Do you add additional filter media?

[Reef-Geek]

Is adding additional filter media overkill?
For example, if you have a 40g tank with 40lbs of rocks and 40lbs of sand, and does not overstock too much, will adding additional filter media like seachem matrix or marinepure help?

with current technology, it seems the filter media is very efficient, like 3oz marine pure can be enough for 70g, I saw people use marine pure brick which is rated for 1000g in smaller tanks like 70g, will that be an overkill?

 

[fishy408]

I try to add as much as I can but understanding I need to save real estate for growth and aesthetics in the DT, and space for equipment in the sump.

 

[Reef-Geek]

I try to add as much as I can but understanding I need to save real estate for growth and aesthetics in the DT, and space for equipment in the sump.

I guess my question is does adding extra actually work or is it just marketing to make you feel better?

 

[JVU]

I’ve tried both ways and not noticed a difference, so I don’t use them anymore.

The amount of nitrifying bacteria you can have in your tank (which is the main point of adding more surface area) is limited by how much waste ammonia and nitrite you are adding to your system (their food). So you need to have lots of surface area but after you have enough adding more doesn’t really do anything. How much is enough? Hard to tell, but if you are using live rock you almost certainly have enough. Theoretically you could have other useful bacteria colonize the extra surface area, like denitrifying bacteria (nitrate removal) if you have anoxic zones, but in practice I don’t think this really happens in any significant way in modern tanks.

So if you are using artificial rock (smooth, less surface area) or have minimal aquascape, then yes I’d use one of those products to give you more surface area to be safe. If you are using normal rock with normal aquascape, then I don’t think they do anything. For example, in my Aiptasia grow tanks I don’t have rock and I feed a lot, so I added Seachem Matrix. In my display tank I have lots of real rock as well as rubble in my refugium, so I don’t add anything else.