SIPORAX leaching SI

[Fishworks2015]

Hello Fellow Fishkeepers,

I am looking so setup a tank with Siporax in my filter.
I learned from a saltwater forum that it will leach Silicates which can be kept in check with every other week WC 20%

If you can give me some tips on how to manage this SI rise, It would be much appreciated.

How much SIPORAX did you use on your system? What is your water volume?
My tank will be about 90 gallons. How much SIPORAX to use is undecided.

Thanks,
-Harry

 

[Rocksor]

Are you taking about Sera Siporax? "sera siporax is made from a mixture of recycled glass powder and salt crystals of an exactly defined size."

I haven't noticed any leaching in my freshwater tanks. I do a minimum 75% water change over the course of 1 week. It might just be an issue with Saltwater systems.

You can use all SIPORAX or just use filter coarse sponges (20-30ppi), which will make the canister lighter to carry than the SIPORAX.

 

[Fishworks2015]

Are you taking about Sera Siporax? "sera siporax is made from a mixture of recycled glass powder and salt crystals of an exactly defined size."

I haven't noticed any leaching in my freshwater tanks. I do a minimum 75% water change over the course of 1 week. It might just be an issue with Saltwater systems.

You can use all SIPORAX or just use filter coarse sponges (20-30ppi), which will make the canister lighter to carry than the SIPORAX.

Rocksor,

Yeah, im talking about Sera Siporax. The link is from Reef 2 Reef titled "How do you use Siporax?". I cant really post the link as Im a new member here.
An old man used it in his saltwater system anaerobically. He used 10kg worth in a tank volume he did not specify. It did cut down his nitrates but he had about 1ppm increase in Silicates weekly which he had to cut down with 20% WC every other week. He was able to maintain 1ppm SI over the course of a year until he decided to stop WC for 7 months where it gradually increased until reaching 17ppm. Then he decided to take it out and SI dropped back to 0ppm. However, no harm done to any flora or fauna (the spike was safe).

Perhaps your 75% WC keeps SI levels in check but you may be right about this being confined as a salt water issue as I've only read it in 3 salt water threads.
I am going to use a course pad, a fine pad, then everything else Siporax in my Canister. Water change schedule is 25% WC weekly then 50% WC once a month.
Really, what I worry about is the unstable water parameters, gradual increase and then drop in SI, over and over again.
Hopefully I get no leaching of SI at all, or maybe a rise of just 1-3ppm weekly so the drops after WC arent so drastic.
Should I just give my system a year and report back with updates?

 

[deeda]

Harry, will your tank be fresh water or salt water?

 

[Rocksor]

Rocksor,

Yeah, im talking about Sera Siporax. The link is from Reef 2 Reef titled "How do you use Siporax?". I cant really post the link as Im a new member here.
An old man used it in his saltwater system anaerobically. He used 10kg worth in a tank volume he did not specify. It did cut down his nitrates but he had about 1ppm increase in Silicates weekly which he had to cut down with 20% WC every other week. He was able to maintain 1ppm SI over the course of a year until he decided to stop WC for 7 months where it gradually increased until reaching 17ppm. Then he decided to take it out and SI dropped back to 0ppm. However, no harm done to any flora or fauna (the spike was safe).

Perhaps your 75% WC keeps SI levels in check but you may be right about this being confined as a salt water issue as I've only read it in 3 salt water threads.
I am going to use a course pad, a fine pad, then everything else Siporax in my Canister. Water change schedule is 25% WC weekly then 50% WC once a month.
Really, what I worry about is the unstable water parameters, gradual increase and then drop in SI, over and over again.
Hopefully I get no leaching of SI at all, or maybe a rise of just 1-3ppm weekly so the drops after WC arent so drastic.
Should I just give my system a year and report back with updates?

I hate fine pads in the canister. It just clogs up quicker than everything else, and forces you to up the canister up sooner than without it. My preference is a prefilter sponge on the canister inlet (coarse foam) to catch the larger items. Since I have eheim canisters, I use their pre-filter, which I rinse out every 2-3 days, which seems to reduce the detritus in the canister itself.

Sure, report back what you find in a year with regards to SI. To be honest, the increase/decrease of SI won't affect your water parameters that much. Most of the changes to water parameters have always been the result of filter maintenance plus amount of volume of water changed in the freshwater community. The more you change your water, the closer in parameters it is to your source tap water. (I'm assuming you are doing nothing to change the tap water).

 

[Fishworks2015]

Harry, will your tank be fresh water or salt water?

Fresh Water

 

[Fishworks2015]

I hate fine pads in the canister. It just clogs up quicker than everything else, and forces you to up the canister up sooner than without it. My preference is a prefilter sponge on the canister inlet (coarse foam) to catch the larger items. Since I have eheim canisters, I use their pre-filter, which I rinse out every 2-3 days, which seems to reduce the detritus in the canister itself.

Sure, report back what you find in a year with regards to SI. To be honest, the increase/decrease of SI won't affect your water parameters that much. Most of the changes to water parameters have always been the result of filter maintenance plus amount of volume of water changed in the freshwater community. The more you change your water, the closer in parameters it is to your source tap water. (I'm assuming you are doing nothing to change the tap water).

I like the fine pads as they polish my water, although right now, I am considering Seachem Purigen.
Youre right, I don't really fiddle with my tap water.

Well I guess I should expect stable SI levels in the coming year. ?

 

[duanes]

What extra benefit do you expect to get out of Siporax, that you can't get out of any other biological media?
It is not a water polisher or mechanical media that filters out particulate (it won't make water look clearer).
It is only a surface for biofilm to I've and grow on.

 

[jft]

Use a combo of eheim pro substrate and siporax works great, I only trust these two long term German manufacturers , Tried and true been around for 40 plus years.

 

[Milingu]

Why are you so scared of some silicates in freshwater?
My tap water has 11.6 mg/l which is already more than most tests can show and I have no problems with it. I have only a few Cryptocoryne or even no plants in my tanks and still I have only a little till no visible algea growth.