is it ok to add bio rings in the sump?

[chercm]

some people advice not to add it in ,

pls advice

[Qxnviolet]

An alternative....use Biohome.

http://www.reinbiotech.com/biohome.htm

[chercm]

An alternative....use Biohome.

http://www.reinbiotech.com/biohome.htm

how much is it ? and where to get it ?

is it advisable to add bio balls ?

[jervismun]

Depending on ur budget really... if budget allow, forget about BioBalls... they r not as good as Biohome. But bear in mind u may need a large amount if ur tank is sizeable...

[Altantis]

Yes. Biohome especially red Biohome right

[Qxnviolet]

Any idea which LFS i can find biohome at?

[gerald28]

best place to get clementi 328 ,but red 1 kg is like going for $42 and white $38 man

[LinkinPark]

The only disadvantage is when detritus accumulate over time, the place will become a nitrate factory

[chercm]

The only disadvantage is when detritus accumulate over time, the place will become a nitrate factory

u mean the bio home or the bio rings ?

[Qxnviolet]

Both of them does...if you don't do any maintenance. Anyone know if it'll do more harm than good if i take them out and rinse them once a while?

[LinkinPark]

I believe once your tank is fully cycled and has thriving community of fishes and corals, there is no need for these media

[chercm]

am i right to say just wool will be enough ?

[LinkinPark]

Also need to wash regularly

[jervismun]

am i right to say just wool will be enough ?

For a new setup, wool alone is not enough. In fact, u shouldn't leave ur dirty wool there, should at least change or wash every 5 to 7 days.

I think some kind of media is still necessary (or else what are all the compartments for?) Perhaps you wanna also consider Aqua Medic Cetapore (check at their website). This product is good because the surface can contains Aerobic bacts, the inside core can contains Anaerobic bacts. Anaerobic will convert Nitrates to Nitrogen (gas that will disperse out of the tank). But according to LFS, the Nitrate to Nitrogen benefit is only as secondary medium, do not rely solely on Cetapore to do the job unless you have a huge amount of them in ur sump.

If I am not so broke, I will slowly replace my Aqua Medic Bactoballs (bioballs) with Cetapore. The reason I have to do slowly is not to upset the biotope. If I am to remove all my bioballs at once, there will be A N N spikes as there aren't enough Nitrifying bacteria in the biotope to handle the bioload...

Cetapore is around $50+ a box.

Experienced bro, do correct me if I'm wrong...

[somebody]

remember to wash the media with marine water, not tap water!! =)

[totoro17]

my advice is to mix the red n white biohome into ur tank

[Qxnviolet]

my advice is to mix the red n white biohome into ur tank

Hrmz, what is the advantage of mixing both of them?

[colinsoon]

i would say that, it is not really very important to have all this ceramic rings or biohome inside the sump. very good to have, but can do without. if you have them, you can sorta slightly overload a bit with ceramic rings, overload more with biohome. but then, wat exactly does it mean by overload? 10 firegobies in a 3 footer does not produce the same bioload as 10 BTs in the same 3 footer. the comparison is way way too different.. if you have sufficient LR in the tank to house the bacteria, den its fine to do without them.

[Qxnviolet]

Hrmz, might try change ouy the media in my cannister with biohome bit by bit. Seems like quite a good investment if it really works like it should.

[colinsoon]

Both of them does...if you don't do any maintenance. Anyone know if it'll do more harm than good if i take them out and rinse them once a while?

washing with the water that you juz changed out of the tank is good enough. its best avoided to wash the media with fresh water, you gonna kill off quite a bit of bacteria. will be a waste if the media is already inside a system for quite a while. gotta let it "set" again..

anyway with regards to bro jervismun's concern for the spike, IMO its not too much of a concern, cos if your water is saturated with bacteria, the lost of the bacteria from the media will not do much harm to the system, maybe increase the A by 20-30ppm for a day or 2? with a bigger system its harder for this to happen, cos of the stability of the tank and the amount of bacteria housing LR. a smaller tank (like mine) will feel the effect more substantially. i can say this situation is likened to that of an army, you got 10 million soldiers in the field, losing the barracks of a million wun do much harm, but will juz stretch resources a lil...

its important to monitor the water parameters. but dun need kill yourself over trying to reduce the nitrates by 20-50ppm. experience from my very first hand me down tank (water included) that fishes can do very well inside a 100ppm NO2 tank, AFTER a 50%water change. my anemone was real happy. the only down side is that the fishes will tend to be more hostile...

and for the filter wool, change every week la. wash it. yucks. so gross.

can afford to buy fish can afford to buy wool rite.. haha

[Qxnviolet]

Haha, have to agree totally on the part abt bringing down nitrates. I think some people are obsessed with those figures. Everything also want 0. I sure do not have pristine water quality.

[colinsoon]

aiyo. you dun wanna know bout mine... lets juz say that the NO2 is never never never at 0. but lower den 50. haha. everything opening well and very sexily... juz did a 20% water change yesterday (FINALLY AFTER 5 MONTHS!) muhahaha.. today my stars opened sooooooo prettily! haha.. even though its in a low flow region.. and my water seems much clearer.. think i really need to invest in a bucket of salt... haha..

[Qxnviolet]

aiyo. you dun wanna know bout mine... lets juz say that the NO2 is never never never at 0. but lower den 50. haha. everything opening well and very sexily... juz did a 20% water change yesterday (FINALLY AFTER 5 MONTHS!) muhahaha.. today my stars opened sooooooo prettily! haha.. even though its in a low flow region.. and my water seems much clearer.. think i really need to invest in a bucket of salt... haha..

ZZzZZzZZzz...haha, 5 months! Wow, think you just broke the record of period w/o changing water. Haha. My 1 most was maybe 3 weeks. But well, as long as the LS are all surviving and healthy. I do not see the point in chasing numbers. Oh, 1 LFS told me that his relative does this during water changes.

1. Siphon out old tank water.

2. Connect a hose to your tap.

3. Fill up the tank with TAP WATER!

4. Dump in some salt and taaAaa, its done....

And to think his relative's fishes are actually in pristine condition.

P.S I hereby must make it clear that i do not support this way of doing water changes and regular water changes (the proper way) is highly recommanded.

[colinsoon]

haha... i heard of that before!

i think we are being the true singaporeans la. too kiasu...

oh, i actually knows of a reefer who hasnt changed his waters for 13 months, the last time i talked to him. if he still hasnt changed waters yet, it will be coming close to 15 months.. and everything in his tank is doing brilliantly!

oh oh oh! and my bubbles do not have its tentacles out anymore! wonder if it has somthing to do with the water changes. gonna try not changing again, see if the tentacles will come out...

[Qxnviolet]

LoL....ZzzZzz. Maybe they'll not extend their tentacles when your water condition is pristine = no food to eat.