Best DIY sponge filter media

[PB_Smith]

I wonder why anaerobic bacteria are not attempted more for freshwater? Are we a bunch of slackers??

Three main reasons;
1) nitrate is far less toxic to freshwater fish and is very toxic to corals and inverts kept in reef tanks.
2) live plants help utilize the nitrates and keep the levels low.
3) It is much safer/easier to do a large water change in fresh water than it is in saltwater, so in fresh you can also keep nitrates under control with more frequent/larger WC's than are safe in a reef tank.

but beyond that it is actually kinda hard as the two types of bacteria have opposite environmental needs, but I guarantee that all types reside in an established tank.

One other thing to bear in mind is that the colonies of anaerobic bacteria take about 2-3 times longer to get established in a tank and they reproduce much slower.
So while it takes 4-6 weeks for the aerobic bacteria to take hold, it takes 8-12 weeks for the anaerobic colonies to really flourish.

 

[BillD]

I wonder why anaerobic bacteria are not attempted more for freshwater? Are we a bunch of slackers??

Good question. Some have approached denitrification with a simple plenum beneath the gravel. Works very well unless you have fish that dig. Requires no maintainance, but does require a specific size of gravel to work well. the idea is to create an anoxic area for the anaerobic bacteria to live. Water flow between the tank and plenum is very slow as the two bodies attempt to reach equilibrium.

 

[Fresh2o]

Thank you for this conversation! What do you think about putting a fairly fine sponge on the outside and inside the PVC using ceramic media? Although, there wont be much room inside the PVC but I could use a 3/4".

Sent from my VK810 4G using Aquarium Advice mobile app

I think should work. I don't understand the 3/4" part. Is the PVC 3/4" wide? If so that is quite narrow.
I think in guilty of leading the topic astray. But definitely an interesting discussion!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Mebbid]

Live rock isnt used in freshwater because it dissolves in ph lower than 8 ish. This will increase the ph and buffering of the water the same way as adding crushed coral will. Not to mention the cost of true live rock is extreme.

As for anaerobic bacteria and ceramic filter media, I seriously doubt it happens enough to make a difference on the tank. Filters offer too much flow of oxygenated water to create a good anaerobic environment. However, its simple to make a denitrifying filter using pumice and a low flow water pump.

 

[Retired_AF]

Retired_AF you will have better results if you put the floss in the top chamber so it removes as much detritus as possible before reaching the biological portion of the filter. That way the bio-media doesn't get clogged with muck as much/quickly.

The last basket IS the top one. I haven't figured out how to load them any other way.

I like the idea of the pot scrubbers. Cheap and easy to clean. Good idea as long as you have enough to do the filtering.

 

[Delapool]

Good question. Some have approached denitrification with a simple plenum beneath the gravel. Works very well unless you have fish that dig. Requires no maintainance, but does require a specific size of gravel to work well. the idea is to create an anoxic area for the anaerobic bacteria to live. Water flow between the tank and plenum is very slow as the two bodies attempt to reach equilibrium.

Bit off track but any ideas on setting one up? I did briefly look at another filter where I could set a slow flow rate to try and help more anaerobic conditions (with specialised media) but got told everything must fit in the cupboards under the tank.

So I was thinking of an underground filter setup and deeper substrate and maybe? getting closer to what you posted?

 

[Mebbid]

Bit off track but any ideas on setting one up? I did briefly look at another filter where I could set a slow flow rate to try and help more anaerobic conditions (with specialised media) but got told everything must fit in the cupboards under the tank.

So I was thinking of an underground filter setup and deeper substrate and maybe? getting closer to what you posted?

Check out this

You could do that but go with a gallon or larger container and shoot for about 50gph flow rate. If you could do as large as a 5g bucket under the stand it would work even better. You could increase the flow rate too, maybe upwards of 100gph.

