Siporax

[vanreefer]

Hi
For those using siporax where did u get it? Are there any Canadian vendors?
Cheers
VR

[Myka]

I bought it off eBay from Austria. This was the cheapest I could find including shipping. I don't think there is a Canadian vendor.

http://www.ebay.ca/sch/wttomy1/m.html

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=978377&highlight=siporax+ebay#post978377

[Wheelman76]

I bought from the same place as Mindy.

[davej]

Any recommendation between the 15mm and the 25mm rings?

[Potatohead]

I got it from the Austrian guy too. Honestly if I did it again I would just get Matrix or MarinePure blocks or even SubstratPro, I don't know it really makes a difference they all have tons of surface area likely way more than we need.

[Myka]

Independent testing by a biologist on RC found Siporax to be more effective at hosting anaerobic bacteria than Marine Pure and Matrix, so if you have limited space Siporax is the best bet. Otherwise it's just about volume.

I used 15 mm rings.

[Reef-Geek]

I don't understand, one of the first suggestions I get from this hobby is to get rid of the bio-ball/bio-medias, cause they can become a nitrate factory.

Do things work differently now and seems everyone is doing minimal rock work with bio-media?

[Myka]

I don't understand, one of the first suggestions I get from this hobby is to get rid of the bio-ball/bio-medias, cause they can become a nitrate factory.

Do things work differently now and seems everyone is doing minimal rock work with bio-media?

It's so backwards isn't it? Bioballs are no good because they don't support anaerobic bacteria - that's the stuff that lowers nitrate and phosphate when you carbon dose. It seems like porous bio medias are quite good at hosting anaerobic bacteria. Back in the day there were trickle filters that some people said reduced nitrate - now we know why. :)

[vanreefer]

Thanks for the link!! Any rule of thumb for how much siporax per tank volume?

[Reef-Geek]

It's so backwards isn't it? Bioballs are no good because they don't support anaerobic bacteria - that's the stuff that lowers nitrate and phosphate when you carbon dose. It seems like porous bio medias are quite good at hosting anaerobic bacteria. Back in the day there were trickle filters that some people said reduced nitrate - now we know why. :)

Thanks for the explanation Mindy, Berlin is so old school now :lol::lol:

Does that mean any bio-medias can work cause they are definitely more porous than LR, Why not buy something cheap like:
http://www.jlaquatics.com/hagen-fluval-biomax-media-500-gram.html

rather than the more expensive and hard to get Siporax? Is it proved Siporax work much better than other bio-medias, if so how much better?

[Myka]

Thanks for the explanation Mindy, Berlin is so old school now :lol::lol:

Does that mean any bio-medias can work cause they are definitely more porous than LR, Why not buy something cheap like:
http://www.jlaquatics.com/hagen-fluval-biomax-media-500-gram.html

rather than the more expensive and hard to get Siporax? Is it proved Siporax work much better than other bio-medias, if so how much better?

Something about Siporax being made of glass and pore size makes it better, I think. I really haven't delved into it much. I just know it works to lower nutrients if you do it right.

Check out this monster thread, and maybe if you feel like sifting through all 669 replies (currently) you can come back and let us know what you learned! :D http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2526998 "Reefvet" is the biologist I was referring to earlier. I followed the thread for the first few pages, but not after that.

[Reef-Geek]

Thanks for the link, I didn't read the whole post but also don't know why this topic is so debatable, there should be a simple before and after comparison to proof it works, or not.

[Potatohead]

Thanks for the link, I didn't read the whole post but also don't know why this topic is so debatable, there should be a simple before and after comparison to proof it works, or not.

Bio-balls become a nitrate factory because they trap a bunch of junk and they're hard to clean, it has nothing really to do with anaerobic bacteria (bacteria which consumes nitrates) which is what you are trying to achieve by using these different medias. In order for anaerobic bacteria to live, they need low water flow and no oxygen. When you have a very porous material, like the sintered glass that Siporax or SubstratPro is made of, you are allowing anaerobic bacteria to live deep within those pores. Those pores don't exist in a bio-ball, it's just plastic. One bio-ball has about seven square inches of surface area. How many are in a liter? Let's be generous and say 25, so in a litre you have around 175 square inches of surface area. In a litre of Siporax, there's 2900 square FEET.

