Designing the Ultimate Filtration System

[johnptc]

It is impossible to cite a controlled trial on Biohome for the following reason.Commercial recurculatory fish farming companies do not share information with each other in the way hobbyists do...nor do they share it with us.We have been allowed to see fish farming systems with huge stocking levels but we are not allowed to see the filter set up. it was a huge trickle tower way over 20ft high with a tonne of Biohome in there somewhere, not the kind of thing you could replicate even if we did know how it worked.The kind of controlled trials you mean are those carried out for "potable" drinking water where the results have to be available for public scrutiny when its a commercial venture they share nothing !how they achieve the required contact time between water and media is simply build a huge trickle tower that takes 12-15 mins for the water to flow through, on a koi pond if a trickle tower/bakki shower style set up is built aim for around 50 galls a hour, give it time and you will get results.

please see Aquacultural Engineering
Copyright © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

this is the journal of aquaculture filtration..... many great articles on secret systems and current denitrifcation research topics.

all classical denitrification systems are feed either carbon ( methanol,ethanol, sugars or starch) or sulfur.

biohome and bakki showers are not feed at all.

does anyone have a clue as to the process which removes nitrates ???

 

[X24]

any updated discussion?

 

[fishdance]

Perhaps people are fixating on a single process here? While most people understand the nitrogen cycle and how nitrosomas and nitrobacter convert ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate respectively, there are of course other processes that also occcur. I am talking about other hetrotrophic and perhaps some autotrophic bacteria.

Removal of fish waste (solid or dissolved forms) from the closed system will result in less nitrate overall. This is why protein skimmers and vortex filters are popular in other filtration designs. I cant comment on Biohome but there have been tests done on similar ceramic type media in Koi and Aquaculture facilities which use bakki towers and the general concensus is that they DO somehow remove a lot of nitrate and improve water quality without maintenance. (Biological Oxygen Demand - BOD, Chemical Oxygen Demand -COD, Disolved Oxygen - DO, chemical content of total Nitrogen and Phosphorus amoungst others, water clarity, etc show favourable results) Careful periodic examination within ceramic cores reveals no blockage, no accumulation and a clean healthy smell. I do not know if these claims or tests are independently assessed. I do know they are being used in some major fish farms. Eco-BioBlock (EBB) is another product which seems to have outrageous claims yet does have scientific test results and is being utilised in many municipal, aquaculture and aquarium facilities more and more. I repectfully submit some links with an open mind with no personal convictions either way at present. Some links in Japanese and some with slightly odd english.

Bacteria House

EBB

Mechanism - Japanese Link

EBB Test Results

I would however, like to extend MichealToft a warm welcome and do encourage him to post more information. Ceramic media does have a huge market presence in Asia and Japan in particular. There are several different competing products and brands which are all popular. I also have some general queries into the mechanics of Biohome production. How do you achieve/change/maintain pore sizes? What is the optimum pore size? What is optimum porosity? I am guessing you inject air during the kiln firing process? Apart from durability and not being inert, would pumice stone for example offer similar results?

 

[johnptc]

Perhaps people are fixating on a single process here? While most people understand the nitrogen cycle and how nitrosomas and nitrobacter convert ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate respectively, there are of course other processes that also occcur. I am talking about other hetrotrophic and perhaps some autotrophic bacteria.

Removal of fish waste (solid or dissolved forms) from the closed system will result in less nitrate overall. This is why protein skimmers and vortex filters are popular in other filtration designs. I cant comment on Biohome but there have been tests done on similar ceramic type media in Koi and Aquaculture facilities which use bakki towers and the general concensus is that they DO somehow remove a lot of nitrate and improve water quality without maintenance. (Biological Oxygen Demand - BOD, Chemical Oxygen Demand -COD, Disolved Oxygen - DO, chemical content of total Nitrogen and Phosphorus amoungst others, water clarity, etc show favourable results) Careful periodic examination within ceramic cores reveals no blockage, no accumulation and a clean healthy smell. I do not know if these claims or tests are independently assessed. I do know they are being used in some major fish farms. Eco-BioBlock (EBB) is another product which seems to have outrageous claims yet does have scientific test results and is being utilised in many municipal, aquaculture and aquarium facilities more and more. I repectfully submit some links with an open mind with no personal convictions either way at present. Some links in Japanese and some with slightly odd english.

Bacteria House

EBB

Mechanism - Japanese Link

EBB Test Results

I would however, like to extend MichealToft a warm welcome and do encourage him to post more information. Ceramic media does have a huge market presence in Asia and Japan in particular. There are several different competing products and brands which are all popular. I also have some general queries into the mechanics of Biohome production. How do you achieve/change/maintain pore sizes? What is the optimum pore size? What is optimum porosity? I am guessing you inject air during the kiln firing process? Apart from durability and not being inert, would pumice stone for example offer similar results?

just be nice to understand why

 

[johnptc]

......would pumice stone for example offer similar results?

isnt pumice closed cell ???

 

[fishdance]

isnt pumice closed cell ???

Possibly, I suspect it is high Ph too which will be less favourable for bacterium colonies.

The ceramic blocks must have other bacteria which decomose fish waste physically or chemically or perhaps outcompete other bacteria which would consume oxygen etc. I know your mostly worried about nitrate but ceramic blocks show lowered total nitrogen levels in the system so there IS significant nitrate reduction in a general sense. These blocks demonstrate other benefits besides nitrate reduction.

 

[johnptc]

a simple controlled test for any nitrate filter.

meaure the nitrate going in and going out of the filter.

i do this every day on my filter ( carbon fed bio carriers ).....

tank is about 12ppm nitrate
filter output is approx 0 ppm nitrate

it would be nice to see these number from a bakki shower or biohome tower......

 

[johnptc]

Possibly, I suspect it is high Ph too which will be less favourable for bacterium colonies.

not sure about the ph....thought it might be more inert

 

[fishdance]

a simple controlled test for any nitrate filter.

meaure the nitrate going in and going out of the filter.

i do this every day on my filter ( carbon fed bio carriers ).....

tank is about 12ppm nitrate
filter output is approx 0 ppm nitrate

it would be nice to see these number from a bakki shower or biohome tower......

John,
I suspect your looking at this from too narrow a perspective. What about looking at the whole system before and after a filter type is in place? If the nitrate level is lower after the new filter is in place then it is still effective IMO. Perhaps you can email some of the aquaculture and Koi establishments asking for their nitrate test results?

Also I wonder if having ZERO nitrates is such a good thing? Can this be healthy? Will your fish develop less nitrate tolerance? You will still have to water change periodically to remove proteins, hormones, other wastes etc. Obviously there are benefits to nitrate removing filters but I personally wouldnt be aiming for 0 nitrate levels.

 

[johnptc]

John,
I suspect your looking at this from too narrow a perspective. What about looking at the whole system before and after a filter type is in place? If the nitrate level is lower after the new filter is in place then it is still effective IMO. Perhaps you can email some of the aquaculture and Koi establishments asking for their nitrate test results?

Also I wonder if having ZERO nitrates is such a good thing? Can this be healthy? Will your fish develop less nitrate tolerance? You will still have to water change periodically to remove proteins, hormones, other wastes etc. Obviously there are benefits to nitrate removing filters but I personally wouldnt be aiming for 0 nitrate levels.

i have added carbon to help remove doc's
the tank runs at 10 ppm.....its only the filter output thats zero........ ( what is the nitrate level in the xingu river ???)
some water change will still be done......


to check the system levels overall it would presume no changes in fish or feeding levels......with no water changes or done in a controlled way before and after....