largest water change?

[esse]

CR's ?

Ceramic rings

 

[jwarriner]

I do 80-90% weekly on my tanks no problem. My water is always crystal clear within a few hours after cleaning.

 

[marscortes]

When I had cloudy water in the past I always thought it was because I didn't have enough mechanical filtration. I eventually figured out that it was actually caused by not have enough biological filtration.

same with me. When i moved my 30 gal down stairs I had to almost empty the tank for me to transport it. when i filled it back with water it was cloudy for about a week. From a little help with MFK members it was due to not enough bacteria in the water. i cycled it with some rosy's and some zebras. in about a week and a half i put the gar back, and he ate everything and everything went well.


if it dosent help.. try some carbon.

 

[demjor19]

When I had cloudy water in the past I always thought it was because I didn't have enough mechanical filtration. I eventually figured out that it was actually caused by not have enough biological filtration.

I agree 100%. You can have a huge sump/filter on a tank, but if you have poor biological filtration you will still have the issue of cloudy water.

As someone else stated...load your sump with ceramic rings and let it run for a while. Combine that with your normal 40%-60% waterchanges and you should notice a world of difference after a week or two when the Beneficial Bacteria colonize within the new filter media.

 

[aussiesk8]

Ive never really done more than 50% tbh, to play it safe

 

[new2natives]

can someone give me a link or a picture of the ceramic rings? where can you buy them? and then just throw them in the sump so they are submerged?

i assume then i should continue doing water changes like i am now? and they will still be able to colonize? what about adding bacterial supplements like API Stress Zyme or Cycle?

also, i just thought of this -- i have a lot of spare gravel laying around (since most of my tanks are now sand) ... could i take that gravel and throw it in the sump to provide beneficial surface area ??

 

[new2natives]

if i do all this, will my filtration be able to handle the stocklist?

 

[demjor19]

if i do all this, will my filtration be able to handle the stocklist?

I use something similar to this, but it's made by Hagen. Just add a bunch of these to your filter housing and continue all other maintenance as normal. I can't say if it would handle your current stock list or not, but it will help immensely!

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4136+18355&pcatid=18355

 

[esse]

can someone give me a link or a picture of the ceramic rings? where can you buy them? and then just throw them in the sump so they are submerged?

i assume then i should continue doing water changes like i am now? and they will still be able to colonize? what about adding bacterial supplements like API Stress Zyme or Cycle?

also, i just thought of this -- i have a lot of spare gravel laying around (since most of my tanks are now sand) ... could i take that gravel and throw it in the sump to provide beneficial surface area ??

You can find ceramic rings (CR) just about anywhere (petco petsmart, LFS) some come in bags when you buy them, if not you can buy media bags at the same stores. Look on MFK. Do a search on sumps and you can find pics of set ups just like this.

 

[koop171]

can someone give me a link or a picture of the ceramic rings? where can you buy them? and then just throw them in the sump so they are submerged?

i assume then i should continue doing water changes like i am now? and they will still be able to colonize? what about adding bacterial supplements like API Stress Zyme or Cycle?

also, i just thought of this -- i have a lot of spare gravel laying around (since most of my tanks are now sand) ... could i take that gravel and throw it in the sump to provide beneficial surface area ??

Justin CRs are biomax. Or you can use substrate pro. Any submerged bio media is what we are getting at.