How much is too much...

[4D3]

There are two thoughts on this. Those that like to go overkill and those that don't. The approach to how much filtration is needed has changed over the 14 years I have been keeping fish. I will tell you this, if you consistently test your water and its 0-0-0, then you are fine. If you did not have enough filtration those numbers would not be zero. If you are so concerned, I would remove one filter, but not sell it. You can then test your water parameters to see how things are and adjust as needed.

the filters are home made lol! They are very effective but not to pretty!

All my tests are 0:0:0-0:0:5 so I guess I'm fine.

After reading so many posts about filtration, I think it very quickly gets to a "lets whip our dicks on out on the table" and demonstrate how much filtration we have on our tanks versus, how much do you need.

After reading this comment and re-reading it seems this thread has gone that way too!

I thought there was a simple calculation, or something I could use but if it is trial and error then I'll whip out a filter and see what happens!

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[4D3]

:

8L is a lot of Matrix, but that stock is pretty heavy.

yeah I have a friend that gives me seachem products for free!

Last week I got 4l prime,3kg neutral regulator and 3kg American cichlid salts for looking after his dog for 2 days lol

how many liters of media do you have in the bed filters?

I have 4l total over 2 filters but they are using hel-x and aquaclay as media.

After the previous post I removed one completely, after reading yours I've left one in and I'll reduce the media and see what happens!

Moving beds are great,I home made mine, if I can make them look pretty I would definitely use them again! From what I read a2l moving bed well give more ammonia and denitrifying bacteria than the best canister filter.

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[sincebeen]

^ You'll need that Prime in case of Ammo/Nitrite spikes during this test. (I wish I had a buddy to give me Seachem stuff for free!)

Remember that once the bacteria colonies on your hel-x and aquaclay dry up, or run out of food (ammonia), it's dead. So if you were ever considering adding some bio media to your 2217, this is the time to do it with that aquaclay.

 

[oscaroo]

seems like enouf even for that heavy stock... If you have problems with water qualityy you could get a xp3 or xp4 filstar...

 

[4D3]

^ You'll need that Prime in case of Ammo/Nitrite spikes during this test. (I wish I had a buddy to give me Seachem stuff for free!)

Remember that once the bacteria colonies on your hel-x and aquaclay dry up, or run out of food (ammonia), it's dead. So if you were ever considering adding some bio media to your 2217, this is the time to do it with that aquaclay.

hey, got a loads of prime, also saw the unedited comment, you are correct helx can't house anaerobic bacteria, but a heavily packed (so it can't move) canister of aqua clay, with a small air stone will house loads if done right commonly known as a vibrating bed!

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[sincebeen]

hey, got a loads of prime, also saw the unedited comment, you are correct helx can't house anaerobic bacteria, but a heavily packed (so it can't move) canister of aqua clay, with a small air stone will house loads if done right commonly known as a vibrating bed!

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No I was wrong, over time it can if a ton of gunk is built up in the core. It would take a long time in an aquarium though, if ever IMO.

Anaerobic bacteria thrive in low/no oxygen environments, so the air stone would do more harm than good if denitrification is the goal.


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[4D3]

No I was wrong, over time it can if a ton of gunk is built up in the core. It would take a long time in an aquarium though, if ever IMO.

Anaerobic bacteria thrive in low/no oxygen environments, so the air stone would do more harm than good if denitrification is the goal.


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do you think i should modify my design to hold the air stone at the top above the media so it does not oxygenate the water before it flows through the media?

so have the filter stacked 3/4 fill with media put a filter pad over it to keep it in place then place the air stone above the pad to suck the water in through the bottom?

 

[sincebeen]

do you think i should modify my design to hold the air stone at the top above the media so it does not oxygenate the water before it flows through the media?

so have the filter stacked 3/4 fill with media put a filter pad over it to keep it in place then place the air stone above the pad to suck the water in through the bottom?

No, there would still be oxygen in the water in that design. Proper aquarium denitrification designs are a whole different animal than canisters and moving bed filters.

Basically, waste water needs to run slowly through a long nitrifying environment (to remove oxygen) before a lot of denitrification happens.

The 8L of Matrix in your canister will do more for denitrification than any equally sized plastic media moving bed filter IMO, unless the plastic is seriously gunked up and the water is moving really slowly.

 

[4D3]

No, there would still be oxygen in the water in that design. Proper aquarium denitrification designs are a whole different animal than canisters and moving bed filters.

Basically, waste water needs to run slowly through a long nitrifying environment (to remove oxygen) before a lot of denitrification happens.

The 8L of Matrix in your canister will do more for denitrification than any equally sized plastic media moving bed filter IMO, unless the plastic is seriously gunked up and the water is moving really slowly.

ahh i see what you mean, so essentially my attempt at a denitrifying filter was nothing more than an actual nitrate factory!

 

[sincebeen]

do you think i should modify my design to hold the air stone at the top above the media so it does not oxygenate the water before it flows through the media?

I need to qualify that the air stone does not add oxygen to the water, so placement of the air stone doesn't matter.

The gas exchange/surface agitation that is occurring because of the air stone is what I meant by doing more harm than good for denitrification.