safe or unsafe? if i add a large rubbermaid container (55 gallons or so) filled with live rock and connect it to the sump, would that be beneficial or would lack of light kill off the bacteria. if so would a clear container work?
box of rocks???
- Thread starter savannah_az
- Start date
When you say "live rock" do you mean the rocks are currently in a healthy tank and have been there for some time? Also, what type of rocks are they?
im open to either live or lace. i just figured it would be added filtration, but i didn't know if the lack of light would be an issue. couldn't i add a box of lace rock to the tank once its established to seed it?
I'm pretty sure lack of light won't hurt them, someone correct me if I'm wrong it's been a while since I've even looked at saltwater.
the more the better, light shouldn't be an issue i don't think. but you could put a lamp above it if you're worried about it.
Live rock, is this a saltwater tank? In either case, bacteria doesn't need light to survive, it needs ammonia and oxygen. Rocks will have a poor surface area though, you're better off using other media.
ok i am open to other medias i just didn't know what would work best for filtration in that sense.
If you have a sump already, adding more media isn't gonna help. If your ammonia and nitrites are both at 0, then you already have all the media you need. Adding more media won't grow more bacteria, it's just a waste of space.
And if you did need more media, I'd go with something like pot scrubbies before using a big chunk of rock because it would have a very poor surface area. You can actually test this yourself.
Get a container of water, and fill it to the rim. Grab your chunk of rock and put it in, noting how much water it displaces. Now, do the same thing with a bunch of pot scrubbies that have a mass roughly the same as the rock. Note the amount of water displaced. Almost none right? The one that displaces the least amount of water will have the most surface area, and will be more efficient for growing bacteria.
And if you did need more media, I'd go with something like pot scrubbies before using a big chunk of rock because it would have a very poor surface area. You can actually test this yourself.
Get a container of water, and fill it to the rim. Grab your chunk of rock and put it in, noting how much water it displaces. Now, do the same thing with a bunch of pot scrubbies that have a mass roughly the same as the rock. Note the amount of water displaced. Almost none right? The one that displaces the least amount of water will have the most surface area, and will be more efficient for growing bacteria.
you need to give details on your current setup and stock. From the little you've provided it sounds like adding a 55g with any kind of media would be over kill if you already have a sump.
edit: ^ damn out posted.
edit: ^ damn out posted.