Matrix (and siporax) questions, to keep from derailing Sahin's thread.....

nemodan said:
Andrew..... The fuge with Macros and Matrix addition recovered my tank from the nutrient crash. I do not have any other method of exporting nutrients.....just biology. And worked .

Cheers
Daniel
Click to expand...

Thanks Daniel, your SPS display actually helped me make up my mind to give the Matrix a whirl ;)

I just dosed the display with Polyp Lab Colors for the first time so i'm going to wait a week before adding the Matrix to see if the wizard potion does anything cool. I'm going to put all 4L of Matrix in the sump after a quick RO rinse to get the bio stuff happening while i make the pulse flow media reactor........ it will be sprayed black which dampens underwater noise and looks cool. :smokin:
 
For Canadians, I found the cheapest place for me was eBay seller wttomy1 from Austria. €6.90 for 1L Siporax, and about €20.00 for shipping. Works out to about $40 Canadian. I ordered 2L - one to try myself, and one to try on a client's tank.
 
So how many are actually using the matrix media. I'm guessing as it's similar to having extra live rock in the sump there wouldn't be such a thing as too much? I may be wrong. Are you basically using it as added surface area for nitryfying bacteria?
 
There couldn't be to much. The bacterial colony size will grow and shrink to match the amount of nutrients in the tank. I just ordered a 5 gallon bucket of it. I'm going to run it externally initially, slowly remove my live rock, and then move it all to my sump. I'll never have to cycle a tank again :). By the way, I currently have a 65 gallon.
 
naterealbig said:
There couldn't be to much. The bacterial colony size will grow and shrink to match the amount of nutrients in the tank. I just ordered a 5 gallon bucket of it. I'm going to run it externally initially, slowly remove my live rock, and then move it all to my sump. I'll never have to cycle a tank again :). By the way, I currently have a 65 gallon.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I thought about it not being possible to have too much.
 
MichaelW said:
So how many are actually using the matrix media. I'm guessing as it's similar to having extra live rock in the sump there wouldn't be such a thing as too much? I may be wrong. Are you basically using it as added surface area for nitryfying bacteria?
Click to expand...

Correct.... I added it in every corner I have a flow of water. Today I took all the bags from my HOB fuge, shake them well in a bucket with my WC water. They were full of feather dusters. And returned to the HOB fuge. That cleaned them a little after 6 months of use.

After adding the bags back I had more space so I added another bag of new matrix. Like adding more rocks but more efficient due the the surface area ratio.

Cheer
 
Well, I'm online. I was able to get about 1.5L of media in the reactor. Based on calculations of the other thread, I set the reactor to about 80gal/hr (5" diameter reactor). This flow rate seems really high. If I did it by eye I'd probably be running half as much flow through there. Anyone care to comment?

 
I looked at it online, but at about 3 times the cost of matrix I decided to go with matrix first. If it doesn't work like i hope, I'll look into getting some siporax.
 
I have been slowly changing out the rock rubble in my sump with MarinePure Biofilter Media Spheres. I think the round shape is great for allowing detritus to fall below where it can be siphoned during water changes. I'm just trying it out recently and will report back with any changes/observations.

marinepure_spheres.jpg
 
I know this is silly but I really am trying to understand what Siporax does here...Can someone give me the general overview of using this product in an SPS tank?. I use bio pellets and vinegar on a separate system with success but id like to hear about Siporax. Thanks
 
The short version, it's a porous substrate to grow bacteria on. It's like adding 50 lb's of live rock to your tank for about a liter of material. It doesn't get used up and need replacement like bio pellets.
 
You aren't growing an excess of bacteria to harvest through a skimmer. It's just incredibly porous, so the surface area is exponentially greater than what you'd get with a similar amount of live rock. You will only grow enough bacteria to handle your bio load, increasing and decreasing on its own as needed.

People are using reactors get get a controlled amount of low over the media. To optimize its ability to remove nitrates from the water. The reactors also help to keep detritus from settling on it and clogging the pores. You do not have to run it in a reactor though, it's just not as efficient as it would be if you did.
 
I have been thinking about getting some matrix from LFS and just making a basket out of eggcrate and chucking it in sump. Earlier it had been mention possible issues running media like this with bio pellets. Is there anyone here that is running both? Or can elaborate on the possible problems. I am not running pellets right now, as don't have the need, but the plan in future is to use the all in one biopellets when needed (see Kryz Tryc's incredible reef... That is why I am interested in them as a future option)
 
I have mine sitting in filter socks in my sump at the moment. My tank is still cycling though. I don't think eggcrate alone is going to hold the matrix rocks. Some of them are small enough to fall through the openings. I'm going to keep mine in filter socks then build an eggcrate cage and set them in that. The filter socks will also help to keep detritus off of them.
 
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