over doing siporax
- Thread starter March.
- Start date
tripdad
Frustrated Stick Gardener
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2526998
Lots of info in the above thread. beautiful tank by the way and welcome.
Lots of info in the above thread. beautiful tank by the way and welcome.
Reefvet
New member
That thread was started after I took Sahin's tank thread off topic discussing Siporax.
I've worked in Aquaculture research for over 30 years and have used/tested Siporax and all the other sintered glass media since they came on the market.
You can probably have too much of a few things in a reef tank. Effective media for denitrification would not usually be one of them.
Siporax if run correctly is up to 37 times more efficient than live rock. Matrix about 20 times. Substrat Pro about 10 times.
Which to use and how is all dependent on what's in your tank and what else you're doing to handle excess nutrients.
I've worked in Aquaculture research for over 30 years and have used/tested Siporax and all the other sintered glass media since they came on the market.
You can probably have too much of a few things in a reef tank. Effective media for denitrification would not usually be one of them.
Siporax if run correctly is up to 37 times more efficient than live rock. Matrix about 20 times. Substrat Pro about 10 times.
Which to use and how is all dependent on what's in your tank and what else you're doing to handle excess nutrients.
SpSChief85
New member
I was wondering the same with marinepure and it's accumulative to the previous listed products and it's effectiveness.
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
I have no formal research or aquaculture experience relating to use of Siporax, but having used different types of sintered glass for at least 20 years as a hobbyist I agree that you cant really overdo it.
The reason you cant is because:
1. Bacterial populations are limited/controlled by nutrient/waste concentrations; having excess siporax wont itself lead to more bacteria
2. With clean/good quality sintered glass material like Siporax there is no danger of overdoing it like with having a large pile of liverock.
As long as the flow is sufficient and detritus is kept to a minimal I dont really see any disadvantages.
FWIW I've used diferent types and even used non branded stuff in reef tanks. I've had all kinds of tiny worms/sponges/micro fauna living amongst and on them. I'd stick to the branded types in any event though to be on the safe side.
The reason you cant is because:
1. Bacterial populations are limited/controlled by nutrient/waste concentrations; having excess siporax wont itself lead to more bacteria
2. With clean/good quality sintered glass material like Siporax there is no danger of overdoing it like with having a large pile of liverock.
As long as the flow is sufficient and detritus is kept to a minimal I dont really see any disadvantages.
FWIW I've used diferent types and even used non branded stuff in reef tanks. I've had all kinds of tiny worms/sponges/micro fauna living amongst and on them. I'd stick to the branded types in any event though to be on the safe side.
I'm new to this type of media. I actually ordered a 1L bottle of Seachem Matrix because it was convenient -- But I'm wondering what other brands of Sintered glass are out there?
scrapz
Saturation+100
Siporax and eheim media are both sintered glass afaik
M007
Acro Whore
Having too much Siporax is like having too much LR, only with Siporax it is 10X more effective and pest free :thumbsup: The only downside is that it would look crappy in your DT :frog:
scuzy
Active member
anyone use these hydor quartz media?
https://premiumaquatics.com/products/hydor-canister-filter-media-450-gram-quartz-bioring.html
looks same as siporax.
https://premiumaquatics.com/products/hydor-canister-filter-media-450-gram-quartz-bioring.html
looks same as siporax.
My only thought is that it doesn't seem nearly as porous from the information provided (could be wrong). Hydor cites 1 liter of material being equivalent to 8.25m^2, while Seachem Matrix claims 1 Liter being equal to 700m^2
I believe Siporax is significantly more porous than Seachem Matrix.
How are people keeping their media (siporax or otherwise) clean from detritus? The Marinepure blocks are convenient because they are easy to siphon off of or around from. Having a lot of small pieces makes it a lot easier to get detritus in/around them.
The obvious answer is high flow, but then are you getting full denitrification from them, or only nitrification because of the high replenishment of oxygenated water?
The obvious answer is high flow, but then are you getting full denitrification from them, or only nitrification because of the high replenishment of oxygenated water?
