aerated k1 vs alfagrog

[Luke tomkinson]

about to build a massive sump for my 7x3x2 and was pondering doing 100 litres of k1 in a moving bed in the middle chamber with 100l per minute air pump, with around 15-20kgs of alfagrog on the other chambers, as the pump will be very exspensive and so will the k1 ive just been offered a sump stocked full of lots of alfagrog i mean the whole sump pretty much filled with it which should i go with? im building a sump as want more space and volume for media and getting lots of predator fish soon?
many thanks
luke

 

[Denon]

From what I have read, it seems, moving bed filters are a bit overrated in the aquarium hobby and you are better off going with open cell foam. Don't get me wrong, they are unbeatable in sewage treatment, or super large setups, but anything less than 1000g they are more trouble than they are worth. In my new setup I am going filter socks, to open cell sponges, to ceramic rings.

 

[coolermaster]

7.2.3. K1 Filter Media

K1 is a type of aquarium filter media which works very well,

aquariumscience.org

If you want to read up on k1

 

[fishdance]

there is a lot of confusion in part spread by well intentioned fish keepers who only have a little knowledge.

Moving bed K1 is actually a biofilm filter, does remove ammonia & nitrate but also reduces nitrate. biofilm is different from simpler nitrifying bacteria. this takes considerably longer to mature before you see benefits. since the media is moving you get multiple passes per single pass flow of water. it has zero mechanical filtration but semi self cleans so low maintenance biological filtration. with careful design you can implement a drain on power failure to remove water.

(not to be confused with using K1 statically as a mechanical filter)

the alfagrog can be used submerged or wet/dry. each type with own positives & negatives so you need to know what your priorities are.

* Initial cost
* Prioritised goals
* Operational cost
* Maintenance
* Redundancy / failure
* Bespoke requirements & concerns.

If you only want to remove ammonia & nitrite and cost is important than the alfagrog is fine. you could also use a bigger sump volume with gravel to get similar results.

 

[Luke tomkinson]

there is a lot of confusion in part spread by well intentioned fish keepers who only have a little knowledge.

Moving bed K1 is actually a biofilm filter, does remove ammonia & nitrate but also reduces nitrate. biofilm is different from simpler nitrifying bacteria. this takes considerably longer to mature before you see benefits. since the media is moving you get multiple passes per single pass flow of water. it has zero mechanical filtration but semi self cleans so low maintenance biological filtration. with careful design you can implement a drain on power failure to remove water.

(not to be confused with using K1 statically as a mechanical filter)

the alfagrog can be used submerged or wet/dry. each type with own positives & negatives so you need to know what your priorities are.

* Initial cost
* Prioritised goals
* Operational cost
* Maintenance
* Redundancy / failure
* Bespoke requirements & concerns.

If you only want to remove ammonia & nitrite and cost is important than the alfagrog is fine. you could also use a bigger sump volume with gravel to get similar results.

i think im going to just do a moving bed with some alfagrog on each side, i have researched both and am aware of the cycling time on k1, im going to run my normal filter along side it for around a month or so