Possible filter media for Salt water tanks

[Fballvera22]

I have read all over that you should take out the filter media in your saltwater tank because it will cause nitrates to rise. Is this do to the build up and break-down of waste on the filter media? If so, couldn't you take a fairly fine knit metal mesh screen (something like the screens on the outsides of windows) and fashion them so they fit in place of the original filter media. Then once or twice a week, all you have to do is pull one screen out, pop a new one in, and rinse the old one under really hot water to get ride of all the gunk and bacteria. This would provide a great deal of mechanical filtration that, it appears, alot of tanks are missing by removing the floss filter media.

I will try this when i get my 29 gal. salt going and let you know how it goes ( it may be a while untill i get it started though)

[1979camaro]

itnerestingly, there isn't much need for mechanical filtration...take a look at most reef tanks running without it and they look as clear as can be expected...i would be wary of putting metal in the tank, other than that let us know how it owrks out

[wayne]

I would really avoid putting metal in the tank, even stainless steel will rust.
Original question - it kind of is due to the build up and break down of these wastes. The 'chemical reason' nitrate accumumlates is that things like wet drys, biowheels and so on cause a rise in nitrate is that they provide a very strongly aerobic enviroment to encourage bacteria to get rid of ammonia as quickly as problem. The end result is nitrate. The next step is the reduction on nitrate to nitrogen gas, but as it's a reductive reaction it needs to take place in an anaerobic enviroment (almost no oxygen). If the enviroment is aerobic, the weak bacterial enzymes used to encourage the reaction will not be strong enough to function. Theus as long as things stay aerobic, nitrate is stuck as nitrate and is released to the water column.
If you use a filter pad and are religious about changing, possibly meaning every day or two you can get this gunk out. This is not atypical for fishonly systems with messy filters.
Frankly for things up to 30 gallons you're not going to be killed by keeping your filter material in and it's a bit of insurance incase of an 'ammonia incident' (read something dies when you're away for a few days.). ith small tanks a weekly 5 gallon water change will get you out of a lot of trouble.

[S.Reef]

Both you guys covered about everything.

[1979camaro]

we try

[Hwarang]

Any area in your reef tank that accumulates debris by trapping it can become a nitrate factory. Mechanical filtration (passing water through a filter element) is very good at keeping the water "polished" and providing a surface for necessary bacterias. The trick is to clean the filter regularly. I like to use the same poly-filter (search for it on marinedepot.com) media for as long as I can. When I do water changes I pull the filter out and swirl it around in the siphoned water bucket - don't rinse it under tap water as the chlorine and copper will kill everything on the filter media. Just swirl it around in a bucket of the tank water before you dump it. When you pull the filter out also inspect the slot it was in to make certian there isn't too much ooky stuff loitering around in there.

Good luck!

[S.Reef]

Hmmm, poin taken but if you have a reef there will be an abundance of bacteria in the sand and rock. The little amount contained in the pads will be better gone then kept in the tank.