MonsterMinis;3548683; said:
IT is 100% misinformation, and 100% wrong to tell anyone that a larger biofilter will allow them to miss a w/c with less impact on water chemistry.
Why does everyone overdo the bio?
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
IT is 100% misinformation, and 100% wrong to tell anyone that a larger biofilter will allow them to miss a w/c with less impact on water chemistry.
12 Volt Man;3549081; said:
Weeeeeellll.... while I agree with everything you've said to qualify this statement, I would like to be a bit pedantic and state that many of us have a mechanical filtration device with minimal BB hosting potential, that we clean or swap out frequently, thus effectively keeping the BB colonies (for the most part) elsewhere.
Everything else you've put in though,
. Does your treatment facility include a denitrifying process as well? I'd like to pick your brain on that topic, but maybe that's a separate thread. 
To add to the debate about whether BB grow effectively on glass vs a filter... maybe some of the effect comes from any dislodged, free floating BB getting drawn through the filter and over the media. This would give the bio media a much greater exposure to the water column AND to free floating bacteria, making it the preferred place to grow. However, as NC was alluding to, if you provide adequate food, O2 and flow in one location as well as the other, the bacteria will thrive equally. Supplying more than enough O2, food and flow, it won't make the bacteria multiply faster than their maximum - 9 men and a woman can't make a baby in a month, if ya know what I mean.
As for bio subbing as Mech - well yeah, and sponges are wonderful for that, as is filter floss, Jap matting and so on. I have a hard time believing bio balls and scrubbies would do any good in this regard however.
cvermeulen;3549942; said:Originally Posted by 12 Volt Man
one thing that I think is important is that people often distinguish between 'mechanical' and 'biologcal' filtration as if they are seperate.
they aren't.
Weeeeeellll.... while I agree with everything you've said to qualify this statement, I would like to be a bit pedantic and state that many of us have a mechanical filtration device with minimal BB hosting potential, that we clean or swap out frequently, thus effectively keeping the BB colonies (for the most part) elsewhere.
I do feel we should look at mechanical filtration and bio filtration separately yet understand where and how they overlap in practical application
　
For example, when Bio Media in the form of porous granules are used in a filter, if the water is not thoroughly mechanically filtered first, then tiny bits of debris will clog the pores drastically reducing their surface area, thus drastically reducing their value or effectiveness.
　
I have seen a good number of sumps or sump designs where mechanical filtration was for the most part overlooked and tons of bio media was used. I feel that it is very possible for users to inadequately use Bio Media in this way and form misconceptions about how effective a small quantity of Bio Media can truly be
　
I think that there are a number of these user errors that can often promote false impressions based on experience. Which is why it is so important to ask an extensive amount of questions before attempting to evaluate a situation for someone.
cvermeulen;3549916; said:
I tend to disagree to an extent. If you miss a WC the odds are your not going ot get a massive spike, unless your so overstocked to the point of WC being necessary for the tank to survive. I think the water chem would change slow enough to allow the BB to catch up. This is kind of what I was trying to explain in the book I wrote previously in this thread. If you have enough room in the same general vacinity in an area designed to provide an exceptional living environment for the BB there is no reason at all why it should not spread like wild fire. which will hen decrease in quantity after the WC is made. Just my opinion.
missing a water change on an established tank usually doesn't lead to nitrite/ammonia spikes.
but it does cause your nitrates to build.
having said that, if you are performing weekly water changes, and you miss a week, its not the end of the world. unless your seriously overstocked and/or overfeeding, the tank should be okay..
if not, it means your system is on the borderline between survival and death for your fish..
but it does cause your nitrates to build.
having said that, if you are performing weekly water changes, and you miss a week, its not the end of the world. unless your seriously overstocked and/or overfeeding, the tank should be okay..
if not, it means your system is on the borderline between survival and death for your fish..
12 Volt Man;3550619; said:
Exactly. So your bio filter won't help you with water changes.
The point about a fish dying while someone is on holiday or something, well that's different.
Another interesting thought pertaining to the Mech/Bio discussion - if you have a very large bio filter, with no dedicated mechanical prefilter, using a UGF as a good example, and you do not clean your bio filter periodically when you do filter maintenance (a lot of us don't). Then you may wind up WORSE off with a large bio capacity, as it will trap so much waste that not only will it's efficacy be reduced, the nitrogen products coming out of it will be horrendous. This is, of course a very specific set of circumstances, but it helps to illustrate the importance of a mechanical prefilter, along with periodic rinsing of your media. This is one reason bead filters are so awesome - bio and mech in one unit, one type of media, and you simply flush the waste out of them without even getting yoru hands wet.
If you wait to perform water changes for a whole year, you still will not see any spikes in ammonia or nitrite. Regardless of how much media you have. WCs reduce nitrates and replenish minerals used by the inhabitants. They are not done to control ammonia or nitrite spikes.
Your bio media will not help with the nitrite. Denitrification occurs on a whole different level and even though its possible in the darkest most dead spot of your tank, its not enough to make a difference. So having more bio media will not help with nitrates problems either since nitrification produces nitrate.
If you wait a year to perform a WC, as long as the bio load has not increased significantly, your BB colony will not increase.
