Ceramic Media

[Great Lakes]

Since I am a live rock only hobbiest, this will be biased but...

Another point to consider. When you have an adequate level of liverock present to handle the biological side of filtration, having additional media in the system will just lower the rocks ability. The filtration properties of your reef are demand driven. Having additional media lowers the demand and weakens the properties and benefits of your live rock that you spent soooo much money on.

GL

 

[andywg]

Also don't confuse the differnence between SW and FW. with FW the only way to remove nitrates is by water changes (unless its a planted tank - whole different ballgame). Thus mechanical media is a plus as it filters the best and doesn't add much in the way of maintenece. In FW the only other way is an UGF and that is even more maintence again (also why people switched from UGF to wet/drys in the marine realm).

This is completely wrong, the use of de-nitrators, macro- and micro-algae, and in some cases even Deep Sand Beds can be utilised in FW aquaria to remove nitrates without water changes. As I create more and more DIY Live Rock I shall also be testing to see if this too can help with nitrate removal in a FW environment by the introduction of anoxic zones.

Algae Turf Scrubbers are proving exceptionally efficient in FW aquaria, just as in SW. The only reason less effort is put in to these systems in FW is due to the low cost of water compared to Marine.

And maturity is aimed for in FW as well. The only maintenace my FW tanks have is a rinse of the filter floss under tap water (as this really is mechanical filter media) and a water change. There are a number of fish in FW that do not do well when added to a tank less than 6 months old.

GL> I'm not saying LR isn't better, I just hate this "anything that isn't LR is a nitrate factory" myth that has sunk into the hobby these days. People repeat it without thinking about why it might be so. If a wet dry is a nitrate factory, why do people who keep sensitive rays and sharks rely on wet dry filtration?

 

[Great Lakes]

Andy.
I do understand where you are coming from.
IF people wish to use different media types and it works for them..cool.
I will rarely be in the closed mine crowd.

My take on things is simply that I want my ecosystem,(essentialy that is what we are creating}, to be as efficient as possible.
I view my live rock as the heart of my filtering process, along with the muscled up properties of substrate and various flora.
I just consider external media an aid to filtration, therefore reducing the workload of the system, thereby reducing its effectiveness.

In the end, it is good husbandry that makes the difference. Folks can have success with any reasonable combo if they sweat the small stuff.

GL

 

[crazyelece]

I agree whole heartedly with everything you have said. I also would like to add that I not only use a wet/dry but a fluid filter and live rock in my tank due to the livestock load and they work fabulously. I also think this discussion has produced a tremedous amount of good points. I don't want to be the one to say liverock is the only way, I just recommend new marine hobbiests to lean that way due to the amount of extra work invloved with mechanical media. There are so many different ways you can go with filtration that it can get really confusing until you start trying different methods and learning the pros and cons of each. Unfortunately this usually means multiple tanks that many people don't have the luxury to keep.