Mature Media Swaping With A Difference

[BigbruiserAl]

This will be my 4th tank so ill steal some sponge to seed the tank thats fine, the new 240l tank will have a external filter with 3 trays. the millde tray has bio balls approx 10-15 can i swap these with my dads bio balls from his MARINE(his are in a sump with 100+ bio balls set up and have the same seeded effect in my freshwater set up or not to bother mixing marine and fresh water media?

 

[AstonN24vantage]

i wouldnt mix marine and freshwater. dont use sponge, it has little bacteria and may cloud the water. bioballs are fine.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Thanks ill leave his bio balls then

why would putting a sponge from my established tank into the new filter cloud the water thought that was the whole point of seeding?

 

[moochy13]

i wouldnt mix marine and freshwater. dont use sponge, it has little bacteria and may cloud the water. bioballs are fine.

i dont agree with this. so what about filters with only sponges ? they must be caked with bacteria for them to work. bioballs would probably be better, but i wouldnt hesitate to use sponge. and cloudy water is nothing a 5 minute water change cant fix.

 

[JoshuaA]

I'm under the impression that one of the bacteria types is different in SW tanks than FW. I think but I can't remember that it might be the Ammonia reducing one which isn't the same. However I can't vouch for that with evidence, I will try to find some later.

I have always found the most useful thing to seed another tank is a sponge, a sponge can be put at the very entrance of the filter flow and therefore force the water through it breaking off bacteria for them to adhere later on in the tank. The bio balls and ceramic aren't as great for being the first media to use in the filter.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

good point, im only using the sponge to seed the external filter ill take out after 30 days or so?

1st tray will have bio rings (plus the sponge to seed)
2nd tray has bio balls
3rd tray has bio rings too

between each tray there is a kind of sponge/wool to catch big particals

 

[moochy13]

i have zero understanding of marine, but i was under the impression the live rock helped to filter the water ? might be totally wrong there.

 

[JoshuaA]

i have zero understanding of marine, but i was under the impression the live rock helped to filter the water ? might be totally wrong there.

Indeed though they are different types of bacteria as far as I am aware, from the same family but as far as I remember the most abundant ones are Nitrosomonas Marina and Nitrospira Marina... I think.

What brand filter is the new filter you have, Just curious? I would put more sponges in the first tray rather than relying on the floss at the bottom of each tray catching the particles. Pretty fast you'll have Bioballs which are just clogged with poop.

I would "seed" it with the sponge and just forget about it, you don't even need to put it back in the first filter. I've read from members on this forum who've had mature filters remove 1/3 of the media with out any noticeable effect, pretty cool huh?

 

[BigbruiserAl]

i have zero understanding of marine, but i was under the impression the live rock helped to filter the water ? might be totally wrong there.

pretty sure it provides a buffer and raises the ph a tad

i have zero understanding of marine, but i was under the impression the live rock helped to filter the water ? might be totally wrong there.

Indeed though they are different types of bacteria as far as I am aware, from the same family but as far as I remember the most abundant ones are Nitrosomonas Marina and Nitrospira Marina... I think.

What brand filter is the new filter you have, Just curious? I would put more sponges in the first tray rather than relying on the floss at the bottom of each tray catching the particles. Pretty fast you'll have Bioballs which are just clogged with poop.

I would "seed" it with the sponge and just forget about it, you don't even need to put it back in the first filter. I've read from members on this forum who've had mature filters remove 1/3 of the media with out any noticeable effect, pretty cool huh?

lol sorry would have been best to say its one the all pond soultion filters im just replacing the active carbon in bag with bio ringsfor more surface area as the carbon will be in the bin after the 1st week lol

 

[JoshuaA]

Great choice of filter, I have the 1400lh model.

The carbon is a great surface for bacteria also but it's also great to hold it back in case you need to remove stuff.

Can I ask, what order did your media come in when you got the filter? My ceramic was at the bottom and the bio balls in the middle and then empty top one for sponges. They seem to put the wrong way round as if you look at the way the water comes in it goes through to the very bottom and the impeller takes water from the top tray, if you get me.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Great choice of filter, I have the 1400lh model.

The carbon is a great surface for bacteria also but it's also great to hold it back in case you need to remove stuff.

Can I ask, what order did your media come in when you got the filter? My ceramic was at the bottom and the bio balls in the middle and then empty top one for sponges. They seem to put the wrong way round as if you look at the way the water comes in it goes through to the very bottom and the impeller takes water from the top tray, if you get me.

my carbon was on the bottom,middle tray balls and top tray bio rings

ill just put seeded sponge in the bottom tray then with some bio rings and keep the carbon when needed its not cheap i guess

 

[AstonN24vantage]

sponges do have some bacteria, but the bioballs have much much more.
sponges are meant for picking up fish #105###, not housing bacteria

 

[JoshuaA]

Great choice of filter, I have the 1400lh model.

The carbon is a great surface for bacteria also but it's also great to hold it back in case you need to remove stuff.

Can I ask, what order did your media come in when you got the filter? My ceramic was at the bottom and the bio balls in the middle and then empty top one for sponges. They seem to put the wrong way round as if you look at the way the water comes in it goes through to the very bottom and the impeller takes water from the top tray, if you get me.

my carbon was on the bottom,middle tray balls and top tray bio rings

ill just put seeded sponge in the bottom tray then with some bio rings and keep the carbon when needed its not cheap i guess

That's interesting, mine was the other way around Love the filter though.

sponges do have some bacteria, but the bioballs have much much more.
sponges are meant for picking up fish #105###, not housing bacteria

You better tell all those people running sponge filters to re think their method. Sponges are loaded with bacteria and are much easier to place in a new filter for seeding, In fact you can just put them at the first point where the water comes. Where as a bio ball is oddly shaped compared to the sponge and won't compress.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

oh dear what have started here sorry to add some fuel to the fire, i also have a 60l with just a sponge filter and that cycled fine and now holds 150 cherry shrimp just fine

@josh did you keep the media in the net bags they came in or did you just rip them open and let them loose in each tray, tray seems big might top the trays up with more media?

 

[JoshuaA]

oh dear what have started here sorry to add some fuel to the fire, i also have a 60l with just a sponge filter and that cycled fine and now holds 150 cherry shrimp just fine

@josh did you keep the media in the net bags they came in or did you just rip them open and let them loose in each tray, tray seems big might top the trays up with more media?

I love cherry shrimp, I have around 20~ babies in a 40L with Panda and Pygmy Corys on a sponge filter only.

I opened the ceramics because with the bags they're rather restrictive and you may as well spread it out into an even level of media. I use the bio balls in the middle tray as they are less prone to clogging than the ceramics however I did add some ceramics to the middle tray. I have my last filtration tray as pure ceramics nothing else, the fine floss foam is in the one with the bio balls which is half bio balls half ceramics then that floss jammed in then sponge on the next tray. So top to bottom Top tray: Ceramics > Wool/Ceramics/Bio/Wool > Bottom tray : Wool/Sponge.

Edit: If you ever get round to using the carbon, I would just wash it under the tap for a bit and leave it in the bag. I think that would be an utter ballache to try and gather up if you let it lose.

The wool is great for a couple of weeks but it seems to degrade, I can rip it apart by pinching it, I'm slowly going to phase it out and give "Seachem Purigen" a go as someone called Ianho on this forum seems to get amazing results with it.