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

[Ontheway]

Joe I am waitin for the same. Meanwhile, want to share how my siporax box looks like (there are three rows);

 

[Nanook]

Anyone using plain Matrix in a reactor?

 

[Ontheway]

I formerly tried a Poseidon style denitrator, two containers, both filled with seachem de-nitrate media. Very slow flow rate ended up with nitrite-rich output for several days. Finally decided to unplug the unit. Today, I understand that it was due to high (neverending) nitrates. With these natural denitrification helpers, either you should have relatively lower levels (may be 10-15), or, you have to supply pretty good amount of media.

 

[C.Eymann]

Didn't someone get a high Aluminum reading back from triton that was blamed on a similar media about a week ago?

 

[Ontheway]

No. For siporax, Sintered glass is inert.

 

[nemodan]

Anyone using plain Matrix in a reactor?

See at the right of the picture. ...2 reactors

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Hi, Is there any major color change on the surface of siporaxes? I have 4 liters in my sump but color stays same for 3 weeks, wondering when they will decide start working on nitrates.

They seem to be very slightly darker, which could be due to detritus. Below are two photos. The first photo is when I first installed the media there weeks ago. Te second when it looks today.

The media seems to be working well. Nitrates dropped from 2.5 ppm to 1 ppm within three weeks.

 

[Mael]

Also run 2l of matrix in a reactor, been up for about a month now.

 

[.Chris.]

Anyone using plain Matrix in a reactor?

I'm using 3L on a 90g system and haven't noticed any significant difference after a month of use.

I did not rinse in RO water as recommended though and am wondering if that might be the cause. I did seed it with bacteria though.

 

[fessoclown]

I just ordered 30L for me and a bunch of other people.

I have a GEO UMC 420 that is sitting idle right now... I am considering using it for the Siporax.
I wonder just how much of a benefit there actually is compared to a high flow area in my sump...

Anyone know how many Litres could fit in here:

It's 5.5" X 22" tall

 

[.Chris.]

I just ordered 30L for me and a bunch of other people.

I have a GEO UMC 420 that is sitting idle right now... I am considering using it for the Siporax.
I wonder just how much of a benefit there actually is compared to a high flow area in my sump...

Anyone know how many Litres could fit in here:

It's 5.5" X 22" tall

Well the volumetric formula for a cylinder is pi*r^2*h. Which gives 8.5L. But it probably won't fit that much. Maybe 7L or so if you stack it carefully?

 

[Ontheway]

I just ordered 30L for me and a bunch of other people.

I have a GEO UMC 420 that is sitting idle right now... I am considering using it for the Siporax.
I wonder just how much of a benefit there actually is compared to a high flow area in my sump...

Anyone know how many Litres could fit in here:
...
It's 5.5" X 22" tall

I guess its about 8.2 liters. But of course due to shape, probably less then this will fit into it.

From my experiments with methanol denitrator which i used siporax as development surface, there is a fine balance between denitrator and H. Sulfide producer. Too much flow (provides a lot of oxygen and nitrate) and it will function as nitrator (favors oxygen consuming aerobic nitrifying bacteria). Too little flow (lack of oxygen 'and' nitrates) and hydrogen sulfide comes out. Denitrification process requires lack of oxygen and plenty of nitrates and its first product is 'nitrite'. Therefore, in a reactor, you should see elevated nitrites first, if siporax starts to function. The best way should be a reactor with adjustable effluent, starting wide-open, then you can turn it down until nitrate and nitrites together become visible in the tests. In turn all nitrates will be converted to nitrites and other following steps all the way to N2 gas.

 

[Giovanni]

I have a 125g sump almost full of LR and cheato. I did not want to expose my siporax to the light for the cheato and have algae grow on it. Eventually I want to remove the LR and suspend the siporax so I can suck the detritus off the bottom at each water change. I decided to start with 10L of siporax in a 5g bucket. I put a bulk head fitting in the center bottom and made a stand pipe drain. I ran the feed water up thought the drain. The input hose runs to the bottom of the bucket so the water is flowing in an up current fashion. Once the siporax is at 100%, I will removed LR a little at a time and move the siporax into the sump.

