Im moving to a new house next month and one of the first projects i will be doing is an 1800 gallon tank, Ive been doing a lot of research on how to filter it and i would like to use a bead filter like the ones used in koi ponds. the price of these filters, however, is a little bit more than i want to spend. i looked around and found that sand filters seem to be much cheaper and could possibly filter my tank. before i decide to actually buy one, id like to hear some input on this idea.
Sand Filters???
- Thread starter joe229
- Start date
I use prefer to use sand filters in every system, but I also acompany them with bio and carbon.
here is a vid of the fish that are in it. there are just about 60 koi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zCuVNwwPGk&hd=1
the most important thing is to make sure your pump can back wash the sand. you can fill it with some of the new products that filter down to 2-3 microns and are much lighter so the filter is back washed easier. zeosand is one of them. I have not tried it, but I am adding it to a 925lb sand filter for an out door system in the spring. so until then I can't say if the product works or not.
here is a vid of the fish that are in it. there are just about 60 koi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zCuVNwwPGk&hd=1
the most important thing is to make sure your pump can back wash the sand. you can fill it with some of the new products that filter down to 2-3 microns and are much lighter so the filter is back washed easier. zeosand is one of them. I have not tried it, but I am adding it to a 925lb sand filter for an out door system in the spring. so until then I can't say if the product works or not.
Well I do tend to use big filtration systems. here is what I know about filtration and I hope it will help you out.
Sand filters are used primarly as mechanical filtration. They will grow BB in the sand which is not a bad thing; however. BB gets its energy from a non organic carbon such as CO2 and the sand filter collects organic waste. There is another bacteria that grows and gets its energy from the organic carbon. The BB which you want for the nitrification cycle will be pushed out by the bacteria which uses organic carbon.
growing your BB in the same location you collect your waste can be done: such as a little canister filter, but if you can it is a good idea to seperate the two. The bigger the filtration system the lower the maintanence. Backwashing is fast and easy.
if a bio filter is something that you may consider, just put the bio media in a second sand filter. much more cost effective than buying the aqua ultraviolet products.
Sand filters are used primarly as mechanical filtration. They will grow BB in the sand which is not a bad thing; however. BB gets its energy from a non organic carbon such as CO2 and the sand filter collects organic waste. There is another bacteria that grows and gets its energy from the organic carbon. The BB which you want for the nitrification cycle will be pushed out by the bacteria which uses organic carbon.
growing your BB in the same location you collect your waste can be done: such as a little canister filter, but if you can it is a good idea to seperate the two. The bigger the filtration system the lower the maintanence. Backwashing is fast and easy.
if a bio filter is something that you may consider, just put the bio media in a second sand filter. much more cost effective than buying the aqua ultraviolet products.
CalgaryAC;4782463; said:
Another way to accomplish what your saying here would be to use an Algae Scrubber, or a Moving Bed filter in conjunction with the sand filter?
IE: Have the discharge from the sand filter flow through something that has a moving bed filter or an Algae scrubber then back into the tank?