How do you use siporax ?
- Thread starter Abhishek
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Lol...I run filter socks and but still get a lot of craps. Still with all those crap my system runs at 0.05 or less NO3 and 0.01 PO4 without any algae. I feed 3 times a day with twice with my own recipe of frozen food (LRS reef frenzy, reef roid, lrs fish eggs, Nori, mysis, calanus all blended in) and once pellet. I run skimmer, filter socks, and siporax. I dont have much rock in my system but siporax complement that.
In my 55 gallon total water volume I have approx 3 litre of siporax (2litre of 25mm and 1 litre of 15mm). I have some biofil (1/4 litre or even less) which I change after every 45 days and some zeolite (1/2 litre) which I change monthly.
I was interested in making a large section of my sump into a siporax chamber. However I don’t want to be plucking them out to clean them. So I was thinking. If I line the bottom with an air stone mat, and then place the siporax over it stacked as everyone does and have the mat turn on every night for an hour say like 3-4am on a timer. Would this keep it clear from clogging? Good idea or not a good idea?
120reefkeeper
Reef keeping with Military Precision!
I for one don’t clean mine at all. I keep good circulation inside my sump where they are at , and I use filter socks. No issues here .
120reefkeeper
Reef keeping with Military Precision!
Double post
I have 300 liters, and I do not get the nitrate down either. It is now 10 ppm and I want to go to 1 ppm. I do not feed much either, and there is no sand in the tank. Also use pro-bio and np pro, zeomix 200 gram and 150 gram phosphate minus. Also use some life bio fill and the bb king foams dry. Phosphate is stable at 0.025. Now I am working on vodka to reduce it but read that it is not advised. Can I use siporax better or do you have other tips?
120reefkeeper
Reef keeping with Military Precision!
Another tip would be to use Aquaforest Zeo mix. If you decide to use this product please start at 1/4 the recommended amount and increase as needed. This will definitely help with the nitrate issue you have. Here is a link with the Product description.
https://aquaforest.eu/en/product/zeomix/
Foothill Corals
Active Member
FWIW. I have used Siporax for many years (never in an anaerobic environment). I have 3 liters in both of my tanks and do not have elevated Silica per ICP testing. One tank is five years old the other is 4 months.
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As I told you, I have been using Zeomix for a number of months, this is about 200 grams at 300 liters. Could it be that pro bio s and np pro do not work well because I do not use sand and can I continue with vodka?
It is just easy to clean vs hard to clean. Nothing more. Smaller ones are pretty hard to clean after long term use.
doughboy
Well-Known Member
I use the 15mm one and it seems to be fine. It comes in a net/bag and I just place it in a low flow section in the sump.
every few water change, I take out the bag, shake it in the old tank water just siphoned out, then put it back.
whether it helps or not, I don't really know. I do know I only need to clean the DT glass once a week since I started dosing NOPOX with the siporax in the sump. previous to dosing nopox and using siporax only, I had to clean the DT glass like every other day. I'm tempted to remove the siporax, but figured if it ain't broke, don't fix it, so I am just leaving it in the sump.
every few water change, I take out the bag, shake it in the old tank water just siphoned out, then put it back.
whether it helps or not, I don't really know. I do know I only need to clean the DT glass once a week since I started dosing NOPOX with the siporax in the sump. previous to dosing nopox and using siporax only, I had to clean the DT glass like every other day. I'm tempted to remove the siporax, but figured if it ain't broke, don't fix it, so I am just leaving it in the sump.
Fishnugget
Active Member
Interesting read, for years I always had interest in Siporax but after reading about the elevated Si under anaerobic conditions, my interest is now at a stand still. I currently have 20-25ppm nitrates but from all the videos and reading, 20ppm Nitrates is the new trend for coral sps coloration. I dont understand why people would run Siporax under aerobic conditions, it seems you would need a lot more.
Foothill Corals
Active Member
Don’t over think it. There is no need to use it under anaerobic conditions. Just leave it in the bags and put it in a medium to high flow area of the sump. You do not need to get fancy and stack them, just pull them out once or twice a year and rinse it in a bucket of clean tank water. I have always used the smaller version but I’m sure they both work equally well. You do not seem to need that much to work IME I am using 3 litters in a 185 rite now.
Fishnugget
Active Member
Foothill Corals your right, the smaller size in theory should work better because it will provide more surface area per sq ft for bacteria to live in. The push for larger size was only because of detritus build up, easier to clean, etc. I got a 200 gallon, with about 250 gallons total volume if you include sump and refugium. How many liters should I go with?
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