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

[AkoAung]

That is one heck of a powerful biological filtration system you have going for your water volume and small bioload. Fortunately you are in a good position to make a couple of simple adjustments.

If you feed more then you will add both nitrate and phosphate. This will help you to get back to a more desirable NO3=5 and PO4=.03.

If your water is consistently too ULN you can also remove 3L of Siporax from your sump. You water will stay dirtier a little longer and your system will balance easier.

Funny, most reefers would like to have a tank that is ULN like yours. The pendulum has swung the other way.

Feeding more. Decided to pull out about 5L of matrix. 6L is more than enough. Also dismantled the slow flow matrix contraption for phos reduction. We'll see how it goes.

 

[bif24701]

Feeding more. Decided to pull out about 5L of matrix. 6L is more than enough. Also dismantled the slow flow matrix contraption for phos reduction. We'll see how it goes.

I have a big skimmer, filter sock, 2 MarinePure blocks, 100 pounds high quality rock, cheato, GAC. I have found that unless I add NO3 and PO4 directly they will never rise no matter how much I seem to feed. I dosed potassium nitrate and Seachem Florish Phosphorus to bring the numbers where I wanted them and they hold right there really well. Everything has been great since

 

[AkoAung]

I have a big skimmer, filter sock, 2 MarinePure blocks, 100 pounds high quality rock, cheato, GAC. I have found that unless I add NO3 and PO4 directly they will never rise no matter how much I seem to feed. I dosed potassium nitrate and Seachem Florish Phosphorus to bring the numbers where I wanted them and they hold right there really well. Everything has been great since

any dosing ratio tips? while Acans and the clam seems really happy everything else has gone superpale, no PE from acros, and zoas are only half open and not looking happy.

 

[drawman]

So I've seen Siporax being sold by drsfostersmith and marineandreef but they list it in ounces not mL/L. It's being sold as 5.1oz and 10.2oz. Does anyone know how this would compare to one liter of siporax? I'm assuming they mean ounces in weight and not fluid ounces...

 

[ReefKeeper64]

Check eBay for siporax sold in bulk at deep discount from the U.K. That's what I did.

 

[perkint]

I would think Paul at AAC online would ship it international

If mentioning that is not within sponsor rules, I apologise mods, please delete (and point me to the rules!).

Tim

 

[spkennyva]

Anyone cleaned their siporax? Mine has been in about 2 years and my nitrates have really jumped up over the past few months. I'm starting to wonder if my siporax has lost its effectiveness. No other changes have been made.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I did it by moving my siporax box vigorously up and down while the box was still in sump water. A lot of muck was released into the water column, which I then pumped out of my sump.

A few days later I tested nitrates. They went down from 2.5-5 ppm down to 0.5-1 ppm. Subsequent cleaning sessions I carried out afterwards did not affect nitrate readings.

I have decided to repeat this cleaning process once in a while (perhaps once every six months to one year).

 

[spkennyva]

Thanks for the input. Mine went from barely detectable for almost 2 years to around 50-75 (maybe higher, as salifert gets hard to read once things are really high). Again, with no other changes. I'm starting to get concerned as I've lost a few nice sps pieces. The odd thing is that I don't have any nuisance algae to go with the higher nitrates.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Algae thrive on high phosphates. Have you measured your phosphates recently?
If they are really low, then perhaps your system is phosphate limited.

 

[Rick55555]

Good Morning,

Given the number of people who are running siporax without a reactor, I am wondering whether Reefvet, Sahin or anyone else has commented on whether running siporax in a reactor is not necessarily more efficient than running siporax in a sump, such as in a basket or DIY egg crate box.

For instance, I am wondering whether the active/passive distinction is less significant with siporax (which would seem to make sense) than it is with carbon or GFO.

Thanks,
Rick

 

[watchguy123]

Good Morning,

Given the number of people who are running siporax without a reactor, I am wondering whether Reefvet, Sahin or anyone else has commented on whether running siporax in a reactor is not necessarily more efficient than running siporax in a sump, such as in a basket or DIY egg crate box.

