Fire or refractory brick as alternative to bio filtration bricks

[Beer]

I was at the Frag Farmer's Market today and there were Brightwell and Marinepure tables. I was able to put my hands on both products and the Brightwell Xport bricks seem a little more solid and dense. One of the reps stated that she actually uses one of them as a base for her skimmer. The Marinepure bricks disintegrate under those conditions. After talking with them and thinking about it a little bit, these bricks may be perfect for the new temporary tank I am setting up. The more dense Xport bricks may be the better option as I do not have much rock in this tank and the Marinepure is porous enough that anerobic zones may not be established.

 

After searching for them online, I wondered if there were lower cost options as products like this typically aren't initially created specifically for a relatively small market like the aquarium industry, items are often modified or just repackaged and sold for a significant markup (look at the boating or RV industry).

 

Anyhow, I started searching around and refractory bricks or fire bricks look like they may be a viable option. Refractory bricks look like they may be a bit closer to the Xport bricks (I even came across some that have the spherical bumps on one side). The fire bricks seem a bit more dense and may not work as well. I am hoping to make it out tomorrow or earlier this week to see if I can get my hands on some refractory bricks. I need to do a little more research, but the refractory and fire bricks seem to have a similar composition to the bio-filtration bricks.

 

 

Has anyone used (or knows someone that has) refractory or fire bricks as a bio-filtration media? If so how did it work out? Any negative effects? Any comparison to the Xport or Marinepure bricks?

[CronicReefer]

Your going to want to look at a data sheet detailing exactly what the bricks are composed of. Anything can be used in a reef tank as surface area for bacteria to grown on, all that matters is whether or not the object is toxic to reef aquariums. The difference between a fire brick and the NO3 brick from Brightwell are two key things. First, the NO3 brick is doped with sulfur and second; it is composed of an aragonite type material to buffer alkalinity as the water becomes more acidic inside the NO3 brick due to anoxic/denitrification conditions. I doubt you will find any fire brick made with sulfur or of an aragonite material. The surface areas may be comparable but the materials used in the NO3 brick are specially designed to facilitate a certain environment for bacteria that you will not find in any fire/refractory brick.