 

[bobssecrtsn]

I jumped the gun and joined the matrix band wagon, I purchased 1 gallon of matrix, I love amazon same day delivery on SATURDAY! I will follow Mr. B rule of thumb as well as directions!

 

[M007]

They seem to be very slightly darker, which could be due to detritus. Below are two photos. The first photo is when I first installed the media there weeks ago. Te second when it looks today.

The media seems to be working well. Nitrates dropped from 2.5 ppm to 1 ppm within three weeks.

My egg crate is still white and no brown stuff visible on cylinders, interesting :bigeyes:

I have a 125g sump almost full of LR and cheato. I did not want to expose my siporax to the light for the cheato and have algae grow on it. Eventually I want to remove the LR and suspend the siporax so I can suck the detritus off the bottom at each water change. I decided to start with 10L of siporax in a 5g bucket. I put a bulk head fitting in the center bottom and made a stand pipe drain. I ran the feed water up thought the drain. The input hose runs to the bottom of the bucket so the water is flowing in an up current fashion. Once the siporax is at 100%, I will removed LR a little at a time and move the siporax into the sump.

I have the same plan, hope it works out :dance: I don't have a fudge so no light ever really reaches the Siporax except for when I'm working in the sump area.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

My egg crate is still white and no brown stuff visible on cylinders, interesting :bigeyes:

May be you use filter socks to filter detritus to keep your sump and tank clean, whereas I do not.

 

[Ontheway]

They seem to be very slightly darker, which could be due to detritus. Below are two photos. The first photo is when I first installed the media there weeks ago. Te second when it looks today.

The media seems to be working well. Nitrates dropped from 2.5 ppm to 1 ppm within three weeks.

Its great to see that it cut more then half of the nitrates. May be I am wrong but, in the first picture, eggcrate box seems like staying in another glass? container, in the sump. Is this the case?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Its great to see that it cut more then half of the nitrates. May be I am wrong but, in the first picture, eggcrate box seems like staying in another glass? container, in the sump. Is this the case?

Yes it is. The box is in the middle section of my sump, which was originally designed to hold chaeto/dsb.

I kept nitrates quite low even before I had started to use siporax (thanks to Tropic Marin NP bacto balance). However, I have recently increased my fish population to 16. I feed them three times a day with frozen food. So, against this background, the siporax media is doing its job with the help of NP bacto balance.

 

[Ontheway]

Yes it is. The box is in the middle section of my sump, which was originally designed to hold chaeto/dsb.

I kept nitrates quite low even before I had started to use siporax (thanks to Tropic Marin NP bacto balance). However, I have recently increased my fish population to 16. I feed them three times a day with frozen food. So, against this background, the siporax media is doing its job with the help of NP bacto balance.

A critical question here, what I understand from above, your sump is (at least) three sections, protein skimmer (probably) sitting in the first, how are your baffles designed (the ones before and after siporax cage)? i.e., for three glasses in each baffle, over-under-over, or opposite?

I think this may alter oxygenation status of the cage section.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

A critical question here, what I understand from above, your sump is (at least) three sections, protein skimmer (probably) sitting in the first, how are your baffles designed (the ones before and after siporax cage)? i.e., for three glasses in each baffle, over-under-over, or opposite?

I think this may alter oxygenation status of the cage section.

Yes, my sump has three sections . Attached is an old picture of my sump. It is a typical DSB arrangement.

At first glance, the flow seems to be fairly strong at the top. However, my observation suggests that judging from the detritus accumulation on the egg crate and to my surprise, there appears to be even flow around the media basket (see the second photo). I have also checked the right and left hand side of the cage, detritus accumulation seems to be even in there too. For certainty there needs to be a better way of measuring flow to eliminate guess work.