For instance, I am wondering whether the active/passive distinction is less significant with siporax (which would seem to make sense) than it is with carbon or GFO.

Thanks,
Rick

I think you raise some great thoughts. My guess and that is all that it is, I presume most keep siporax outside of a reactor and find it incredibly effective at nitrate reduction.

I think it would be so helpful to understand more about advantages if any with a reactor and to also understand how flow rates in or out of a reactor effect its nitrate reducing potential. It seems that low flow rates might improve performance dramatically but as far as I know the evidence is empirical.

 

[Pife]

I think you raise some great thoughts. My guess and that is all that it is, I presume most keep siporax outside of a reactor and find it incredibly effective at nitrate reduction.

I think it would be so helpful to understand more about advantages if any with a reactor and to also understand how flow rates in or out of a reactor effect its nitrate reducing potential. It seems that low flow rates might improve performance dramatically but as far as I know the evidence is empirical.

I have some just sitting in a basket in my sump. I might stack it up in a reactor and test the output...

 

[watchguy123]

I have some just sitting in a basket in my sump. I might stack it up in a reactor and test the output...

On the siporax website I believe I read that it suggests a low flow area, perhaps like in a refugium or a reactor, the effect may be greater due to allowing for a more anaerobic environment.

 

[2una]

Yeah its in their FAQ here
https://www.sera.de/en/service/faq/...q]=417&cHash=369b5dce98bcf822bad2282814cb09df

There is, however, another way: a separate slow flux filter in addition to the normal biofilter. This filter (a passive bypass system is OK) should then hold 2 liters sera siporax Professional, with a water flow rate of only 1 − 2 liters (no typing error!) per hour. This setup will produce virtually nitrate-free water.

Around that 33 ml/min mark is also where my denitrator runs at with mv @ -170 - 5ppm no3 in & 0ppm out , that's using bioballs & there's a lot of bacteria slime inside that i don't think would go well with siporax

 

[ReefKeeper64]

Yeah its in their FAQ here
https://www.sera.de/en/service/faq/...q]=417&cHash=369b5dce98bcf822bad2282814cb09df



Around that 33 ml/min mark is also where my denitrator runs at with mv @ -170 - 5ppm no3 in & 0ppm out , that's using bioballs & there's a lot of bacteria slime inside that i don't think would go well with siporax

Siporax provides significantly more surface area for bacteria growth. So given the same volume of media, Siporax will provide more nitrate reduction than bioballs. Siporax also won't clog easily as some medias can.

 

[2una]

Siporax provides significantly more surface area for bacteria growth. So given the same volume of media, Siporax will provide more nitrate reduction than bioballs. Siporax also won't clog easily as some medias can.

Yeah i just don't see it going too well in this sort of environment....

If i don't get this denitrator into a happy/stable mode i'll be giving the siporax a try but run flow not so slow to try stay away from whats happening in there.
At the moment it looks like the lion can be tamed by how much carbons being dosed but still some time needed to see if that's going to work.

 

[ReefKeeper64]

It can be fun to experiment and try different things. I dose nitrate to keep levels in check at 1.0 - 2.5. I have a lot of Siporax. 25 liters in fact for just a 160gal system. It's sold as 25L package on eBay.

 

[codydemmel4]

so I added 10l of siporax on Monday to my sump, I added it under my skimmer but left around 4 inches above it for my skimmer and 1 inch under it. Is this a fine area for it?

Also I am thinking of buying another 10L to add or do you think 10L is fine for my 180gallon DT? my nitrates are very high at the moment.

 

[acesq]

Its fine where you have it Cody. I have mine all over my sump in bags and baskets -- high flow and low flow areas. Every six months or so I dunk them in a bucket with tank water while I'm doing a water change.

I would add the extra 10l if you can fit it. It can't hurt.