber to benefit the tank rather sitting empty. I really did not want to buy more rock if I could find a good substitute.
Thank for taking the time to give your imput
Ken

 

[swissgaurd]

i had a plenum system on my 82 gallon for approx 5 yrs,i used crushed oyster shells instead of crushed coral ,the system worked very well but i think it gave me phosphates
whole oyster shells wont work as well as crushed oyster shells.

vic

 

[hot pursuit]

" i think it gave me phosphates"
Now that has me worried. I'd like to hear from anyone else that may have tried this.
mississauga?...I lived in Toronto for many years.
Thank Vic
Ken

 

[swissgaurd]

yepper, mississauga but im in streetsville the village in the city

vic

 

[kschweer]

While on vacation in virginia I saw this method being used in seafood stores on the tanks they used to keep live blue claws. I was very intrigued and asked about it and was told that they got the idea from the aquarium in Virginia.

 

[hot pursuit]

Still may work

I like the idea more & more but am now concerned about adequately water flow. Anyone want to add your thoughts on this? (Or the possible of it adding phosphates)

 

[KLR]

I am not quite sure, I think I have read something about oyster shells and phosphates before aswell. Maybe you could cure some shells. Then put them in a mini setup or something and test the phos to see if it does indeed increase. (It could be a 1 gal fishbowl).

Is this tank in a personal establishment? I ask because the sump looks huge which makes me think the tank is giant.

But, I have been to alot of UNCW's marine labs and they have some larger setups running aswell.

 

[hot pursuit]

Thanks KLM
Sitting up a test is the best idea. I think I’ll set up a 10 gallon for 30 days and run tests. I don’t need a war with phosphates. The tank is in my home & built into the living room wall. It was just too big to get inside the house without removing a wall. I think the sump is about 250. The floor of the tank is 96” x 42” and the water is about 32” deep. I guess it’s around 5 something. It's the reason I have no friends.......they all changed their numbers after helping me move it.

 

[hot pursuit]

A guy wrote this on a local site here in North Carolina. "Carolina oysters could raise the Phosphate level. Our waters are extremely phosphate rich (depending on the locality) because of all the phosphorus deposits". It is time to scrap that brain storm. Thanks everyone for the input.
Ken