Mechanical & chemical filtration in Nano-cubes

[Gort]

I am in the final stages of cycling my new Solana 34 AIO. The "stock" filtration rear unit includes a skimmer, a filtration chamber with 2 levels/ drip trays and a return pump chamber.

Include with the package:

• filter floss pad - these rest on the upper drip tray of the filtration chamber
• mesh bags of bio-balls - rests on the bottom drip tray
• mesh bags of activated carbon - sits on top of the bio-ball bags

The bio-balls are in the filtration unit now - I realize they have a "bad rep"; I have not added the bags of carbon yet until the cycle is completed. I've cleaned and changed the filter floss pads regularly.

The consensus of opinion I've seen is:

• Ditch the bio balls (although some say keep em clean and they're fine)
• Run filter floss on top level
• Purigen next level down, then
• Chemi-Pure (or Elite) at the lowest level

My questions (after the longest prelim EVER) :

• Is the "recommended" regimen likely to succeed?
• Does the "order" of stacking the media bags make a difference?

 

[Krish]

With the bio-balls, they can become a detritus trap which is why it is recommended to keep them clean, but apart from that, they have no anaerobic zones anywhere on them which means their end product will be nothing but nitrates as they really only support aerobic bacteria. People use them because of the massive amount of surface area they provide for aerobic bacteria to grow and colonize (which is great for fish only tanks to make quick work of waste) but your liverock can provide the same thing in addition to having the added benefit of being able to perform denitrification due to it having areas void of oxygen for the necessary bacteria to grow. So, IMO, I'd personally not use them either. The liverock you would have in your tank will provide you with all of the biological filtration you will need. As for the filter floss, it can be very beneficial granted you are consistent with cleaning it or changing it every 3 days or so because if not, the waste it traps if left there too long will begin to rott and degrade water quality so if you don't think you will be diligent in changing/cleaning it on time, then I'd skip using it altogether.

With that said, if you choose to use the filter floss, bio-balls and carbon in the trays, I would arrange them in this order...Filter floss on top, carbon underneath that and then the bio-balls. That way, the filter floss can catch all the waste/debris rather than having it clog the bio-balls. Just a few thoughts.

 

[Boomer]

I agree with Krish and will add............

Purigen next level down, then
Chemi-Pure (or Elite) at the lowest level


Get some good GAC and run that first, followed by Purigen and then a GFO. Chemi-Pure is a waste of money as it contains ion exchange resins that can not work in seawater. GFO is one part of the Elite as is GAC. You can do much better than Chemi-Pure on your own DIY mix by a long shot.