Bacteria
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Bacteria
Ok so I'm looking for materials to use for nice biological media. I was wondering if I could just use random stuff like the fluffy eggcrate material used for various things like beds, packaging and so on. It looks like it could probably hold a ton of bacteria since it has so much surface area.
I just got engaged and most of my money went to the rock, so I'm totally open for low to no cost solutions
I just got engaged and most of my money went to the rock, so I'm totally open for low to no cost solutions
- Francois van Brederode
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:52 am
- Location: Alkmaar (North Holland)
- Francois van Brederode
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:52 am
- Location: Alkmaar (North Holland)
- Francois van Brederode
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:52 am
- Location: Alkmaar (North Holland)
- Francois van Brederode
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:52 am
- Location: Alkmaar (North Holland)
You where wondering if you could use the stuff
Don't exactly know how to test it.
There are so many things that can alter the water chemistry or give of harmfull stuff, I woudn't know where to begin.
(in holland there are 'weekmakers' in most plastics, don't know the translation, just know its bad for fish)
You could probably test it on a different tank, chuck the stuff in, with some fish, if they don't die, its probably allright.
Not sure if you would like to test that way.
Don't exactly know how to test it.
There are so many things that can alter the water chemistry or give of harmfull stuff, I woudn't know where to begin.
(in holland there are 'weekmakers' in most plastics, don't know the translation, just know its bad for fish)
You could probably test it on a different tank, chuck the stuff in, with some fish, if they don't die, its probably allright.
Not sure if you would like to test that way.
Pardon my English, I'm from Holland....
If u really want to go on the safe side. Why not buy some of the internal filter sponges?
I know that some lfs with pond filter sell them in huge sizes.
This is a picture of a small one.
I would go for the blue one which isnt waved solid. (middle one on the picture)
I know that some lfs with pond filter sell them in huge sizes.
This is a picture of a small one.
I would go for the blue one which isnt waved solid. (middle one on the picture)
Still pending between NL and DE and rebuilding our new home.
Do not use the material you are calling egg crate. It is so fine that it will plug up with debris, slow the water flow and starve the bacteria for oxygen.
The coarser sponge material in that picture is much better. Yes, there is less surface area, but the surface area that there is is better exposed to lots of water flow to keep the bacteria happy.
Lava rock works OK, too, it has all sorts of surface area, yet is chunky enough to keep the water flowing. I used some 3/8 lave for a planted sump and the water never quit flowing.
The concern with the sponge sorts of materials that are not designed for aquarium use is that they may be made of material that is toxic to the fish. Set up some sort of system or just put some of that material in a tank with some Guppies or Danios and see what happens. Let the test run for a month or longer.
Do you know what sort of foam that stuff is? Polyester foam is OK, urathane foam is not.
The coarser sponge material in that picture is much better. Yes, there is less surface area, but the surface area that there is is better exposed to lots of water flow to keep the bacteria happy.
Lava rock works OK, too, it has all sorts of surface area, yet is chunky enough to keep the water flowing. I used some 3/8 lave for a planted sump and the water never quit flowing.
The concern with the sponge sorts of materials that are not designed for aquarium use is that they may be made of material that is toxic to the fish. Set up some sort of system or just put some of that material in a tank with some Guppies or Danios and see what happens. Let the test run for a month or longer.
Do you know what sort of foam that stuff is? Polyester foam is OK, urathane foam is not.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.
Happy fish keeping!
Happy fish keeping!
- Francois van Brederode
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:52 am
- Location: Alkmaar (North Holland)
Ok this is pretty cool. I work for a paint company in their IT department. One of the chemists let me use their FTIR machine to ID the foam. He's been working here for 25 years and was able to tell what it was just by looking at the graph it created in the machine's software. He's 90% sure it's urethane. So it's most likely not safe. This is some real CSI stuff, and I was totally geeking out over it.
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