Hi all,
I had a random question that I’m sure has come up before but I couldn’t find it for my life of me! So I figured I would reignite the conversation.
With all the talk of different biological filter medias, I’ve been considering how I can add a lot of bio filter media without breaking the bank. I just set up my first 40 gallon with a 20 gallon sump so now I have so much more room for media than I did in my previous tank. There’s the MarinePure stuff which I like but is super pricey. There’s those ceramic rings from the big box stores or Amazon too. There’s always just live rock rubble too. However, I want a media that I could suspend off the floor of my sump (on an egg crate platform) and be in a media bag for easy removal. I had some shower thoughts this evening and wondered if filling a media bag with very course grade sand would work well as a bio filter media? Yes I have a sand bed in my main display, but it’s very thin and I am planning on keeping a softie tank that I will feed heavily. I want all the bio media I can get. I have some mesh produce bags that are SUPER fine mesh that I could easily fill with 5-10 lbs of very course aragonite sand.
This seems like a super affordable option that would satisfy my desires. But what am I missing? I’ve never seen this before and I’m sure there are probably better budget options out there. If this is a bad idea, I’d love ideas for other affordable options to create more space for biome to grow in my sump. My main tank has a minimalist aquascape with less rock than average with a thin sand bed so I am trying to supplement a bit by adding more space for biome in the sump.
I had a random question that I’m sure has come up before but I couldn’t find it for my life of me! So I figured I would reignite the conversation.
With all the talk of different biological filter medias, I’ve been considering how I can add a lot of bio filter media without breaking the bank. I just set up my first 40 gallon with a 20 gallon sump so now I have so much more room for media than I did in my previous tank. There’s the MarinePure stuff which I like but is super pricey. There’s those ceramic rings from the big box stores or Amazon too. There’s always just live rock rubble too. However, I want a media that I could suspend off the floor of my sump (on an egg crate platform) and be in a media bag for easy removal. I had some shower thoughts this evening and wondered if filling a media bag with very course grade sand would work well as a bio filter media? Yes I have a sand bed in my main display, but it’s very thin and I am planning on keeping a softie tank that I will feed heavily. I want all the bio media I can get. I have some mesh produce bags that are SUPER fine mesh that I could easily fill with 5-10 lbs of very course aragonite sand.
This seems like a super affordable option that would satisfy my desires. But what am I missing? I’ve never seen this before and I’m sure there are probably better budget options out there. If this is a bad idea, I’d love ideas for other affordable options to create more space for biome to grow in my sump. My main tank has a minimalist aquascape with less rock than average with a thin sand bed so I am trying to supplement a bit by adding more space for biome in the sump.