Now, as I said earlier do you really NEED that much surface area, especially if you have ample live rock or other medias? I think the jury is still out, but you can never have too much, the question is whether that extra surface area allows anaerobic bacteria to live and/or thrive. Sera says on their site Siporax does work when used in large quantities. I know some guys online are using like three or four litres per ten gallons, which isn't exactly cheap and needs a lot of space. The other question is can you use biopellets or carbon dosing etc and a much smaller amount of media and achieve the same end result? Usually you can.

[davej]

Just a note to clarify.
anaerobic by definition :

Occurring in the absence of oxygen or not requiring oxygen to live. Anaerobic bacteria produce energy from food molecules without the presence of oxygen.

[Potatohead]

I stand corrected... I think the same principle applies however

[emerald crab]

I use "Hydroton", it works fine for me. I've been using it for 5-6 years and I'm happy with it.

[Myka]

Thanks for the link, I didn't read the whole post but also don't know why this topic is so debatable, there should be a simple before and after comparison to proof it works, or not.

It's debatable because there is so much incorrect anecdotal evidence. :D There are lots of people out there that are using these products and NOT achieving an anaerobic zone, and thus they are not successful.

I stand corrected... I think the same principle applies however

I edited it and corrected it for you. The rest of your post is spot on. :)

[davej]

Hi
For those using siporax where did u get it? Are there any Canadian vendors?
Cheers
VR

Hawaiian botanicals in richmond carries them. No clue as to their pricing, probably not cheap.

[Reef-Geek]

I just found BigShowFrags have them on sale for $10/L if anyone is still interested.

[kaboom]

What is the most effective way to run siporax, in a media reactor or in a sock passively in the sump?

[intarsiabox]

What is the most effective way to run siporax, in a media reactor or in a sock passively in the sump?

I don't use them myself but from what I've seen from most users is that they build a box out of egg crate that fits in the sump and the siporax is stacked in columns inside the box. They aren't meant to tumble.

[Myka]

Theoretically, they work better in a reactor with slow flow to encourage anaerobic bacteria. However, many people are getting good results in a bag or eggcrate box in the sump. The key is low flow and not to let a waterfall go into the Siporax.

[Willito]

just received my 10L today, how should this media be clean before adding to tank, or is it not necessary, just taking precaution to not add any unwanted chemical or dust . Please advise.

[vanreefer]

just received my 10L today, how should this media be clean before adding to tank, or is it not necessary, just taking precaution to not add any unwanted chemical or dust . Please advise.

Soaked mine in RO for a few days... Changed the water after agitating them a bit. Not too much dust. I think u can also soak them in tank water... Starts seeding them

[Willito]

would boiling them in RO water for 10 minutes be a bad idea?

[warriorcookie]

would boiling them in RO water for 10 minutes be a bad idea?

I don't think it would be bad, just not necessary.

Most people soak them in RO water. Some also soak them in salt water with a bunch of bacteria such as MB7 or Prodibio BioDigest.

[Myka]

I soaked in RO for a couple weeks, and changed the water out every couple days. I was half-heartedly looking for a container to house them which took me a couple weeks, so I did the rinsing simply because I could. Siporax is glass, so really the only thing it could leech is silica. Here's a thread discussing it with Randy Holmes-Farley. http://www.reef2reef.com/threads/does-siporax-leach-silica.267161/

[kaboom]

Does anyone know if it's safe to add large amount of siporax at one time, or should it be done slowly. I plan to add 5L to an established reef with 40lb of matured live rock. Not sure if siporax requires a curing stage before adding such large amount?

[CHEAPREEF]

Hate to resurrect a old thread but I'm starting a new shallow reef and wanted to add to my sump rather than display. I was advised that Siporax might be the way to go over Marine Pure. Everyone that is still using it happy with how it's doing, any down falls or would you go a different direction now?

[vanreefer]

Hate to resurrect a old thread but I'm starting a new shallow reef and wanted to add to my sump rather than display. I was advised that Siporax might be the way to go over Marine Pure. Everyone that is still using it happy with how it's doing, any down falls or would you go a different direction now?

Seems to do the trick... I'm now dosing NO3😂

[gmann]

So thats a no for siporax?