cheaper media ???

[new2natives]

I was just wondering ....
When it comes to submerged media in a sump, most people go with the ceramic rings, similar to what comes in most HOB/Canisters

A guy at the LFS told you can do the same thing with other types of crushed rock ... something like Lava or Tufa rock??
Is there any benefit to having the expensive ceramic rings, or will any crushed porous rock work?

 

[Sarah88]

well in saltwater liverock is used for biological filtration so i would think the same principle could apply with freshwater as well just make sure its a very porous/light rock that has lots of surface area for bacteria to grow, but maybe someone with more actual experience could give better advice

 

[new2natives]

bump ... whats everyone think?

 

[swede]

it sounds like you are trying to get more surface area for BB...... have you tried scrubbies?

 

[xdragonxb0i]

scrubbies work more effiecient when not submerged.

saltwater and freshwater have diffrent bacteria, bacteria you find in SW live rock isnt found in FW setup.

most bacteria in submerged set up, will be anaaerobic bacteria. which is good but, aerobic bacteria is better

 

[dwilder]

lava rock does work also pumice like people use for scrubbing their feet works also

 

[uncwnells]

you could, but this is essentially the same thing as the scrubbies as mentioned before, buy the cheapest longest spool of fishing line you can find. Take that and unspool into manageable piles that will fit into some sort of media bag, then stuff the bags.

edit: make sure its monofilament

 

[new2natives]

i should have aerobic covered, as I will have a ton of bioballs in my trickle section. I've also considered adding a bucket full of cut straws (one of my favorite DIY media, although i've not tried it personally)

i just figured the more BB the better, so i'd pack the bottom of the sump full of some other type of media

 

[chesterthehero]

scrubbies...

when it comes to the price of scrubbies vs the price of fancy rocks and tubes ill choose the scrubbies everytime and somehow suffer through with 0.0000002% less surface area...

 

[oswego]

Does anybody clean their scrubies before using? I have bought some and there is an odor on them that I can't describe.