I have ample experience with freshwater Cichlid aquariums being able to maintain 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite with no special bio media
Therefore I often suggest its importance is grossly exaggerated
Back in the day we didnt have canisters and we didnt use bio media. So be it we did a whole lot wrong according to todays knowledge & standards (at least many of us did) but once a tank was mature, keeping zero ammonia and nitrites was simple with UGFs, sponge filters and HOBs.
I commonly hear it stated that sponge filters are great little bio filters and then I hear the same people saying that an Aqua Clear HOB is not a good bio filter because it only has a sponge for media read that one again
A typical HOB filter creates a lot of surface agitation where the intake tube enters the HOB. The freshly oxygenated water is then pulled down into the HOB and through its media. The water that runs through bio media within a canister filter has not been freshly oxygenated such as this has
The more surface area per volume bio media has, the smaller the pores in the material are. Since water has this tendency to follow the path of least resistance, I would like to suggest that the vast majority of the water moving through your bio media simply skims over the surface of the nuggets. This very simple principal is vastly overlooked as bypass.
I have run several 75 gal tanks with two AC 110s with no media expect a stock sponge typically stocked tanks for years on end without ever experiencing an ammonia or nitrite spike.
I am currently running a 125 gal filtered by two AC 110s with nothing more than stock sponges and two Mag 250s with micron cartridges. This tank has 2 adult Blue Dempseys, 25~35 2.5~5 Geos, a few small Dempsey grow outs and a 12 BGK. The tank consistently has zero ammonia and zero nitrite.
Unfortunately I had to move out of the home where I had my fishroom, but up until this past winter I had a fish room which contained 5 tiers of two 50 gals stacked over a 75 gal each plumbed together as a 175 gal system. Each bottom 75 gal was filtered by one AC 110 and there was either a 500 or 700 gph pump moving water from the bottom (75 gal) to the top (50 gal) with nothing but a small sponge prefilter.
These tiers were either moderately stocked with adults or pairs or heavily stocked with grow outs. Heavy water changes were done frequently as nitrates built up fast, yet I never had any ammonia or nitrite spikes.
For the last 7 years Ive maintained between 300 ~ 1,500 gallons of aquariums and have been reading ample material both from the aquarium hobby and beyond to better understand my aquatic systems (As I get older the fishroom has become more fun than the bar) In my experience a mature system will not lack sufficient surface area to maintain an adequate bacterial colony to accommodate its fish load
An exception to that theory may be a bare tank that is overstocked. I have never kept fish this way and therefore cannot speak about its needs from experience.
I would like to acknowledge a benefit to a wet dry filter. This not only offers increased surface area but offers it at a point of oxygen saturation. From the information Ive read it is true that in this environment our bacterial colonies can/will be more healthy, grow faster and split/reproduce more readily.
The benefit I see Wet/Dry filters offering is that if for some reason the ammonia production in the tank increases, the bacterial colony can increase along with it at a faster rate. Although in reality how beneficial this is questionable, in typical conditions the bacteria we house has a doubling rate of 4~6 hours. Therefore it can grow quite quickly even without these special conditions.
I do not expect me sharing my understanding is going to make any revolutionary changes in the way people in general filter their tanks But I do hope it helps a few people think their filtration through from a slightly different perspective. I feel that the filter/media manufacturers have fuels a vast misunderstanding in bio needs and are making a fortune from it.
Back in the day we didnt have canisters and we didnt use bio media. So be it we did a whole lot wrong according to todays knowledge & standards (at least many of us did) but once a tank was mature, keeping zero ammonia and nitrites was simple with UGFs, sponge filters and HOBs.
I commonly hear it stated that sponge filters are great little bio filters and then I hear the same people saying that an Aqua Clear HOB is not a good bio filter because it only has a sponge for media read that one again
A typical HOB filter creates a lot of surface agitation where the intake tube enters the HOB. The freshly oxygenated water is then pulled down into the HOB and through its media. The water that runs through bio media within a canister filter has not been freshly oxygenated such as this has
The more surface area per volume bio media has, the smaller the pores in the material are. Since water has this tendency to follow the path of least resistance, I would like to suggest that the vast majority of the water moving through your bio media simply skims over the surface of the nuggets. This very simple principal is vastly overlooked as bypass.
I have run several 75 gal tanks with two AC 110s with no media expect a stock sponge typically stocked tanks for years on end without ever experiencing an ammonia or nitrite spike.
I am currently running a 125 gal filtered by two AC 110s with nothing more than stock sponges and two Mag 250s with micron cartridges. This tank has 2 adult Blue Dempseys, 25~35 2.5~5 Geos, a few small Dempsey grow outs and a 12 BGK. The tank consistently has zero ammonia and zero nitrite.
Unfortunately I had to move out of the home where I had my fishroom, but up until this past winter I had a fish room which contained 5 tiers of two 50 gals stacked over a 75 gal each plumbed together as a 175 gal system. Each bottom 75 gal was filtered by one AC 110 and there was either a 500 or 700 gph pump moving water from the bottom (75 gal) to the top (50 gal) with nothing but a small sponge prefilter.
These tiers were either moderately stocked with adults or pairs or heavily stocked with grow outs. Heavy water changes were done frequently as nitrates built up fast, yet I never had any ammonia or nitrite spikes.
For the last 7 years Ive maintained between 300 ~ 1,500 gallons of aquariums and have been reading ample material both from the aquarium hobby and beyond to better understand my aquatic systems (As I get older the fishroom has become more fun than the bar) In my experience a mature system will not lack sufficient surface area to maintain an adequate bacterial colony to accommodate its fish load
An exception to that theory may be a bare tank that is overstocked. I have never kept fish this way and therefore cannot speak about its needs from experience.
I would like to acknowledge a benefit to a wet dry filter. This not only offers increased surface area but offers it at a point of oxygen saturation. From the information Ive read it is true that in this environment our bacterial colonies can/will be more healthy, grow faster and split/reproduce more readily.
The benefit I see Wet/Dry filters offering is that if for some reason the ammonia production in the tank increases, the bacterial colony can increase along with it at a faster rate. Although in reality how beneficial this is questionable, in typical conditions the bacteria we house has a doubling rate of 4~6 hours. Therefore it can grow quite quickly even without these special conditions.
I do not expect me sharing my understanding is going to make any revolutionary changes in the way people in general filter their tanks But I do hope it helps a few people think their filtration through from a slightly different perspective. I feel that the filter/media manufacturers have fuels a vast misunderstanding in bio needs and are making a fortune from it.