 

[Delapool]

That is really cool. I like the idea it can be used for other media as well. Added to list

 

[BillD]

Bit off track but any ideas on setting one up? I did briefly look at another filter where I could set a slow flow rate to try and help more anaerobic conditions (with specialised media) but got told everything must fit in the cupboards under the tank.

So I was thinking of an underground filter setup and deeper substrate and maybe? getting closer to what you posted?

We had a speaker at our club a number of years ago, that was bringing a denitrator to market based on the plenum system. It never happened, but what they showed us was a plenum made from 2 layers of egg crate (lighting grate) wrapped in window screen, which would have about 2" of 1/8" quartz gravel above it. I looked at it and thought I had some UGF plates with that amount of space beneath them that would work. UGF plates can be picked up by the box load for a few bucks. The product they presented was going to be too expensive for most people and I think they weren't able to find enough vendors. I recall from articles in FAMA years ago that plenums were being used in salt water tanks.

 

[Delapool]

We had a speaker at our club a number of years ago, that was bringing a denitrator to market based on the plenum system. It never happened, but what they showed us was a plenum made from 2 layers of egg crate (lighting grate) wrapped in window screen, which would have about 2" of 1/8" quartz gravel above it. I looked at it and thought I had some UGF plates with that amount of space beneath them that would work. UGF plates can be picked up by the box load for a few bucks. The product they presented was going to be too expensive for most people and I think they weren't able to find enough vendors. I recall from articles in FAMA years ago that plenums were being used in salt water tanks.

Interesting! Was the main expense in the media it sounds? Did they have any fine filter sponge to stop gunk getting sucked down or was it just natural water flow (have no idea what flow rates are like in gravel).

 

[Mebbid]

Plenum systems are very very rare in salt water tanks nowadays. Partly because they take up soo much space in the tank and partly because they are comparable in their effectiveness to a deep sand bed.

 

[PB_Smith]

the place to utilize a plenum setup to it's fullest potential with the least aesthetic impact is in a refugium.

one of the caveats of a plenum system in saltwater is that you have to "feed" it, same as dosing vodka or other carbon source.
There are more efficient methods available for salt water systems today.

 

[PB_Smith]

Thank you for this conversation! What do you think about putting a fairly fine sponge on the outside and inside the PVC using ceramic media? Although, there wont be much room inside the PVC but I could use a 3/4".

Sent from my VK810 4G using Aquarium Advice mobile app

What I would do is use 2" PVC as the main body of the filter, maybe 4-6 inches tall, capped at bottom end, threaded cap at the top drilled to fit a length of 3/4" PVC.
Drill a bunch of holes into the 2" piece and then fill with bio-media of your choice. then wrap sponge material around the outside of it and run an airline down the 3/4" pipe and you're done.

you could also use black ABS pipe if you don't like the stark white of PVC.

as you can see this is a basic idea that can be tweaked myriad ways to fit your particular needs.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

Great idea!!! Thank you!

Sent from my VK810 4G using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[gilpi]

These plastic pot scrubbers are great, they have a huge amount of surface area and will never clog. You can get them from a dollar store usually. I use them in all my filters.

Just load them in and then put your fine filter media above it. The lack of micro holes that most popular media has nowadays makes it so the biological filter media can't really get clogged.

Best bang for the buck. I use them in my canister filters. Dollar store, $1 for a bag of 6.

 

[HAnnAH10gal]

Do those little sponges leach out chemicals though or dyes?


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[Mebbid]

Do those little sponges leach out chemicals though or dyes?


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

Nope, they are just a bundle of plastic strips. No leeching or chemicals.

 

[HAnnAH10gal]

Excellent idea!! Would you need a fine catch sponge for finer particles to keep water clear though? Currently I have two sponges and biomax in my aquaclear filter. It came with carbon too but I don't use that. When my sponges get torn up could I just replace them with one of these and nothing else but biomax?


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[Fresh2o]

You might be better off replacing the sponges with new sponges. The round shape of the pot scrubbers might allow too much bypass in the AC filter box. But that's not a bad idea.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice