Sand as Filter Media?

[pacificnewt]

Hi all,

I had a random question that I’m sure has come up before but I couldn’t find it for my life of me! So I figured I would reignite the conversation.

With all the talk of different biological filter medias, I’ve been considering how I can add a lot of bio filter media without breaking the bank. I just set up my first 40 gallon with a 20 gallon sump so now I have so much more room for media than I did in my previous tank. There’s the MarinePure stuff which I like but is super pricey. There’s those ceramic rings from the big box stores or Amazon too. There’s always just live rock rubble too. However, I want a media that I could suspend off the floor of my sump (on an egg crate platform) and be in a media bag for easy removal. I had some shower thoughts this evening and wondered if filling a media bag with very course grade sand would work well as a bio filter media? Yes I have a sand bed in my main display, but it’s very thin and I am planning on keeping a softie tank that I will feed heavily. I want all the bio media I can get. I have some mesh produce bags that are SUPER fine mesh that I could easily fill with 5-10 lbs of very course aragonite sand.

This seems like a super affordable option that would satisfy my desires. But what am I missing? I’ve never seen this before and I’m sure there are probably better budget options out there. If this is a bad idea, I’d love ideas for other affordable options to create more space for biome to grow in my sump. My main tank has a minimalist aquascape with less rock than average with a thin sand bed so I am trying to supplement a bit by adding more space for biome in the sump.

 

[Dan_P]

Hi all,

I had a random question that I’m sure has come up before but I couldn’t find it for my life of me! So I figured I would reignite the conversation.

With all the talk of different biological filter medias, I’ve been considering how I can add a lot of bio filter media without breaking the bank. I just set up my first 40 gallon with a 20 gallon sump so now I have so much more room for media than I did in my previous tank. There’s the MarinePure stuff which I like but is super pricey. There’s those ceramic rings from the big box stores or Amazon too. There’s always just live rock rubble too. However, I want a media that I could suspend off the floor of my sump (on an egg crate platform) and be in a media bag for easy removal. I had some shower thoughts this evening and wondered if filling a media bag with very course grade sand would work well as a bio filter media? Yes I have a sand bed in my main display, but it’s very thin and I am planning on keeping a softie tank that I will feed heavily. I want all the bio media I can get. I have some mesh produce bags that are SUPER fine mesh that I could easily fill with 5-10 lbs of very course aragonite sand.

This seems like a super affordable option that would satisfy my desires. But what am I missing? I’ve never seen this before and I’m sure there are probably better budget options out there. If this is a bad idea, I’d love ideas for other affordable options to create more space for biome to grow in my sump. My main tank has a minimalist aquascape with less rock than average with a thin sand bed so I am trying to supplement a bit by adding more space for biome in the sump.

Increasing surface area to increase waste digestion makes sense. Flow through the medium is necessary to provide sufficient oxygen for waste digestion. While a media bag might work for some applications, in this case I would say it is a non-starter because of the uneven and slow flow through the media. As media size becomes fine, creating flow through becomes more difficult and why rubble is used. It is very simple to flow water through rubble and rubble won’t clog from bacteria growth. Removing solid waste from the water before it enters the digester would be prudent.

Nitrate accumulation is likely to be of more interest in an overstocked, aka, heavily fed, aquarium. I feel this will likely be more urgent to deal with than insufficient surface area for heterotrophic bacteria growth.

 

[Nano_Man]

Big public sea centres use big big sand filters still today . Ive always thought about this type of filter but never tried it . Sand is very fine and so as you add flow and pumping it leaks out of filter bags . In the 90s I am sure you could buy a sand bed reactor type thing i will follow and see what other members think

 

[KrisReef]

Yeah, suspended, upflow sand filters are a thing, I forget who made (makes) them but if the water stops flowing they can start producing toxic waste that gets pumped back into the tank when the flow returns (think power outage) so they have to be carefully designed and situated to not dump a toxic blast of water if/when there is an interruption of service. Rubble is more forgiving. Let me look one up?

"Fluidized bed" sand filter
Chewy- has them, made by lifegard and others.

https://www.chewy.com/lifegard-fb300-fluidized-bed-filter/dp/890494?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Lifegard&utm_campaign=20908059015&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2eKtBhDcARIsAEGTG43UmQn3kWWzJGUcxxcUxpO9Bv_r2xXJwdVEITiE3cvWdYO1660FoFcaApkiEALw_wcB

 

[zoasaholic]

I'm running all above at the moment, dip sand bed, Marinepure, siporax.
No skimmer with 11 fishes in Red sea 170(~42 gal). Tank been running like this over 4years

 

[jkcoral]

I use the marine pure gems and Seachem matrix. To me, spending a couple extra bucks on the marine pure is probably a better. As another comment pointed out, sand is and can be effective, but there’s a chance for big issues if theres interruption or issues with the flow/system. I blew up one of my tanks in the early 2000s when a sand filter turned into a bio bomb after a power outage.