Why does everyone overdo the bio?
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
no they won't. something like a wetdry provides lots of substrate but very oxygen rich water which creates a much more favorable environment than simply the tank glass.
however, that doesn't mean that none grow and colonize there. they do.
however, most of us clean the inside glass, so such a biofilm really doesn't get a chance to get very established.
in wastewater treatment (my field) nitrifying bacteria are grown in an aerated tank where the bacteria cling to and colonize free floating particles of sludge in water (ie they are floating all over the place in the heavily agitated tank). there is no stationary substrate of any kind.
nitrifiers will grow wherever the conditions are favorable. be it floating particles of sludge, aquarium glass, filter hoses, filter media or gravel.
You know, there sure are a lot of wastewater treatment workers in the aquarium hobby. Which is great for the rest of us, they always have good insights into filtration systems. I'm just curious, 12 Volt Man- did you get into aquaria because you knew so much about water treatment, or vice versa, or are the two areas unrelated for you?
no, the fact that I got into wastewater really has nothing to do with keeping fish, although keeping fish (and my biology degree) helped me get the job 
before I was actually hired I was known as "The Fish Guy" in the applicant pool. lol
because my resume at the time had nothing more than my education and years of fish store experience (I worked part time through university -Friday nights, saturdays and some sundays.).
having said that, aquarium knowledge is directly relevant as you said.
the filters we use are really nothing more than large aquarium style filters, using sand and anthracite (carbon).
there are filtration units that are simply big trickle filter used in wastewater treatment (called surprisingly enough, trickle filters LOL) for BOD removal. BOD is Biochemical Oxygen Demand which is an indirect measure of how polluted wastewater is (ie the 'strength' of the wastewater).
the idea is that the more food the bacteria consume, the more oxygen they use up, and this can be measured (using a standard BOD 5 day test)
the same could be done with aquarium water just the same. but you need lab equipment to do it
before I was actually hired I was known as "The Fish Guy" in the applicant pool. lol
because my resume at the time had nothing more than my education and years of fish store experience (I worked part time through university -Friday nights, saturdays and some sundays.).
having said that, aquarium knowledge is directly relevant as you said.
the filters we use are really nothing more than large aquarium style filters, using sand and anthracite (carbon).
there are filtration units that are simply big trickle filter used in wastewater treatment (called surprisingly enough, trickle filters LOL) for BOD removal. BOD is Biochemical Oxygen Demand which is an indirect measure of how polluted wastewater is (ie the 'strength' of the wastewater).
the idea is that the more food the bacteria consume, the more oxygen they use up, and this can be measured (using a standard BOD 5 day test)
the same could be done with aquarium water just the same. but you need lab equipment to do it
　
If the properly set up Bio Filter means a canister with typical bio media then I would have to say yes. I have read that some species of nitrifying bacteria prefer darker environments but they do not need darker environments and they are able to thrive in well lit environments
　
　
　
I for one am unsure While I completely understand/agree that a Wet Dry offers much more oxygen than submerged media The way I understand things insufficient oxygen is not a limiting factor in typical conditions.
　
In other words if the bacteria uses X amount of oxygen offering it X+3 isnt an advantage (nor a disadvantage
　
So I completely agree/understand, if the tank water is not rich in oxygen at the point of the filter intake, wet/dry conditions will help greatly but if the water is well aerated and therefore rich in oxygen at the point of the filter intake, how beneficial are the wet/dry conditions?
　
　
　
Keep in mind the exact circumstances I described are typical
I just had to be sure to exclude every irrational tangent as Ive found some people seem overly eager to search for holes
I also appreciate hearing 12Volt throw his .02 in on this subject...
I was thinking about the differences in experience between GreenTerra and I
Discussed on page 12 of this thread
　
In short he moved all of his fish except one out of his tank and moved all of his filters off of his tank kept all of the substrate/décor/water/etc in the tank put a brand new filter on the tank and the tank was not able to process the ammonia produced by this single fish
　
Several times I have done virtually the same thing and did have enough bacteria living in the aquarium (outside filters) to accommodate a lighter fish load
　
　
I commonly use AC110 filters as my primary form of filtration, and I commonly rinse the foam block with hot tap water. Therefore it makes sense that I would have less bacteria living in the filter and more bacteria living in the tank.
　
I hear a lot of people suggesting that bacteria prefers to live in bio media but I have read very little science to support this belief
　
The single reason I am aware of why bacteria may prefer to live in the bio media of a canister filter is, some species of ammonia/nitrite oxidizing bacteria prefer to live in dark areas.
　
I now have to wonder if this single reason is enough to make a significant impact. As previously I simply did not accept that bacteria lived in the filter media more so than elsewhere in the aquarium.
　
In short he moved all of his fish except one out of his tank and moved all of his filters off of his tank kept all of the substrate/décor/water/etc in the tank put a brand new filter on the tank and the tank was not able to process the ammonia produced by this single fish
　
Several times I have done virtually the same thing and did have enough bacteria living in the aquarium (outside filters) to accommodate a lighter fish load
　
　
I commonly use AC110 filters as my primary form of filtration, and I commonly rinse the foam block with hot tap water. Therefore it makes sense that I would have less bacteria living in the filter and more bacteria living in the tank.
　
I hear a lot of people suggesting that bacteria prefers to live in bio media but I have read very little science to support this belief
　
The single reason I am aware of why bacteria may prefer to live in the bio media of a canister filter is, some species of ammonia/nitrite oxidizing bacteria prefer to live in dark areas.
　
I now have to wonder if this single reason is enough to make a significant impact. As previously I simply did not accept that bacteria lived in the filter media more so than elsewhere in the aquarium.
not necessarily. as I talked about in another thread, the contact time that we expose our filters to the tap water is generally not long enough for the chlorine to have any effect. chlorine takes time to work.
the heat from the water may stress them though, depending on how 'hot' you actually have it.
I have been rising my filter in tap water for 20 years now. I only found out why it was safe and I wasn't causing cycles each time (despite what everyone told me) when I got into wastewater treament and learned about chlorine..
I definitely agree / understand that chlorine takes time to work it's magic...
Although I've still suspected that the weekly rigorous cleanings I put my sponges through every 1~2 weeks would interupt the bacteria on them...
I've cleaned my filters this way much longer than I, or the average hobbyist, knew anything about bacteria...
I may be wrong though...
Although I've still suspected that the weekly rigorous cleanings I put my sponges through every 1~2 weeks would interupt the bacteria on them...
I've cleaned my filters this way much longer than I, or the average hobbyist, knew anything about bacteria...
I may be wrong though...
