Biofiltration and gph

[aldiaz33]

A few options that might work, depending on your setup:

1. Drill directly into the display, run the Laguna as a closed loop (so that you don't have to overcome all that extra static head from your sump) and drop the pump in your sump so that you are still getting the benefit of the heat transfer.

or if you don't want to drill your tank...

2. Place Laguna directly in your display and run plumbing up and over the tank.

Pix of your setup would help in determining which option would be most feasible.

 

[Plum]

A few options that might work, depending on your setup:

1. Drill directly into the display, run the Laguna as a closed loop (so that you don't have to overcome all that extra static head from your sump) and drop the pump in your sump so that you are still getting the benefit of the heat transfer.

or if you don't want to drill your tank...

2. Place Laguna directly in your display and run plumbing up and over the tank.

Pix of your setup would help in determining which option would be most feasible.

Good point on the closed loop.... Really good idea actually. Thank you.

Lol - yes, got to get some pics up.


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[Conlin2]

I am thinking that a higher GPH would turn the tank over more and would be the same as a lower GPH with a slower flow through the media.I am just thinking it would work out to be the same.I am just thinking about it but it seems it would work out the same way?

 

[Squirtle919]

I am thinking that a higher GPH would turn the tank over more and would be the same as a lower GPH with a slower flow through the media.I am just thinking it would work out to be the same.I am just thinking about it but it seems it would work out the same way?

yes and no. from a mechanical stand point turning the water over faster has no major differences but with biological my understanding is its all about contact time just like with a UV. If the water goes too fast theres little contact time, if the water is moving slow over the bio theres a greater contact time. I am sure there are many factors but a lot of articles suggest a lower flow rate is more ideal, even for saltwater many suggest 2-4 tph.

Personally I am for 3-4 in all my tanks then have ottos/wave makers to create the current for fish who enjoy it.

 

[Conlin2]

I am just thinking that conatct time in a filter that is pushing less GPH has more contact time with the bio media but what if you have a higher gph filter turning over more water would not be almost the same thing.I am thinking it would be the same.

 

[strollo22]

I am just thinking that conatct time in a filter that is pushing less GPH has more contact time with the bio media but what if you have a higher gph filter turning over more water would not be almost the same thing.I am thinking it would be the same.

It kind of works the same imo. Less flow and more contact and more flow with less contact. Seems like it would have the same effect.


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[Drstrangelove]

1) If you can perform a perfect biological filtration in one turnover, then anything faster is a waste of energy. However, too slow a turnover exposes animals to toxic waste. So, the correct speed is a compromise of these effects.

2) If you can perform a perfect mechanical filtration in one turnover, then anything faster is a waste of energy. However, most mechanical filtration deals with particles that are of a random structure. Some are round, some, cylindrical, some oval, etc. Some filters will trap cylindrical objects based upon how they interact with the filter surface. Some areas of the filter become slightly clogged with debris and have better ability to filter. Other areas of the filter are not correctly sized and have larger pores for example than the nominal rating. (100 micron filters will not capture 100% of 100 micron sized objects. Ratings for a nominal filter for example are catch rates of 50%.) Extra filtration passes will almost always catch more objects. However finer levels of filtration require more or more expensive levels of material. So there is a trade-off between number of passes, size and cost of the filtration media and energy to push the water. Ultimately you almost always improve mechanical by having higher turnover, but obviously at a cost.

 

[Plum]

You may want to plumb to Ultima II, then sand filter, then charcoal. Ultima II needs as much flow as the pump produces.

Forums been down - sorry for delay.

Ok to plumb ultima after sand filter?

Not sure why I had it in my head to plumb this before.


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[Reedmaster16]

Forums been down - sorry for delay.

Ok to plumb ultima after sand filter?

Not sure why I had it in my head to plumb this before.

The ultima is marketed as a mechanical/bio filter all in one but to get the most out of the filter it shouldnt be used this way. The ultima will be most efficient as a bio filter due to the fact it does not do a very good job at trapping finer particles due to the tubular media.

If your plumbing the sand filter and ultima inline together you will need a very very high pressure pump just to overcome the head pressure added by each chamber. I believe its 3-8ft through the ultima and substantially more through the sand filter, and thats just pushing the water through the filter not counting plumbing to and from the tank/sump. There will also be an issue of how to backwash them properly if plumbed like this (may take some creative plumbing).

Plumb the ultima after some form of mechanical filtration to get the most out of the filter and keep the waste out of the bio. If done properly you wont need to backwash it much at all, preventing the bio from being disrupted. As far as the sand filter goes there's no energy efficient pump you can run with it if your bio load is high and use sand in the chamber. It will channel rather quickly and the psi will rise fast without very frequent backwashing.

Just my thoughts. All depends on how you want to do it, there's a lot of different ways you can go about getting those filtration components all planned out. That's the fun of it. Good luck.