How Much Ceramic Media??

How much ceramic media do I need to keep the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate level zero in my 90 gallon tank's overhead sump?? I've been having a pretty hard time finding the answer.
Could someone help me out here ??

P s : the stock is gonna be a dozen or so juvenile discus. Plus I'll be doing water changes every other day.

 

I think the standard answer is all you can fit in there, And you don't want your nitrate at 0 should stay anywhere around 10 or so.

 

I think the standard answer is all you can fit in there, And you don't want your nitrate at 0 should stay anywhere around 10 or so.

Umm I'm sorry but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me :/
For instance,my sump has a capacity of 5 gallons. Wouldn't it matter A LOT if I had a much smaller/larger sump for the same tank?

I think the standard answer is all you can fit in there, And you don't want your nitrate at 0 should stay anywhere around 10 or so.

Plus iyo,what sump volume would you use for a 90 gallon tank? There's this video on YouTube and the said his refugium is so effective that he's only done 10 water changes in the last 6 years I'm looking to make a sump/refugium on those lines

 

How much ceramic media do I need to keep the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate level zero in my 90 gallon tank's overhead sump?? I've been having a pretty hard time finding the answer.
Could someone help me out here ??

P s : the stock is gonna be a dozen or so juvenile discus. Plus I'll be doing water changes every other day.

Get as much Seachem Matrix as you can in there. It is better than ceramic in my opinion.

 

Get as much Seachem Matrix as you can in there. It is better than ceramic in my opinion.

I've heard great things about. They even say a litre of the stuff is good for a 100 gallons.. I really should look into it

 

I've heard great things about. They even say a litre of the stuff is good for a 100 gallons.. I really should look into it

Have a ton of it. Can trade or whatever to you on the site. Would be happy to send you a bag.
Halfway full have another container unopened too. Not trade....but whatever the kindness system is. Have not used the b/s/t portion of the site yet.

 

Have a ton of it. Can trade or whatever to you on the site. Would be happy to send you a bag.
Halfway full have another container unopened too. Not trade....but whatever the kindness system is. Have not used the b/s/t portion of the site yet.
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As much as I'd love having that,I don't think you'd be able to send it to me where I live

 

The amount of ceramic media itself won't cause your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates to be zero. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle?

I would use mechanical as well as biological media. Can you take a pic of your sump space?

With daily water changes, you really don't need Matrix (actually, you would never actually need it). Cheap ceramic biomedia would be fine!

 

Like in another country I mean

Right?

The amount of ceramic media itself won't cause your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates to be zero. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle?

I would use mechanical as well as biological media. Can you take a pic of your sump space?

With daily water changes, you really don't need Matrix (actually, you would never actually need it). Cheap ceramic biomedia would be fine!

Yes I know about the nitrogen cycle.
My sump is basically a 1 cubic foot (~ 7 gallon ) tank. I'll be placing a baffle first for the mechanical media i.e a couple of sponges. Followed by biomedia e.g the matrix in the next compartment and the return pump in the third compartment

I actually got the whole idea to make a sump to minimise water changes once my discus grow out. There's this YouTube video and the guy said he's done just 10 water changes in his 120 gallon with about 15 adult discus and a 100 tetras. He's got a refugium actually.

10 water changes in the last 6 years

The amount of ceramic media itself won't cause your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates to be zero.
What's this supposed to mean? The more biomedia the larger will be the bacterial colonies and more filtration no??

 

A sump won't replace the need for water changes. You should still be doing once or twice weekly water changes in an adult discus tank. I wouldn't ever follow his approach.

 

Even with infinite amounts of biomedia you will still need to do water changes, the only thing that reduces nitrates are live plants, and water changes.

 

The amount of ceramic media itself won't cause your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates to be zero. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle?

I would use mechanical as well as biological media. Can you take a pic of your sump space?

With daily water changes, you really don't need Matrix (actually, you would never actually need it). Cheap ceramic biomedia would be fine!

That huge thing of matrix that never has to be replaced is only 10 bucks. It has more surface area for BB as well than ceramics. Seachem usually is not cheap....although the matrix is...and the purigen...which you can recharge a multitude of times.

 

It's cheaper to get bulk ceramic media than it is the same amount of Matrix. And they really do the same thing, as you rarely get anaerobic bacteria colonies in most filter setups with Matrix. It's fancier, but unnecessary.

 

It's cheaper to get bulk ceramic media than it is the same amount of Matrix. And they really do the same thing, as you rarely get anaerobic bacteria colonies in most filter setups with Matrix. It's fancier, but unnecessary.

It definitely lowers nitrates. My tap water has 80ppm nitrates in it and in a week it's lowered them to 20ppm. It's meant to take 4-6 weeks to work though so it may end up lowering them even more.'

 

Not in all situations. I've heard of many people using it without success with lowered nitrates.

I'm not saying OP shouldn't get it. Just saying that if OP wants a large amount of media, there are cheaper options than going with Matrix.

 

Not in all situations. I've heard of many people using it without success with lowered nitrates.

I'm not saying OP shouldn't get it. Just saying that if OP wants a large amount of media, there are cheaper options than going with Matrix.

Not arguing at all just to make that clear. It has worked for me and others...my Nitrate was 40 before (from tap), and now my tanks read about 20. A name brand just gives me more confidence in purchasing it. They would also typically have a legit customer support site and call center. Seachems website is rather informative.

 

Umm I'm sorry but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me :/
For instance,my sump has a capacity of 5 gallons. Wouldn't it matter A LOT if I had a much smaller/larger sump for the same tank?


Plus iyo,what sump volume would you use for a 90 gallon tank? There's this video on YouTube and the said his refugium is so effective that he's only done 10 water changes in the last 6 years I'm looking to make a sump/refugium on those lines

I know some people do very few water changes but I can't recommend that plan.
I don't use a sump system yet, I will next year when I get the 300, I only use a canister filter, even when I get a 55 gallon sump for my 300 I will still do 20% water changes every week.