Simple question sand bed in jellyfish tank?

[Jhbard]

I feel like I already know the answer to this question but I've never kept jellyfish so not sure. I got curious about this after hearing about how Upside Down Jellyfish can be raised in a relatively normal saltwater setup.
Completely different from most jellyfish
And I know there behavior and care is definitely not the same. But I would really like to know what anyone with jellyfish experience has to say about this topic.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I feel like I already know the answer to this question but I've never kept jellyfish so not sure. I got curious about this after hearing about how Upside Down Jellyfish can be raised in a relatively normal saltwater setup.
Completely different from most jellyfish
And I know there behavior and care is definitely not the same. But I would really like to know what anyone with jellyfish experience has to say about this topic.

For mangrove jellies, sand is fine. for all other free swimming medusa, you would want to avoid sand.

Jay

 

[Tangs23]

Hi, Jay,
I just bought a orbital jelly tank, 6 gallons. Unfortunately, there is no outside chamber so the bio balls need to be in the tank. With Moon jellies, should the bios be put in a bag or is it safer to leave them without the bag/
Thanks
Ed

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi, Jay,
I just bought a orbital jelly tank, 6 gallons. Unfortunately, there is no outside chamber so the bio balls need to be in the tank. With Moon jellies, should the bios be put in a bag or is it safer to leave them without the bag/
Thanks
Ed

I've never seen a proper jelly tank that didn't have an outside chamber for bio-filtration, it is a pretty standard way to achieve proper biofiltration.

Bio-balls, the plastic ones at least, have VERY poor surface area, it takes a lot of them to provide enough substrate for passive biofiltration (as opposed to active, where you have water flowing over them). I would opt for some other media - ceramic media for example.

The problems are that moon jellies require enriched live baby brine shrimp as their primary food. That will get trapped down in any media you install in the tank, and will need to be cleaned out fairly often. In addition, if the jellies hit the media as they go around the tank, it will cause bell erosion.

To answer your original question though, putting the media in a nylon bag would be best, but won't eliminate the issues.