are mesh sacks safe to be used in a sump

[john6]

I will be using Alfagrog in my sump, it will be easier to take out and clean if i put it in bags, i can get mesh sacks from my local farm shop, mainly orange and green ones, the sort used for holding carrots, onions and stuff, are these safe to use in an aquarium?

 

[seedoubleyou]

I’ve no experience of those, but you can but plastic zipped ones on Amazon that are fine.

 

[zozo]

I use Alfa grog in my sump as well and dumped it in without any bag at all... It's running for 5 years now and only cleaned it once. Because the entire sump looked like it could use a cleanup, from calcium and other salts deposits on the glass. 🙂

But might add we have Sumps and Sumps... Mine is a wet and dry trickle sump and because it has loads of oxygen available from the atmosphere it kinda works as self-cleaning, it never rots and it never stinks it brakes down all large debris it collects in the alfa grog turns over time into small particles which are caught in the last stage polishing sponge. And that's the only one I clean now and then, actually only when I notice it's clogging. All non-solids that pass this last stage are food for the plants again...

 

[Stu1407]

The problem with the ones from the local farm shop will be that whilst the mesh may be perfectly fine you have no idea how or where it was stored. Whilst it's a small chance the mesh could be contaminated and I personally just wouldn't take the risk when you can get bags off amazon etc as seedoubleyou says.

 

[john6]

@zozo
You make a good point as i will be using an auto fleece filter which i used when it was marine, and must say my sump was never dirty

 

[zozo]

@zozo
You make a good point as i will be using an auto fleece filter which i used when it was marine, and must say my sump was never dirty

Mine is awfully simple and minimalistic... 🙂

Heavy debris collects at the bottom of A, never clean it, just let the bio-organisms (and shrimps) do their job what ends up in there is never there forever it brakes down. B is a coarse sponge, just in case but also never do anything to it, same story let nature and the bugs run its cause. C is the Alfa grog, i never tough it i never see it get dirty. Smaller debris particles collect on the bottom of D, just leave it will break down even further till it's light enough to go with the flow into the sponge E in there it will break down even further or not and when this one seems to get clogged I clean it out, that might be 2 or 3 times p/y... F is aquarium water... 🙂



It ran a few years with lights above it and then B was planted...

I don't like to be subjective with naming it the best because that's beyond proof. But it is definitively the nicest filter I ever had. It's completely self-sustaining. I wouldn't change a thing I guess it can't be made any simpler... 🙂

It also had Duckweed in A...

For the last few years, it's running without lights and plants didn't notice anything different other than a smaller power bill. But that wasn't the reason. I actually needed the led strip in the kitchen... 🙂

 

[john6]

@zozo brilliant, gives me more thought on how to set my sump up thanks.