there is an lfs that i go to that has one of these http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=21425 set up on the intake of every Aqua clear filter. you can do this to have more bio filtration.
Boosting Any HOB Filters Performance
- Thread starter Fish Eat Fish
- Start date
nc_nutcase;4145792; said:
I keep large odd ball fish and im my case bioload limits stocking long long long before aggression in most circumstances.
All im saying is that if filter "a" can support bioload "b" and if the addition of extra O2 can improve the filters performance then modified filter "a" can support bioload "b+". This is always a good senario especially when an airstone and small pump can be purchased for a few bucks, versus another HOB or upgrading to a canister which will cost anywhere from $50-$200. This could come in handy if the filter is on the boarder of being adequate for its growing inhabitants.
Fish Eat Fish;4145842; said:
if you put your idea to a test and it works, ill have to do it to my ac110
How to test it accurately would be the question...I have 10% ammonia cleaning solution haha could set up a mini tank and see if it is able to convert the ammonia faster.
Fish Eat Fish;4145842; said:
Then, in theory, yes it would help...
But we have to consider how much it helps... Putting it 'to the test' is the ultimate way to answer this. I do not suspect the tiny airbubbles rushing past the bacteria would supply enough additional oxygen to make a difference. In a proper wet/dry the bacteria is in contact with air as often as it is water. The airstone in an HOB approach would be far far far less air contact time.
Its been well discussed that the bubbles themselves don't actually aerate the water, rather they disrupt the surface, increasing surface area, providing increased oxygenation of the water. It seems like if your goal is to deliver better oxygenated water to the 'bio-media', then you'd be better off moving your intake up near the surface and putting your airstone very close to the intake.
If the purpose is to create pockets of air around the 'bio-media' making it more like a wet-dry I'd bet that the 1 (maybe 10? who knows) milisecond it takes a bubble to pass over a specific bacterial cell is probably not accomplishing anything.
I'm no microbiologist, can someone cite research that 1 cubic inch of colonized wet-dry 'bio-media' surface area can metabolize an ammonia solution of 1ppm any faster than the same number of bacterial cells when completely submerged?
It seems to me that the only way to measure efficiency is to find the rate at which 1 cell can metabolize/oxygenate/nitrify (pick your favorite term) ammonia, and then see if adding bubbles either a) allows for faster metabolization, or B) more bacterial cells per square inch.
All of it is really moot, since a typical tank with substrate and a few items of decor will have way more surface area than you could possibly cram into an appropriately sized HOB or cannister.
All of that really just says "I agree with NC_Nutcase".
If the purpose is to create pockets of air around the 'bio-media' making it more like a wet-dry I'd bet that the 1 (maybe 10? who knows) milisecond it takes a bubble to pass over a specific bacterial cell is probably not accomplishing anything.
I'm no microbiologist, can someone cite research that 1 cubic inch of colonized wet-dry 'bio-media' surface area can metabolize an ammonia solution of 1ppm any faster than the same number of bacterial cells when completely submerged?
It seems to me that the only way to measure efficiency is to find the rate at which 1 cell can metabolize/oxygenate/nitrify (pick your favorite term) ammonia, and then see if adding bubbles either a) allows for faster metabolization, or B) more bacterial cells per square inch.
All of it is really moot, since a typical tank with substrate and a few items of decor will have way more surface area than you could possibly cram into an appropriately sized HOB or cannister.
All of that really just says "I agree with NC_Nutcase".
Air is added in the bio stage at waste water treatment plants to not only facilitate the bacterial activity, but also to promote new growth. A young "bug" eats more than an old "bug". The bacteria in wastewater aeration basins are basically the very same that are in aquaria and I don't see why there wouldn't be a benefit to aerating the bio-media. Trickle filters are known for their ability to sustain huge bio-colonies, due, in part, to the aeration trickle filters afford.
BTW, I HAVE added airstones to the bio-chamber area on Penguin 200s,350s and Emperor 280s and 400s with great success in rapid BB colonization, however, those filters had a full chamber of Eheim Pro media and a filter sponge on the intake tube for mechanical as I removed the internal mechanical for more capacity.
Worked great.
My 2¢.
BTW, I HAVE added airstones to the bio-chamber area on Penguin 200s,350s and Emperor 280s and 400s with great success in rapid BB colonization, however, those filters had a full chamber of Eheim Pro media and a filter sponge on the intake tube for mechanical as I removed the internal mechanical for more capacity.
Worked great.
My 2¢.
