mat692 Posted April 9, 2006 Report Share Posted April 9, 2006 Can you use crushed up sea shells (from the beach) as a filter media instead of noodles. I know oyster shells raise the PH, what about normal Pipi shells etc? My PH is about 6.6 so neds to come up a bit! Just sick of buying noodles every time I set up a new filter and could be a free source of PH up and bacteria home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 9, 2006 Report Share Posted April 9, 2006 It would raise your PH too much to be practical. And yes, pipi shells will do they same thing because they're made of calcium just like oyster shells. If you want some don't bother going to the beach to get it, buy a bag of bird grit from the pet store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 I used paua shell to raise the pH in my tank. I can't be scientific about it because my test kit only goes down to 6.0 and the pH had gone off the scale! In my 100(ish) litre tank it took 2 large paua shells to bring my pH up to 7.0 and it has been stable there for several months now. The shells are there permanently. I believe the reason for my pH being so low was the large piece of driftwood in the tank releasing tannins into the water. I would suggest experimenting with shells from the beach, but starting slowly. Put a few shells (in a bag) in your filter, and check the pH every day to see what affect they're having. And of course the usual rule: clean everything thoroughly before putting it in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 What about pumice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 What about pumice? Pumice works great but can cause brown algae for the first few months after adding it to the filter. It can have a lot of silicates in it and red and brown algae like silicates. It can also contain some heavy metals but a hydrochloric acid bath followed by a good chlorine rinse then lots of freshwater to finally clean it up helps get rid of the heavy metals and any organic matter stuck in the pores. I used to use it a lot and had about 25L of it in a filter on my old fishroom. Works great. Seachem sell a product called De-Nitrate which is simply processed pumice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 scoria (sp?) is another option I have used, but is a volcanic rock as well so guess it would have the same issues as pumice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 smashed up terracotta pots or smashed clay brick work well. better than scoria for pond filters IMO as it doesnt get clogged as quickly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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