Filter Media Questions

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T

tanglovers

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 28, 2007
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Michigan
Hi All,

Have a few general questions about the new setup I am doing.

System will be around 650 gallons. Will have a high bioload. I will be doing a large bioreactor (30-40 gallons) on the system.

Will be likely 5-6 rays in time, my fly river turtle and a few other oddball fish - geophagus, loaches, severums, uaru to start but likely swap out to something larger as the rays grow if they are not compatible.

There will be 2 sumps on the system (due to the space allowed). A 70 gallon and a 125 gallon plumbed end to end. I am planning on having the water from the overflow drain down into the 70 gallon then flow into the 125 (plumbed end to end) and then return into the display.

I am planning on runnig the sumps with about 10-12" of water in them. Is there a good type of biological media that works well when fully submersed all the time? Next what media would you run in the wet dry area when the water is flowing through it? I will be doing mechical filtration on the water before it enters the sump area to keep as much waste out as possible.

Also I see everyone has air stone / discs in their display tanks. Is this because of the high oxygen demand adult rays have or does it serve another purpose?

Thanks!
 
Bioballs man. If you get high quality CRs, i'm sure the amount needed will most likely make a dent (more like a rip) on your wallet.
 
Well he already got a crazy sized sump. I think filled entirely with bioballs would most likely be an overkill already, let alone if he used CRs
 
If you're doing a reactor, reactor people would probably say you don't need anything else. I put it this way because I have no personal experience running a reactor.

For vague comparison I run a ~320 gal with 4 rays and just a 30L tank I turned into a wet/dry filter in 20 minutes with maybe 18-20 gals of scrubbies.

I don't run an air stone and apparently have no oxygen issues (I'm not surprised) but people also run them because the rays seem to like playing in the bubbles.
 
Thanks for the info.

I should have added this system is going to be on a drip system as well to aid in water changes and top off of evaported water. Planning on a minimum of 10% (65-70 gallons) daily and increased as / if needed.

I did not think bioballs when fully submersed did much. I run them on some of my saltwater fish breeding systems in wet drys and am very happy but like I said they are not fully submersed.

I do not have any experience with ceramic rings. Are they considered to be good when fully submersed?

I know the bioreactor people say I do not need anything else but I have room in the sump area and would rather have some extra filtration capacity then even borderline not enough.
 
since your running the reactor, i would focus on using the extra room for polishing

but if your going to use media, i would use a large bio ball that wont clog up and cause excess nitrates
 
The return pumps are going to run through a mechanical canister filter then the UV sterilizers so I was planning on that for polishing.

Is this what you meant or do you think something else would be in order?

I am planning on using the roll type filter floss to filter out most of the particulate matter before entering the sump to keep it as clean as I can, might even run it into a filter sock after the filter floss - think this would eliminate most of the detrious from entering the sump?
 
I have a 180g sump on my 750g. The one 2" overflow goes over about 55g of bioballs and drip tray. the other 2" overflow goes thru 2 filter socks and about 5 gallons of matrix. I have an auto changer that does 75-80g a night. no ammonia and no nitrates. I have a pretty heavy bioload and feed every day.
:headbang2
 
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