mattrox Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Oops double post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 I don't think it really would have any added benefit. I have tried to think through various options. 3mm coral sand as substrate for buffer is as far as I got. Its beauty is in its simplicity. It is tried and well and truely tested for decades in Europe. Ad Konings describes it in his Back To Nature Guide to Malawi Cichlids, without pictures though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRK-351 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 i have some marine pure spheres laying around that i might throw in behind the sponge, it cant do any harm and id rather have more media than less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 i have some marine pure spheres laying around that i might throw in behind the sponge, it cant do any harm and id rather have more media than less Can't hurt to try, might get mulm building up on them though. A syphon with a tube behind the sponge from time to time will clear this though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I cleaned out behind a sponge and rinsed one in a bucket of tank water because it looked grotty. It put the tank into a mini-cycle. Tested ammonia today and got a low reading, but enough to do a water change...... Like the article says, don't remove the mulm, that is where the bacteria build up... lol I guess I learned the hard way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRK-351 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 i think that is the benefit of having additional media in there. i will also be using a couple of sponge filters aswell as the marine pure spheres. that way i can clean one filter medium each month or so to reduce detritus and lower nitrate, but still retaining enough bacteria to keep ammonia and nitrite in check. i will be using these in my 4 and 5ft breeder tanks, im thinking one each side with 2-3 20-25mm pvc uplift tubes, 4 large sponge filters and approx 2L marine pure/matrix. id rather have more filtration than not enough. ill keep you guys posted on my progress and results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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