Setting up my 330g ray tank upgrade

[Mr.V]

all im saying is that the bigger "field"(which in a fbf means more bacteria) the bacteria will die off if there is the same food. this will leave you with 2 fbf's not working properly. or 2 fbfs both with small colonies.

no organism(except maybe humans) over populates to the point where they run out of food, some BB will die off but that doesnt mean all of it will due to the fact that there is still ammonia etc being fed to them, this happens with most filters large and small the bb will over populate and those that don't get nutrients will die and those that do will live. its simple survival of the fittest.

the only problem that may possibly occur is not all the ammonia gets broken down due to bypassing the more thinly spread BB but this is only a small unlikely to be a catastrophic problem due to turnover and the amount needed to cause harm which if it were to reach those levels wud be broken down by new BB growing.

 

[amehel0]

acctually the only way that a fluidized bed filter works at all is because there is more bacteria then a sump. if there is only a small amount of bb then the fbf will not function properly. i quote form this link http://www.aquariumguys.com/aquarium-fluidized-bed-filters.html "Aquarium fluidized bed filters are supplemental filters that can make a great addition to a large, heavily stocked aquarium" i also read somewhere else(cant find the link)that and i quote " fluidized bed filters require a large, heavily stocked aquarium".once you add 2 fbfs the tank is not heavily stocked anymore.

 

[amehel0]

I agree that they will both have small colonies of bacteria which will not be at the full capacity of the filters but this is exactly what I want. This will leave excess capacity for any unexpected circumsatances. If there is an ammonia spike then the bacteria will have plenty of space to multiply. It's not that the filters wont be working 'properly' but just not to their full capacity.

Think we may have to agree to disagree on this one.

I have been working on the sump over the weekend and will put some pics and description up when I get in from work tonight

one more thing just to let you know fbf colonies can quickly adapt to a rapidly increasing amount of food and yehi will agree to disagree

 

[najiru]

Sorry for the lack of updates. I had intended to get some sump pics up but it's been wet and dark and I need to take it out of the garage for a decent sideview and well... I just haven't bothered yet.

Stand plans are coming along, had a chat with the joiner and he thinks he can make it so that I have direct front access to the sump (hopefully even or slider rails) for maintenance which would be great. Trick is ensuring it's still strong enough as there will be a 4 foot span with no vertical support. Has anyone done this kind of offset stand before, any advice?

Things will slow down a bit now as I am away working all next week and then with xmas looming I don't think I'll be getting much time to spend on the tank. Am looking at ordering the bio balls off of ebay soon, think 2000 at 1" dia. should be plenty, especially as I'll have other media too.

 

[cichlid savage]

This is a very interesting thread. I have read it all. I dont know very much about fbf but I think I may try one on my next large tank. I want to do atleast 300 gal for my pbass.

GL with your project and you have now given me something to research.

NOW MORE PIX

 

[Onion01]

this is going to be awesome!

 

[jd300]

cant wait too see more pics, it sounds great

 

[najiru]

Managed to get a better pic of the tank today, involved climbing over some boxes, tools, furnature etc. (yes i know I should clean out the garage!!). Anyway now that it's all clean it's looking much nicer.

 

[basslover34]

That tank looks killer!!!... a Nice cleanup does wonders

 

[najiru]

Hey guys,

Well christmas is well and truely over and it's time to get back to sorting this tank out!

I've found a piece of bogwood in a display tank that's being dismantled. It's 30" tall by about 45" by 20" wide. Would look awesome in the tank but they want £150 for it which seems a bit steep. Might go in and make a cheeky offer though

On the stand front the joiner has been round to have a good look at the tank etc and has suggested pivoting the sump in the centre to get easy access for maintenance. He's drawing up some plans but should be good if it comes off (though I'm still to be convinced it will work)

I've been looking into the 24/7 water change and am going to use a 35g/day RO dripping into the tank. I'll add remineralisation/buffer as required but hopefully that will only be needed once a week. At 10% of the volume going in per day I think it will be enough.

The sump will have an overflow to drain. In order to stop all the excess water height from the main tank draining away in the event of a power failure i'll be using a normally closed solenoid valve on the waste which will close in the event of power failure. A second overflow at the top of the sump will deal with the RO water that will still be flowing in until the power comes back on to start the sump pump. I've attached a diagram to help explain.

Now I need to look at piping and a glass hole saw. I've never drilled glass before so that might be an interesting challenge!
N