Advice on Filtration

[athomson101]

Hi all,

So I've finally got around to setting up my tank and it is currently cycling for the last two weeks. Diatoms have started to appear but ammonia is still high so not ready for livestock yet.

Its an AquaOne Nano 40 tank with integrated filter. I've 3.5kg of live rock in the tank and am happy with this in the display.

However, I've been looking at the filtration system to see if I can add more live rock to give it a boost.

Currently, its simply running the standard AquaOne system as per picture below. Water enters and passes through a floss and ceramic filter and then a sponge filter before exiting.

What I'm thinking of doing is moving the sponge filter as shown and then filling the second compartment with rubble (ReefX Cerock 25 or CaribSea Rubble) to provide more surface area for filtration, etc.

Wondering if this is a good idea or if anyone has any better ones?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fishlegend]

I think

I think if you aren't getting enough filtration you can do it but you don't have In any fish yet so don't go permenatley altering your filter if you migh not need to.

 

[Sniperhank]

They key for live rock is the same as sand. You want to aim to be about 1 lbs per gallon, not going much more than 1.5 lbs per gallon, mostly because you're loosing valuable swim space at that point. If you want more than that, tossing it into the sump is a fine concept. I have lots of rubble in my sump, but I'll warn you in advance you get a ton of detrius build up in and around it. I am going to try a wet/dry vac to address that personally.

In terms of ceramic rings or anything like that, skip it. More of a freshwater idea that is managed by the live rock we just mentioned. You also won't need to have filter floss and a sponge. They are both doing the same thing. I personally prefer filter socks and then toss them into the washing machine to clean them out for next use over sponges as sponges tend to clog easier and restrict flow. Flow is good, especially in a sump IMO, to keep detrius build up at a minimum. This would also leave room for any future equipment you might deem necessary, like a protein skimmer or an algae turf scrubber.

 

[athomson101]

Thanks all. Think I'll leave things alone to begin with so. Will look at filter socks, etc though.

 

[patrick seastar]

You know that live rock, depending where it's from can have ick as well as other parasites? This is why if it's already inside your main display I would leave there at least two months without fish. This will starve the parasites. For future reference, going with dry rock is easier because you don't have to worry about the bad things that can come on them. Also remember that adding ANYTHING into your tank must be quarantine & or medicated in order to prevent parasites from entering your aquarium.

As far as adding more bacterial filtration, rocks is an old school idea. It used to be the rule that you needed one pound per gallon of saltwater but with the advances in technology with filtration, it's not necessary anymore. There plenty of products out there hat have massively way more surface area then both rocks & ceramic. There's bio-home, matrix, & bricks. They can house the beneficial bacterial that can convert nitrite into nitrate into nitrogen gas.

I find mechanical filtration is always something that you must first watch if it fits, how much flow it restricts, & how much it actually filters. Socks outperform sponges but maybe you like the redundancy to use both & just incase you only want sponges, they still work but you gotta make sure you clean them very well.

As always, the more filtration you have, the easier it is on yourself. I always shoot for way more then what the package provides. Add massive amounts of biological filtration & you'll see how easy this hobby can be.