LR rubble instead of bio balls?

[Morticus]

I read somewhere that you could use LR rubble instead of bio balls in a wet/dry system. Does anyone do this? Pros, cons?

 

[RMPD109]

Much better option. The only difference is the LR rubble will need to be kept submerged. The bioballs will trap detritus and lead to high nitrates. The rubble will host nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria to help in biologic filtration.

 

[fishfreek]

The submerged rock will also become a place for pods and other life to collect and thrive. Think of it as a mini refuge.

 

[Morticus]

How many lbs of rubble would you need to run a homemade wet/dry filter system with a sump?

 

[leesanhua]

may i know wht is LR rubble? i just made my sump/ refugium. i was thinking to put either bio balls or rubble.

 

[Morticus]

Just small chunks of live rock.

 

[fishfreek]

rubble as morticus said is just the small bits of rock that you get in the bottom of a box when it arrives to the LFS or to your home if you mailorder. If you dont have any rubble and need some you can just take a few rocks and smash them up with a hammer and chizel. IF you do this be sure to wear eye protection.

The amount of rubble one would use is somewhat dependant upon the setup but I would say you want enough so you can get a depth of 4"-6" in the bioball chamber of the wet/dry. The rubble will need to be sumerged vs having water trickle over it so th ewater level in the sump will be a little higher. This depth of rock rubble would give you a fairly good amount of extra surface area for biofiltration.

 

[Morticus]

Okay, thanks.

 

[zuzecawi]

I've done this in my wet dry, but I have to warn you, the sound can be horrific unless you extend the tube that drops the water into it. At first, mine put the water down through the plate and it trickled down to the bottom where it crashed and splashed on the water covering the LR rubble, so I just went to home depot and picked up a little bit of soft tubing and ran the inlet down further until it went into the water quietly.

 

[lando]

Liverock rubble is a much better filter media then bioballs are. However, bioballs work great providing you have plenty of LR in the main tank. When you put the rubble in the sump or wet/dry, you may need to increase in the water level so that all of the rubbble is submerged. Go around to the LFS and see if they have any. Some sell it and others might just give it to you. I am sure the bottom of their curing tanks is covered with rubble. Also, see with day they get LR shipments in and ask if they can save the rubble in the bottom of the box for you. My LFS was just throwing it away so I took it home and cured it myself. They have since become "wise" and now use it in the private tanks they set up, and change for it.

 

[BOTLFED]

Can u put LR rubble in the bottom of a canister instead of bioballs?? I have bio-balls and high nitrates that I cant get rid of with no LR in the tank. Id love to put some in the bottom of the 2 canisters I have and hopefully alleviate my nitrate problem.

 

[lando]

Can u put LR rubble in the bottom of a canister instead of bioballs??

yes

 

[Morticus]

Does the lr rubble have to be lighted to grow the algae/pods?

 

[MDHatter22]

What about just putting a few more pounds of rock in the sump AFTER the trickle?

 

[lando]

Does the lr rubble have to be lighted to grow the algae/pods?

Nope, all you are doing is providing a place for benifical to grow. It does not require lights but you will not see any coraline growth.

What about just putting a few more pounds of rock in the sump AFTER the trickle?

You could, but you can get more poounds of LR rubble in a sump then you can plain LR. The idea here is surface area. A sump full of rubble will have far more surface area to grow bacteria then a couple chunks of LR. Besides, LR rubble is a lot cheaper (sometimes free) then regualr LR is. Save the LR for the display tank.

 

[Richard]

Is the use of LR Rubble something new, I've never heard of this before. I have Bio Balls in my wet/dry. My overflow is also filled with bio balls, should I get rid of those as well. I have 75 lbs of LR in my 92 Gal Tank and my Nitrate level is very high with to much algae growing on my rocks.

 

[Richard]

Is the use of LR Rubble something new, I've never heard of this before. I have Bio Balls in my wet/dry. My overflow is also filled with bio balls, should I get rid of those as well. I have 75 lbs of LR in my 92 Gal Tank and my Nitrate level is very high with to much algae growing on my rocks.

 

[tinman]

What about in a hang on the back filter? Would I need to take the filter media out or leave it in(no carbon in media).

 

[lando]

Is the use of LR Rubble something new

I am not sure just how new this trend is. LR rubble is a better filter media then bioballs. They do a better job at removing nitrate from the water. If you are having trouble with nitrates, this could be part of the problem. Can you list your current livestock, your feeding scheule and the type of substrate you have? What are your current NO3 and PO4 levels?

What about in a hang on the back filter?

It is really up to you. HOB filters add flow tothe tank and provide you with a place to run chemical filtration. They also provide mechanical filtration. Some will also provide biological filtration, but once the filter pad is changed you llose the bacteria that is on it. You can remove everything from the filter and fill it with LR rubble if you want. IMO, HOB filters do okay provided you have plenty of LR in the main tank for consistant biological filtration.

 

[pearsont74]

ok....heres a question....can i get dead LR...and smash it up for my LR rubble? I know and have seen online and places rock....that is out and dry (kinda like that ugly color fake coral LFS has) and was thinkin I can get that and smash it to us as my rubble and over time it will grow
let me know....