filter recommendations?

[lazycouch]

hey guys i have a uni tank and was wondering if theres a much more efficient type of filter media i can use to replace this black sponge it came with. or is this my best option? i know the purpose of it is to capture the larger waste particles before traveling through the rest of the sump but just curious to know if theres something that’d be a better option for that. the dimensions are 6.25" x 2.25" x 13.13" thanks!

 

[LegendaryCG]

Filter floss might be a good alternative. It’s nice because you can just toss it away and put in a new piece. You do need to make sure you have enough rock to offset the surface area loss of the sponge because it will likely reduce your bacteria. The ceramic rings should be plenty sufficient for that.

 

[lazycouch]

Filter floss might be a good alternative. It’s nice because you can just toss it away and put in a new piece. You do need to make sure you have enough rock to offset the surface area loss of the sponge because it will likely reduce your bacteria. The ceramic rings should be plenty sufficient for that.

fantastic! will do some more research on this. i do have about 20 lbs of live rock and 2” sandbed is this enough? also when i do remove the sponge and replace it with the floss would i use floss the size of the current sponge or multiple floss pads? + would you recommend i dose some microbacter 7 after making this switch? thanks a lot!

 

[aydemir]

The filter floss was a great suggestion, you could also pack some more bio media at the bottom and place the filter floss at the top (like half and half ratio), and just replace filter floss as necessary. This way you would get more bio filtration and still have the mechanical aspect, would have to change filter floss frequently though.

 

[lazycouch]

The filter floss was a great suggestion, you could also pack some more bio media at the bottom and place the filter floss at the top (like half and half ratio), and just replace filter floss as necessary. This way you would get more bio filtration and still have the mechanical aspect, would have to change filter floss frequently though.

great idea. would once a week be good enough or would it be a day to day thing to replace the floss? i have 3 fish, 4 hermits, 1 cleaner, an urchin, and 7 corals. also, what bio media would you suggest if i may ask?

 

[LegendaryCG]

I change mine about 2x a week. You’ll know based on how gross it gets. Oh and I just noticed you don’t seem to have carbon in there. I’d definitely do like the top 1/2 floss and the bottom. 1/2 a bag of carbon. Coral emit toxins that the carbon will absorb.

 

[lazycouch]

sounds good!, thanks

update: i have added 1 cup of activated carbon about 2 in. above my return pump inside the sump, added 2 cups of denitrate and 5 teaspoons of purigen in a mesh bag mid chamber, added fluval biomax rings to the entrance slits in the sump with a quarter slice of that black sponge you see in the image on top of the rings and to top it off, about 1.5ft of floss! is this too much?

 

[LegendaryCG]

might be overkill on the filter floss but it not going to hurt anything.

 

[aydemir]

great idea. would once a week be good enough or would it be a day to day thing to replace the floss? i have 3 fish, 4 hermits, 1 cleaner, an urchin, and 7 corals. also, what bio media would you suggest if i may ask?

Pretty much as you see fit. If you see that the flow rate is dramatically lower you should replace. It would depend on how much you use, the flow rate, and how much detritus gets sucked up by the pump.

EDIT: As per bio-media, I like seachem matrix, but its really whatever floats your boat here. Even rock rubble is great. Just make sure the flow rate is enough for whatever you use (or low enough if you use de-nitrate stuff). If you wanted to use de-nitrate stuff you could put it in a bag AFTER the floss so the flow is lower, just a thought.

 

[lazycouch]

I change mine about 2x a week. You’ll know based on how gross it gets. Oh and I just noticed you don’t seem to have carbon in there. I’d definitely do like the top 1/2 floss and the bottom. 1/2 a bag of carbon. Coral emit toxins that the carbon will absorb.

might be overkill on the filter floss but it not going to hurt anything.

will definitely hurt my wallet lol! any tips/rule thumb on the amount? i’d rather use less if i could/should. i only used that much to try and compensate for the amount of sponge i removed, since it was 2in thick and the floss is about 1in thick i cut up the 1.5ft and folded it in half, also to avoid having it float around because i was unsure if it reduces its performance by floating rather than being a stagnant barrier!