Dry Rock In Canister filter

Well the other day I took a trip to Premium Aquatics to browse their fish selection for my 125 gallon... they had dry rock rubble for $.25/lb, so i couldn't turn that down! I got 15 lbs and figured I'd find something to do with it...

I've got an extra Eheim 2217 that i was using for nothing but floss til a month or so ago, and now its just sitting empty. Would it be a good idea to fill this canister with the rock? I've read the pros/cons to adding live rock to a canister...as it can build up detritus if not regularly cleaned...but have the benefits of cryptic zones for live rock.... would I benefit from adding the rock to the canister and clean it monthly or so? Or would I just be wasting my time and creating a bigger headache than its worth?

Thoughts?

 

So the idea is to put the rubble into a canister with a pump pushing water through? If you have constant flow, then there will be no detritus to build up, and if you keep light out, then no algae. Filter feeders that don't require light will accumulate over time, but that's the only build up I can think of. It seems you are envisioning a live rock chamber to help control amm, no2, and no3. I suppose it may work as an alternative to adding rock to your DT, and furthermore increasing your flow rate. You could use that and attempt to keep your DT in the same shape it's in currently. I'd like to see the long term effects that would have.
Pros.....cheap natural nitrate removal.
Cons....it may take up property where another item, such as a reactor with gfo would benefit more.

Only time will tell. If it were me, and I had the extra items laying around, I'd give it a try just to show myself that it either works, or there's already a better way.

 

Thank you much for the reply! The canister has water flow through pretty fast. It chucks out some water for sure! And no worry about it taking the place of some GFO or somethin.. I got a couple TLF reactors for that. I think I'm going to set it up and give it a shot! I'm sure it will quite a while til I notice any major effects as the rock is still dry... But I think it's worth a shot!

Thanks again for the reply!

 

One more question... Would it do the same thing if I just added the rock to te fuge section of my sump? Or would it being a cryptic zone help more with more water flow thru it inside the canister?

 

I agree with the majority of your statement but the part about no detritrus build up is false. Even are DT with strong constant flow gets detritrus build up, that is why we have to blow off and clean are rockwork from time to time.

 

If you add it to the fuge, it'll definitely gather junk, I suppose like Pgh is saying, even inside the canister you may still want to open it up and rinse out out the rock from time to time, perhaps in an outside bucket filled with salt water.

I can see your point there.

 

Thank you guys for the input!

Now, should I pack it tight with smaller chunks of rubble? Or leave it kind of loose with a few bigger pieces? It's a big canister and can hold quite a bit in it. Would packing it real tight just make detritus buildup even worse? And would monthly cleanings be ok?

Sorry for all the questions! And I appreciate the info!

 

Questions are fine here ;D No worries.

I'd say packing the canister tighter will force the water to move faster inside, but once again, I think this is one of those things where experience and trial and error will have to answer for itself. And, being I've never tried this before, cleaning schedule is TBD. Start out checking it after a week. If it's real dirty, it may end up being a twice weekly routine. If not, you might be able to get away with once or twice monthly.

 

+1

Alternatively, you could put a prefilter sponge on the canister's intake. That should be a bit easier to clean.