hovmoller Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 So I've read a bunch about marine tanks now and get the idea of live rock etc... My question is: Could one not use other porous media such as sintered glass noodles or Eheim substrate pro (on their website they say it is for both fresh water and marine) or similar? I mean to go in the sump, not in the tank. Would it not do the same as porous dead coral? I know coral has the added benefit of adding calcium to the water but if I don't need to grow coral then would this be so critical? Any input much appreciated, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted February 15, 2012 Report Share Posted February 15, 2012 I think the idea with the coral is that the pores are so deep that you get anaerobic reduction of NO3- to N2 to complete the nitrogen cycle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirio Posted February 16, 2012 Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Should work still in theory, might be easier just to use coral rock rubble though. Ultimately depends what you want at the end of it I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 I don't understand the question 100% are you looking at having a fish only setup if you don't need to grow coral? If so it is still advised to have coral rock in the tank to give the fish some where to sleep and feed off. There are different systems to choose from for the sump to give Biological media eg: zeovit, deepsand beds, nitrate reactors etc I personal have a very clean sump run with filter socks, skimmer, po4 reactor and the zeovit system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted February 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 I don't understand the question 100% are you looking at having a fish only setup if you don't need to grow coral? If so it is still advised to have coral rock in the tank to give the fish some where to sleep and feed off. There are different systems to choose from for the sump to give Biological media eg: zeovit, deepsand beds, nitrate reactors etc I personal have a very clean sump run with filter socks, skimmer, po4 reactor and the zeovit system. Thanks for the input Fay.. Big fan of your tank by the way No I'm gearing up for a native coldwater marine tank... have the tank and sump already but by "gearing up" I mean saving money and gathering other eqipment needed (skimmer, chiller, etc.) So I will not be growing corals but instead use rocks collected in the sea for scaping. For substrate I was thinking sand but have read that it may not be a good idea? something about silica? will need to research further. Anyway I want to do all filtration (bio) in the sump and I have bucket loads of ceramic bio noodles and was wondering if I could use those instead of getting dead coral. Another question: If I have all the media in the sump. Should the water run through it or should it be more of a huge pile that the water runs over? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 can use bio noodles, coral rubble better water through media not over it unless you are using a deep sand bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 I'm gearing up for a native coldwater marine tank... Cool looking forward to photos I hope PP chimes in here he has the coolest NZ Native Marine Tanks...... I know he used a deepsand bed in a massive sump and far north very beautiful crushed shell for substrate it looks absolutely stunning. I think he put the substrate in after the algae stages had finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 if think you are better off using coral rock for biological media theres just nothing better in time it will cover with various algaes anyway and you wont be able to tell its not from a nz coastline, i would be wary of collecting rocks from the beach to use unless you really know whats in them as they may leach something nasty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Good post by spoon, stick with coral rock, you know what you're getting, you have anaerobic and aerobic areas, the rock is basic, safe and wont leach. Look for the "rocky" type coral rock rather than the "coral skeleton" type coral rock as it looks more natural in a local marine tank. You will at times add small pieces of local rock as some of the goodies you collect will be attached to it, so this will add all the micro life you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted February 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Ok will go with the coral rock then.. are you saying to do the aquascaping with this rock? Sort of build up piles of it and then placing rocks I collect from the sea in and around this? My first idea was to have a shallow sand bed in the tank with rocks collected from the sea in rock formations as scaping and do the filtration in the sump... but how much coral rock for filtration do I need? I have read around a pound / gallon of water. So in my 400L tank that is around 50kg of coral rock!!! would need a big sump, would you agree with this? Also is it problematic to use sand for substrate or should I rather go for something with calcium such as aragonite or crushed shells? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 by "gearing up" I mean saving money and gathering other eqipment needed (skimmer, chiller, etc.) I've still got the Deltec skimmer that Jeff originally used with the tank you have, fits perfectly in the sump and will do a good job. Let me know if you want it, don't mind hanging onto it for a while if you're not ready to buy it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I've still got the Deltec skimmer that Jeff originally used with the tank you have, fits perfectly in the sump and will do a good job. Let me know if you want it, don't mind hanging onto it for a while if you're not ready to buy it yet. Yep want it! pm'd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted February 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 For substrate in the tank itself I was planning on using sand collected from a nice remote coromandel beach.. Im already using this sand in another freshwater setup and I did a little vinegar experiment and found it contained around 20% calcium carbonate (shells). Would this work ok in a saltwater setup? or is there a problem the the silica content? I suppose the shell content would help keep the pH high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 its some what debatable about the silicates, but enough of a reason not to use it. i would tend to avoid it also as beach sand is sometimes quite fine and will be moved around a lot in a high flow environment . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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