Switching to Marine Pure

[SaltLifer]

Right now I’m using baskets of ceramic balls for biofiltration media but want to switch to marine pure. The ceramic media has been in the tank for a year, I also have live rock in the sump with it. 100g DT and 30g sump. Total of about 100lbs of live rock in the tank. My question is, can I safely just “switch” the balls for marine pure or do I need to leave them both in there for a while to seed the marine pure with bacteria? Obviously space is the issue.

 

[mcarroll]

Not sure of your application/usage, but generally speaking bio-media has to be innoculated before it's considered active and working.

If you're running live rock what's the purpose of the extra media though? IMO it's usually for tanks that don't have live rock because they can't stand the pH buffering from the aragonite. We obviously like that feature (among all the others too), so...?

 

[jda]

I would slowly switch it over a month or 6 weeks, just to be sure.

I also wonder if you really need it, but with most tanks getting so good at equilibrium, then it is probably contributing and the move should be slow to allow the equilibrium to be regained elsewhere. Just slowly removing it should do the same thing - the bacteria on the rocks can build up and take over.

 

[SaltLifer]

Well maybe I don’t need it. I bought the tank as a package deal and it just came with the ceramic balls and I never thought twice. Just figured “the more the better”. But I’m thinking it just became a detritus trap and it’s a pain to clean around. I’m fighting hair algae (just due to general neglect and minimal nutrient control). I’m winning the algae war right now and have heard that Marine Pure has some anecdotal nitrate reducing qualities. Maybe I’ll just take it out and give chaeto a try?

 

[jda]

Is your tank young? Live rock and the sand bed will have those same nitrate reducing qualities as the tank matures... only more in earnest, usually. It usually takes a year, but sometimes way more in young tanks started with dry/dead rock.

Chaeto is a good way to control nutrients. Your N and P have to be reasonable or else growth can be limited. You will also need to change water and maybe dose iron since chaeto uses a lot of iron. Just like anything, it is not "free" of maintenance and work, but it is really good if you show it just a bit of care.

Off topic to this, but the detritus trap is kinda an issue, but mostly not. Detritus is benign very quickly - most phosphate is excreted in urine and all carbon (or anything else of value) from the detritus is quickly scavenged by other microfauna in the tank. While the stuff should be removed because it can "gum up the works" it is not a source of further nitrate or otherwise harmful. I do like to vacuum my sumps and stuff, but I am in no hurry and do not sweat it if I miss a few months.

 

[SaltLifer]

Is your tank young? Live rock and the sand bed will have those same nitrate reducing qualities as the tank matures... only more in earnest, usually. It usually takes a year, but sometimes way more in young tanks started with dry/dead rock.

Chaeto is a good way to control nutrients. Your N and P have to be reasonable or else growth can be limited. You will also need to change water and maybe dose iron since chaeto uses a lot of iron. Just like anything, it is not "free" of maintenance and work, but it is really good if you show it just a bit of care.

Off topic to this, but the detritus trap is kinda an issue, but mostly not. Detritus is benign very quickly - most phosphate is excreted in urine and all carbon (or anything else of value) from the detritus is quickly scavenged by other microfauna in the tank. While the stuff should be removed because it can "gum up the works" it is not a source of further nitrate or otherwise harmful. I do like to vacuum my sumps and stuff, but I am in no hurry and do not sweat it if I miss a few months.

This tank is a year old but the rock and sand was moved over from a 5 year old tank. I was religious with maintenance until about 2 months ago. I had a lot going on and the tank took a back seat for a while. Then the algae took over and I almost gave up. I mean there wasn’t and inch of exposed rock. Hair algae everywhere and it smothered out most of my corals.

But I’m back at it now. Manually removing as much algae as possible, getting back on a weakly water change schedule, increased flow, decreased feeding, reduced lights after a 3 day blackout. I can see a bunch of sediment in the media chamber of my sump, so naturally I just assumed it was building up and contributing to the nitrate problem. I guess I just need to keep doing what I’m doing and give it time. I appreciate all the feedback. Saved me at least $50 on MarinePure Blocks today.

 

[mcarroll]

Well maybe I don’t need it.

If you have enough live/dead rock, you don't need extra bio-media. Bye bye detritus trap!

BTW, nutrients aren't the issue.

I had a lot going on and the tank took a back seat for a while. Then the algae took over and I almost gave up. I mean there wasn’t and inch of exposed rock. Hair algae everywhere and it smothered out most of my corals.

What was holding that algae back before the tank on the back burner? Whatever that was should have been able to keep working in your absence. This is our problem to solve, otherwise it may happen again, right?

Were you doing a lot of manual cleaning before?

If you blast the rocks and sand with a powerhead do you get lots of detritus out?

What's your CUC like?