Reef nutrition

Thoughts on ceramic media?

Fish Boss

Fish Boss

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I’ve used the marine pure balls before, they seemed to work pretty. Been thinking about getting the thick plate this time since I have a sump, and I feel like it would do a good job at bringing nitrates down. But I’ve also heard recently that they leach aluminum into the water. I also watched a Dr. Tim lecture recently, and he made it seem like they are overrated, and bacteria will mainly colonize the outside, and take a very long time to colonize the inside. Been thinking about just running a large fuge for my main source of nutrient export, since it has many upsides and not any downsides that I can think of. Maybe carbon dosing as well, though I dont have any experience with that.

Thoughts?
 
The polyp lab ones don't seem to break down like the Marine Pure ones, but they only have the large block size.

But honestly high porosity live rock rubble is probably better.
 
Nitrates are so easy to control AND (imo) high nitrates aren’t really a big deal anyway, why add something to your tank known to leach aluminum?

How high are your nitrates?

I wouldn’t say running a large fuge has no downsides - large, fast growing chaeto pulls things like iron out of the water pretty rapidly and many people have to dose just to keep it alive. Also you have to put a light in your sump which kind of sucks. Not saying it’s a terrible idea, just saying there are indeed some downsides to consider - as with just about everything.
 

I haven’t used them (yet) personally but I was curious about the same thing when Telegraham posted some ceramic media recently. He said after 2 years aluminum on ICP showed up normal and the media didn’t crumble. Those are the two biggest things I hear are common issues with ceramic media
 

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MarcosDelgado0 said:

I haven’t used them (yet) personally but I was curious about the same thing when Telegraham posted some ceramic media recently. He said after 2 years aluminum on ICP showed up normal and the media didn’t crumble. Those are the two biggest things I hear are common issues with ceramic media
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I've personally used these and they worked great. I'm currently using the polyp lab genesis blocks.
 
I’ve ran them since they first came out. I have the block and plates that crumbled. Then I bought the block with the dimples. Did I notice anything. Yeah my wallet was a lot lighter. Did they help ? Dunno. Like Derek and Thomas said. Rock , sand, etc. probably would have been better. I still have the dimple ones in my sump. Sponges have grown on top of the surface. So dunno how effective it is. They work great if you have an old one. And I put it into a new aquarium to start it. But so would a really old live rock.
 
derek_SR said:
Nitrates are so easy to control AND (imo) high nitrates aren’t really a big deal anyway, why add something to your tank known to leach aluminum?

How high are your nitrates?

I wouldn’t say running a large fuge has no downsides - large, fast growing chaeto pulls things like iron out of the water pretty rapidly and many people have to dose just to keep it alive. Also you have to put a light in your sump which kind of sucks. Not saying it’s a terrible idea, just saying there are indeed some downsides to consider - as with just about everything.
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Good info! Almost finished cycling, wanted to get a nice strong bacterial population before I added any fish, so I haven’t started up my fuge yet, or added any fish. Just using the basic API test kit for the time being, since I’m cycling, nitrates look like around 20-40
 
Also, any macro algae suggestions? I know chaeto is tried and true, saw some ulva sea lettuce on algae barn, looks nice because you can feed it to your herbivores, but it also sounded like a possible pain if it spreads. Also saw a really pretty one in the DBTC
 
Fish Boss said:
Also, any macro algae suggestions? I know chaeto is tried and true, saw some ulva sea lettuce on algae barn, looks nice because you can feed it to your herbivores, but it also sounded like a possible pain if it spreads. Also saw a really pretty one in the DBTC
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Honestly if you’re going to run a refugium, I’d hold off until later on since your tank is still new. But I think @Turkeysammich mentioned he was going to bring some Sprungs Burning bush for the DBTC table
 
Fish Boss said:
How fast does the burning bush grow? maybe i could keep it trimmed for a while so it isnt soaking up all of the nutrients?
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It depends on a lot of factors. I know @tribbitt has some that’s growing like crazy. He gave me some and I don’t think it’s grown, if anything I have less lol. I think my snails and crabs were eating it so I moved it
 
Mine has been growing way slower since the pithos crab moved in.

Nutrients have been all the way at 50ppm nitrates, down to 5. Phosphates have never risen above 0.05, probably thanks to this macro. Its growth speed does depend on nutrients, but not as much as you'd think. Not sure why mine was doing well but I'm not complaining
 
Marine pure is awful. Falls apart way too easily.

I have used the Maxspect ones for years and they appear to be the same product as polyp lab l, but costs much less. I probably have 10-15 blocks throughout all my tanks.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Nano-Tech Bio-Blocks (2 pcs)

Replace 20lbs of Live Rock with just 1 Bio-Block! Completely inert-- wont affect water chemistry Stabilized microbial sewage treatment technology Ultra-high surface area for enhanced filtration Just 1 Bio-Block piece can replace up to 20lbs of live rock Rapidly colonized by beneficial bacteria...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com

Honestly though, if you’re a fan of sand, nothing will beat the surface area of having a sand bed.
 
MarcosDelgado0 said:

I haven’t used them (yet) personally but I was curious about the same thing when Telegraham posted some ceramic media recently. He said after 2 years aluminum on ICP showed up normal and the media didn’t crumble. Those are the two biggest things I hear are common issues with ceramic media
Click to expand...
Midnight snack mood got me thinking these ceramic media look a lot like the egg roll cookies I had a lot as a kid lol

Ceramic media
61lsCkQiSlL._AC_SL1060_.jpg


Egg roll cookies
002_e7f4189f-5905-4b52-944a-c5d11f6aba43.jpg
 
I like those Maxspect blocks Randy linked. I’ve got a couple and while they’re pricey, they make all the difference. I usually transplant a couple when cycling a new tank and they cut down the cycle time to 20% of new tank
 
RandyC said:
Marine pure is awful. Falls apart way too easily.

I have used the Maxspect ones for years and they appear to be the same product as polyp lab l, but costs much less. I probably have 10-15 blocks throughout all my tanks.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Nano-Tech Bio-Blocks (2 pcs)

Replace 20lbs of Live Rock with just 1 Bio-Block! Completely inert-- wont affect water chemistry Stabilized microbial sewage treatment technology Ultra-high surface area for enhanced filtration Just 1 Bio-Block piece can replace up to 20lbs of live rock Rapidly colonized by beneficial bacteria...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com

Honestly though, if you’re a fan of sand, nothing will beat the surface area of having a sand bed.
Click to expand...
Have you done ICP tests and noticed elevated aluminum? Or do you think the crumbling nature of marine pure mainly leads to elevated aluminum?
 
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