Matrix has more surface area, much cheaper. The only reason it isn't universally the best media is it's not formed into tubes that allow detritus to flow through like Siporax.
Going on 6 years of using matrix in discus tank. I now have a year running it on my 330 gallon reef. Started with 2 liters of matrix. Now I run 2 liters of matrix and 4 liters pond matrix. It made a big difference. I have cut back carbon dosing and love the fact that's it's a easy and natural way of addressing nitrate.
What's the difference you might ask? Size
I had 2 liters of siporax but removed it as I want to try the larger ones. But at this rate I have been with out the siporax over a month and no changes in parameters. I now have an additional 4 liters of pond matrix I am adding tomorrow.
At this point I hope to be off carbon dosing entirely.
I must address the film build up part and will be posting my experience. Same applies to all media. If you noticed on the above pictures I am trying 2 methods with one goal in mind, maintenance.
So after years of using seachem matrix in a canister with great success on my discus tank. I have noticed that yes a film builds up on any media and can be easily dislodged and removed (I must admit I am not entirely sure the film is causesing any degradation in effectiveness of the media)
Down side? bacteria exposure to air if not handled correctly can start to die off and cause mini cycle while it re establishes.
I later started to run 2 canisters and clean out one unit one month and the other a month later. I do this to address redundancy and reduce the probability of a mini cycle as I like to rinse media with discard water by giving it a good shake to dislodge film and possible detritus.
Back to my reef and what is working. I have decided to try high and low flow areas while also creating removable compartments so one can perform maintenance and not impact all the media.
Doing this allows me to grab one of the 1 liter media bag and shake and rinse it in discard tank water at any given schedule.
I also left pond matrix lose in bottom of my filter sock chamber (please note if using pond matrix for the first time please let it soak in water and sink, as they can float due to micro bubbles being trapped in very porous media).
I will try to post a full write up of methods and results as I go along.
Hope this helps.
What's the difference you might ask? Size
I had 2 liters of siporax but removed it as I want to try the larger ones. But at this rate I have been with out the siporax over a month and no changes in parameters. I now have an additional 4 liters of pond matrix I am adding tomorrow.
At this point I hope to be off carbon dosing entirely.
I must address the film build up part and will be posting my experience. Same applies to all media. If you noticed on the above pictures I am trying 2 methods with one goal in mind, maintenance.
So after years of using seachem matrix in a canister with great success on my discus tank. I have noticed that yes a film builds up on any media and can be easily dislodged and removed (I must admit I am not entirely sure the film is causesing any degradation in effectiveness of the media)
Down side? bacteria exposure to air if not handled correctly can start to die off and cause mini cycle while it re establishes.
I later started to run 2 canisters and clean out one unit one month and the other a month later. I do this to address redundancy and reduce the probability of a mini cycle as I like to rinse media with discard water by giving it a good shake to dislodge film and possible detritus.
Back to my reef and what is working. I have decided to try high and low flow areas while also creating removable compartments so one can perform maintenance and not impact all the media.
Doing this allows me to grab one of the 1 liter media bag and shake and rinse it in discard tank water at any given schedule.
I also left pond matrix lose in bottom of my filter sock chamber (please note if using pond matrix for the first time please let it soak in water and sink, as they can float due to micro bubbles being trapped in very porous media).
I will try to post a full write up of methods and results as I go along.
Hope this helps.
Last edited:
wheelman76
New member
Pretty sure that Reefvets tests showed that siporax has MORE surface area than Matrix.
Agree Wheelman76 reefvet stated that but the answer I have been looking for is the below which one is more surface area. Judging by their claims seachem wins by twice as much.
270 m² per liter Siporax vs 700 m2/L for Seachem.
I have to be honest and IMO, either claim to me is still far better than live rocks abilities to remove nitrate. I only choose pond matrix becuase it's readily available and becuase it has reduce the need for,water changes in my discus tank drastically.
270 m² per liter Siporax vs 700 m2/L for Seachem.
I have to be honest and IMO, either claim to me is still far better than live rocks abilities to remove nitrate. I only choose pond matrix becuase it's readily available and becuase it has reduce the need for,water changes in my discus tank drastically.
