Syporax question?

[Mick John]

G'day all. Just curious in knowing if anyone knows much about Syporax? An Aquarist friend of mine informed me the other day that Syporax is known to increase the waters PH in the initial stages of use due to a component that mixes with the water. But after a few months of water changes it diminishes and hence the PH drops again. I have 6Kg of it in about 500Lt of water. I asked him where he got this information from and he said that it's a well known fact amoungst the Japanese Aquarists. He actually read this in a Japanese Magazine. Any thoughts on this? Cheers.http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon12.gif

[Wicked]

never heard of it but Google is a wonderful place and i have read a few things on it apparently its made of glass and supposed to be used in a filtration set up simular to bioballs...wierd tho it says that it takes the nitRATE out of the water and disperses into a nitrogen gas which is then exported from the water...
way above me however it apparently is great for discus
http://www.sera.de/index.php?id=473&L=1
something i found not sure if it is of any help
cheers

[Mick John]

This is correct 112804. Sera Syporax (Filter Media) has an enormous surface area for the bacteria to live in. It is produced from glass but according to a friend it has something that has an effect on the water chemistry, resulting in a rise in PH. I have googled it too but found nothing to substantiate this information. I'll have another look. Cheers.http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

[GoGuppy]

This is correct 112804. Sera Syporax (Filter Media) has an enormous surface area for the bacteria to live in. It is produced from glass but according to a friend it has something that has an effect on the water chemistry, resulting in a rise in PH. I have googled it too but found nothing to substantiate this information. I'll have another look. Cheers.http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

G'day Mick
Sounds very much like Fluval Biomax filter media. Excellent filter medium for unplanted tanks, as it leaves no fertiliser (nitrate) for the plants at all!!! When I used Biomax I had consistantly zero reading for nitrates, even with a reasonably high fish stocking level. :D

My understanding of the way it works is that being a sintered glass, it has a very porous surface, that is millions of micro cavities. Towards the outside of these micro cavities, where the oxygen-rich water flows, is where the normal aerobic bacteria live that convert the nitrite to nitrates.

But deep inside the micro cavities is where the anaerobic (non oxygen dependent) bacteria live and these convert the nitates directly to nitrogen gas, but in any case the media is great stuff if this is what you're trying to achieve. Use the Biomax/ Syporax as the last stage of filtration, after a decent batch of mechanical filter media, to keep the Biomax from clogging up with gunk.:)

Cheers

[Mick John]

Yeah I bought this stuff because I know it means good water quality and I guess the compromise is perhaps too good. I have a fair few fish in there and feed them well so I might start to test the Nitrates through the weeks to see if there is any. I wonder if adding Plant Nutrients and CO2 will be enough for the Vegitation if the Nitrates are dissipated.?http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon5.gif

[GoGuppy]

I wonder if adding Plant Nutrients and CO2 will be enough for the Vegitation if the Nitrates are dissipated.?http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon5.gif

It's the overall balance that counts... that is fish loading, number and type of plants, amount of fish food given daily, strength and type of lighting, fertilisers, CO2 and so on. It's a matter of trial and error, but IMHO, if you're seriously considering using CO2, it's essential to get the appropriate test kits and monitor water conditions regularly. Then you can adjust lighting, nitrates, phosphate, iron, etc as required.

Without CO2, it's easier to grow plants (well the so called 'easy' ones anyway), but it will harder to grow the "difficult" ones, such as red leaved plants and others.
Cheers

[Mick John]

Thanks for the responses GG. I have been running CO2 for a while now but at the moment it's in my Mates shop being looked at as I am almost certain that the dam thing is leaking Gas somewhere. Needless to say that there is a noticable difference in how each plant survives. Some just dwindle away. Others just stop any growth. So I'm a bit frustrated at the moment with a couple of things going on in there at the moment. But on a happy note my Discus started breeding last night. Amazing considering the water parameters I've been battling with for the past few months. I'm hoping that my friends belief about the Syporax (mentioned above) is the primary reason for the PH rise. It has dropped since the really early stages but not enough. Esp. considering the CO2 is out of action at the moment. Slowly but surely hopefully. Cheers.

[Woodsy]

Not to mention that half of them are emerse grown, and will shed as soon as you chuck them in your tank, anyway. If you're new to the planted tank, research the plants you want in there before you buy them, at least then you know what to expect ;)

[Mick John]

I'm kind of lucky there as I have quite a number of plants already that I had in the last tank and the conditions weren't "extreme". So they're fairly hardy. For a while anyway. And I have friends that grow them also. So it allows me to muck around a bit. But still frustrating to see beautiful plants struggling because your having other problems. Cheers Woodsy.