Advice for biological setup

Good day

I am an old marine setupman but due to health issues I am converting back to tropical setup...

I would like to hear your thoughts on a setup that mainly works on biological filtration and not mechanical.
What is the best options for bio-filtration?
Is it the same as with marines that you have live rock and it is our best biological filtration?

Benefits and disadvantages of a sump?
Best filtration for this type of setup?

Thank you

 

Hi not an expert but you got to have mechanical filteration like your pump and the biological would be your filter media like ceramic rings , sponge etc

 

Best combination for best filtration is the following sponge as first stage then seachem matrix or any good type of bioballs petstop in pta brings their own type in cheap and works very well then finish of with filter floss as the final polishing stage. A sump works well but is really only used with huge tanks.


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@DikDaan, I agree with what has been said
.
For tanks 1.5m and bigger with high bioload fish, sump is great

For smaller tanks and fish where bioload is low then cannister filter is more than enough
What fish are you planning on keeping?

 

The one reason why I am asking is because I do have a 300 liter display marine setup with 100 liter sump...

Otherwise I will need to start with small setup first

 

Ok, but that is a different story, if you already have a tank (ex marine with sump I assume its drilled and overflow already in place) then use that tank with sump, nothing wrong
I run sumps on all my tanks just that if you were starting from scratch, with a smaller tank then it wouldnt be worth going the sump route but if you have it already then use it!!

 

I agree with @MariaS that you can keep your sump as is and fill the baffles with first floss for mechanical filtration. This you'll clean regularly as in your marine setup. The baffles after that, you can fill with high surface area media such as Seachem matrix, nylon scrubbies, bio balls or similar. Personally I like Matrix as it is really space efficient. Live rock isn't utilized in freshwater systems as you will be doing larger water changes than in a marine system to keep nitrates in check.

 

OK cool thanks!
Do you use tap water with dechlorinator or RO water?

 

Tap water with a declorinator

 

Just tap water with a dechlorinator that also removes chloramine. Seachem Safe seems to be the most cost effective. RO water has a low ph and poor buffering capacity, as well as being stripped of minerals. People that keep fish that live in very acidic water use RO, but you usual farm bred fish are fine with tap water