biological properties of live rock debate.

my understanding of live rock as a biological agent.
provides area for bacteria to live in a oxygen rich and oxygen depleted zones reducing amonia nitraites and nitrites .

could this be done without the use of live rock ie: big foam blocks, deep sand bed, or ?

i understand the attraction of its size shape colors natural habitat.

but there has to be a more efficent way .

ie: 10" deep foam bed with slow flow over not thru.

if anyone has any idea's please post no matter how weird.

 

Bio balls

 

denitrator to some degree

DSB in the fuge (deep sand bed - 4-6 inches)

 

why live rock is such a good biological filter is because it has a lot of surface area
so anything that replecates that, like bioballs. yeah i guess foam would work too.

 

Bioballs do not have anoxic zones which can convert nitrates back to nitrogen gas. That's why bioballs are considered by many to be nitrate factories.

I suppose you could design a similar system artificially. But the thing I like best about live rock is that it contains so many micro- and macro-scopic creatures from the sea that our tanks would not otherwise have. Different algaes, pods, corals, sea stars, etc. I guess that any artificial system would lose that...

 

I belive you may like this; Aquarium Biological Filtration Media: ReefresH2O BioMedia

 

You could seed artificial stuff you put in there with the same stuff thats on live rock. Just look what people are doing with concrete now. Or look at the reefs that are formed on sunken ships. The think I like about the live rock is its natural. The whole draw of a saltwater reef for me is the ability to bring a natural habitat into my home. These would all be good ideas for in the sump or refugium though. Foam rocks in the fuge could work really well and could be engineered to give optimum flow and surface area.