Asian aquarium filtration

[RD.]

Filters are simply designed to remove particulate waste matter, and though biological filtration allow nitrifying bacteria to break down ammonia and nitrites into nitrates.

With huge fish, in large aquariums, water changes are key - not the form of filtration one uses. Most filtration set ups in private aquariums in North America far exceed what one will typically see in private aquariums in Asia, and in many cases probably far exceed what the owner requires. Go big or go home didn't originate in SE Asia.


As already stated by everyone in this thread, the condition of these large fish is due to large frequent water changes, not extravagant filtration systems. Water changes aren't just a big part of it, water changes are everything.

 

[Quo Vadis]

Well maybe for my tank I should focus less time on designing my filtration system and more on getting my Autodrip system up ASAP after it is built! In fairly heavily stocked, large tanks how much is a good amount to flush out everyday? 4/5 seems a little extravagant (and costly) to me! That's not a normal amount for an auto drip system is it? I suppose to I can adjust the amount it changes as the fish grow. When I initially pop a bunch of 3-6in fish in a 700g tank it won't need much water changes. When they have all grown to 12in+ and a couple 18-24in+ I will!

 

[RD.]

The beauty of an auto drip system is exactly what you just described, one can fine tune it to whatever they feel is required to keep their parameters in check.

My friend works in the oil patch & makes some serious coin, and kept uber expensive fish. That tank probably had 20K or more worth of fish in it, so the cost of water was the least of his concerns. If/when the search feature starts working again I'll see if I can find one of his old posts on MFK where he shows his 500 gallon set up. This was his "other" display tank (600 gallons I believe?), on the same drip system.

 

[fuzzlebug]

Whoah. Thats alot of money swimming there. More reason for me to get in high gear and get a job on the oil rigs and make some good money to spend on fish!!!

Sent from my GT-S6810P using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[asm129]

A friend of mine in town had his heavily stocked 500 gallon tank filtered by a 180 gallon sump I believe, but more importantly he had that tank on an auto drip system that flushed approx 400 gallons of fresh water into his tank every 24 hrs.

No doubt your friend's water must be crystal clear and a drip system is probably ideal for water quality. But if he's changing 400 gallons a day, that's gotta be at least a $300 a month water bill. It wouldn't be worth it for most people.

 

[tiger15]

No doubt your friend's water must be crystal clear and a drip system is probably ideal for water quality. But if he's changing 400 gallons a day, that's gotta be at least a $300 a month water bill. It wouldn't be worth it for most people.

No, if he is on private well water in the South, and the electric bill is probably less than a dollar a day. In Thailand, they raise Discus in tanks with no filtration, just daily 90% water change.

Drip system is wonderful with private well water, but constrained by chlorinated city water and unsafe with chloramined water

 

[RD.]

At the time my friend was running his large tanks, and drip system, we had a max rate for water here in our city, so 100 gallons a day, or 400 gallons, it didn't make a difference in the monthly bill. He had over 1,000 gallons in his 2 large display tanks, and another 1,000+ in holding tanks for juvenile Asian aros and stingrays that he imported and sold.

BTW - a drip system is not a problem with chloramine, or chlorine, if you know what you are doing. Very simple, and very safe, you just need a quality dosing machine. Both of my friends in town with large systems had their tanks on an auto drip system, and our water has been treated with chloramine for 15-20 yrs now.

 

[viejafish]

A
BTW - a drip system is not a problem with chloramine, or chlorine, if you know what you are doing. Very simple, and very safe, you just need a quality dosing machine. Both of my friends in town with large systems had their tanks on an auto drip system, and our water has been treated with chloramine for 15-20 yrs now.

If the drip system requires dosing, it's not simple or fail safe because the dosing machine can mal function mechanically, electrically or running out of dosing source. Also, a drip system in cold climate requires additional heating and it adds to the electric bill. A poster in the African forum reported a wipe out a year ago from a dosing set up due to overheating because the mixing of hot and cold water screwed up.

 

[xraycer]

If the drip system requires dosing, it's not simple or fail safe because the dosing machine can mal function mechanically, electrically or running out of dosing source. Also, a drip system in cold climate requires additional heating and it adds to the electric bill. A poster in the African forum reported a wipe out a year ago from a dosing set up due to overheating because the mixing of hot and cold water screwed up.

Nothing in life is 100% fail safe.....the spot your fish tank is on could be on top of a sink hole......such is life

 

[RD.]

Nothing in life is 100% fail safe.....the spot your fish tank is on could be on top of a sink hole......such is life

LOL, exactly.

Also, everything in his system had some form of back up, I mean everything. This wasn't your average fish room, with your average fish, and I never said that it was a cheap system to run.