Why does everyone overdo the bio?
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
slimmer;3531461; said:
Well that's one opinion and that's fine, as long as you're going into "way too much" with your eyes open and you're well aware that it generally will not make your fish any healthier or happier, and will cost you space money and convenience. I've seen this argument used on tank stand building as well, and on plywood tanks. Like I said, it's fine as an opinion but "better" is a bit hard to define universally. If you can't get your hands into your stand to do maintenance and your house sounds like a beehive built in a flushing toilet, well maybe "way too much" isn't really "better".
Part of the reason I even raise this is that it just promotes the thinking that it's necessary. Lots of people think they NEED elaborate bio filtration to do the job, so they sacrifice other nice to haves like space and money. How many stories are there on here, honestly, of people not having enough bio to support their (reasonably stocked) tanks? Not many.
when people come over and view my 150g, they look at the twin Rena XP3's and ask why I have an AC110 on there as well because the turnover and media capacity of the twin rena's should be enough.
my answer:
because I had it lying around
my answer:
because I had it lying around
"your house sounds like a beehive built in a flushing toilet, well maybe "way too much" isn't really "better". "
Yeah, the sound is fine during daytime activities but it is loud if I 'accidentally' fall asleep on the lounge.
The evaporation doesn't worry me as its pretty dry air where I live and I figure it can't hurt.
Another reason I keep thinking of changing from a homemade sump to a canister is I expect it to fail, one day, and leak on the carpet and burn out the pump and suffocate the fish and blow up the power board and the heater and the power head...
Yeah, the sound is fine during daytime activities but it is loud if I 'accidentally' fall asleep on the lounge.
The evaporation doesn't worry me as its pretty dry air where I live and I figure it can't hurt.
Another reason I keep thinking of changing from a homemade sump to a canister is I expect it to fail, one day, and leak on the carpet and burn out the pump and suffocate the fish and blow up the power board and the heater and the power head...
In the past year I've started to rethink my bio filtration. I went overboard thinking more was better and it may have been considering the bio-load on the tank. Lately I've become more interested in effecienty. And have started cutting back the bio and focusing more on the mechanical. I added an FX5 to my 220 purely for mech. I removed all the bio media for more sponge.
My turn.
I have reduced turn over to the sump a lot maybe only 3x (700GPH) using 75watts of power. However I have ordered 2 power heads that can each do 1200gph that will each use 15 watts of power.
This is on a 220G. I could easily use a FX5 and save 25watts of power, in place of the sump. I could get the exact same amount of bio media and close to the same turn over rate.
However it is worth the extra 25watts of power, because every day I look at my tank the level is exactly the same. Evaporation is lost in the sump and not the tank, in addition with the FX5 I have to stop filtration to clean the filter. On a sump I would never stop the filter just remove the mech filter media clean it put it back. I also don't have to scare my fish taking water samples.
Another benefit of a sump is universal parts, for example if an FX5 breaks you are typically SOL until you can order the parts. However if my pump dies in my sump, I can at any time buy a new pump from anywhere.
So what I am saying is yes Canisters are more efficient, however you can properly make a sump very close to this efficiency. I made mine more effective by raising the sump to the level of the overflow in the tank. I can do this since my sump is behind a wall and is never seen, you could also do this if you had a back ground in your tank,you would not see the sump through the tank.
I wont even talk about the HOB, IMHO HOB = POS. They are loud, no way around that, they splash which means more water is loss then would be lost just through evaporation. Not to mention that you are really SOL when a part breaks on them.
I have reduced turn over to the sump a lot maybe only 3x (700GPH) using 75watts of power. However I have ordered 2 power heads that can each do 1200gph that will each use 15 watts of power.
This is on a 220G. I could easily use a FX5 and save 25watts of power, in place of the sump. I could get the exact same amount of bio media and close to the same turn over rate.
However it is worth the extra 25watts of power, because every day I look at my tank the level is exactly the same. Evaporation is lost in the sump and not the tank, in addition with the FX5 I have to stop filtration to clean the filter. On a sump I would never stop the filter just remove the mech filter media clean it put it back. I also don't have to scare my fish taking water samples.
Another benefit of a sump is universal parts, for example if an FX5 breaks you are typically SOL until you can order the parts. However if my pump dies in my sump, I can at any time buy a new pump from anywhere.
So what I am saying is yes Canisters are more efficient, however you can properly make a sump very close to this efficiency. I made mine more effective by raising the sump to the level of the overflow in the tank. I can do this since my sump is behind a wall and is never seen, you could also do this if you had a back ground in your tank,you would not see the sump through the tank.
I wont even talk about the HOB, IMHO HOB = POS. They are loud, no way around that, they splash which means more water is loss then would be lost just through evaporation. Not to mention that you are really SOL when a part breaks on them.
so i have got a 55 gal. with a 75 gal. aqua clear filter on it. with three reds in it have no problems except hard to keep my ph level at 7.0 , I just baught a 120 gal. what filter system would work the best and would it be more stable than the 55 gal. the only fish that will be in the 120 is a rhom ,thanks
Many of the same folks who use this "overkill method" are soon to be out of the hobby. It is simply somebody who does not understand the hobby buying up all they can in the beginning, then burning out just as quickly.
When they get into a new hobby they buy all the toys, and in this case post them on the board to show off their new toys. Then they tire, sell their stuff and move on to their next cool hobby.
The only good thing about this is that some smart hobbiest can usually buy this practically new, now unwanted gear for cheap, as well as whatever "fad fish" was hot at the time they entered the hobby.
When they get into a new hobby they buy all the toys, and in this case post them on the board to show off their new toys. Then they tire, sell their stuff and move on to their next cool hobby.
The only good thing about this is that some smart hobbiest can usually buy this practically new, now unwanted gear for cheap, as well as whatever "fad fish" was hot at the time they entered the hobby.
reverse;3533445; said:
I agree with this 100%. There are some people that love fish and there are some that love a fish tank in there house becasue it looks good. The ones that love it in there house usualy dont keep up with the hobby and then sell. Then people like me score lol
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273780
As for the overkill on the bio...I am agreeing more and more with that each day. I was unsure how much I needed on my 240 when I was setting it up just becasue I never had a tank this size with the fish load I wanted so I over killed it. Now I might thin it out and see what happens.
I am feeling like this because of a recent experience I am having with some other tanks. I have a 6' 120 with a pair of wild festae in it (10-11"). Only filters on the tank are 2 ac110's with the sponge and the biomax that came with it. Now I set up this 90 tall (one from link above) and it has been running for a long time before I got it with 2x fluval 405's so it was "cycled". BUT the tank only had 3 gourrmies and some corrys in it. So I moved that tank...didnt wash a thing...set it up...put the original fish in it pluse 4 more gouramies and a few more corys that were in the other tanks I got. So I thought no problem and ordered some oscars for this tank and planed to get rid of the others I got in the large sale. Well this tank started to go through a cycle as I ordered the oscars. I am thinking the bio load on it before was so small that the addition of the other fish set it off. I thought no problem i'll slap a ac110 off my festae tank to help it along. What I am seeing now is no effect with that ac110 on the tank...still doing a cycle...even tho the ac110 had been running for at least a month untouched on the festae tank. I think the bio load on the festae tank is so low too that there wasnt much to offer in that ac110. So now I am rethinking how much I have on my 240 at home....
