Instead of using live rock rubble in your canister filter...

[Clown Monarch]

why not just use the ceramic pieces? Don't they serve the same purpose as live rock?

 

[Brad]

Yes, but rock is more porous and preferred because it offers low-oxygen areas within the rock that support nitrate reducing bacteria.

 

[RocketSeason]

I will be putting LR rubble in my canister Filter soon. Sounds like the best solution for me.

 

[lando]

LR rubble also has more surface area when you factor in all of the holes and nooks. More surface area means more bacteria.

 

[MadManMac]

How is live rock different in a canister filter from other media. Does it not produce Nitrates and nitrites the same? I would have imagined that the ceramic media was far more porous than rock since it is engineered that way not a natural product. I have a tone of extra small rock that I could use to fill it up and not feel bad about it, so this could be good!

 

[lando]

LR rubble in a canister filter or sump provides you with the same biofiltration beneifts as LR in your tank. Compaired to bioballs and other similar media, LR rubble does a better job of reducing or removing nitrates.

 

[Clown Monarch]

I have those cylindrical-shaped porous ceramic pieces that came with the unit. They certainly look porous, but not with the deep holes and perforations that live rock has.

 

[RocketSeason]

the water will move slower through your LR than it will through ceramic media. This allows it more time to be in contact with helpful bacteria. Plus, its all natural. ( You still will want some form of mechanical filtration like a collection sleeve to capture your big particulate. clean that once a month to keep nitrates from building up in your system.

 

[Clown Monarch]

What is the beef against bio-balls then? Granted, live rock may be the best choice, but it's also expensive. Bio-balls serve the same purpose, if not as effectively. Then why the flight from bio-balls in the hobby?

 

[cmor1701d]

You still will want some form of mechanical filtration like a collection sleeve to capture your big particulate.

That's what the skimmer is for. Mechanical filtration will cause the particulate to breakdown to nitrate.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

People shy away from bioballs because they can only produce nitrates. The rubble is preferable because while it creates nitrates, it also removes them.

 

[RocketSeason]

you still will want a collection sleeve to catch the big stuff. Skimmers remove gunk from water, but the big pieces of gunk are best removed with a fine mesh "strainer" of some sorts. I have a sleeve that goes in my canister to collect the gunk.

 

[cmor1701d]

I have a sleeve that goes in my canister to collect the gunk

How often are you cleaning the sleeve?

 

[RocketSeason]

once a month. (but I have a low bio-load.)

If you have a large bio-load you will want to do it about 2 times a month.

 

[grimlock3000]

What is the beef against bio-balls then? Granted, live rock may be the best choice, but it's also expensive. Bio-balls serve the same purpose, if not as effectively. Then why the flight from bio-balls in the hobby?

Bio balls (and ceramic media for that matter) are great at converting ammonia to nitrite, and then converting the nitrite to nitrate. The problem is that is stops right there and waste in the tank is very quickly converted to nitrates. The mass produced media types provides TONS of surface area for bacteria, but lack the low oxygen zones found needed to process the nitrate further. No manufactured media has proven to be effective as live rock at converting the nitrates to {relatively) harmless nitrogen gas. With more and more people going to reef tank and even FOWLR tanks with tons of inverts, those people want as little nitrates in the tank as possible. This is why you have seen a Bio balls taking a back seat to having a lot of live rock or a DSB.