Will running more biomedia clear water quality?

[freak78]

The reason I ask is for the three Aquaclear 110s I run on my 220 I took out that foam pad that came with the filters and added probably 4 to 5 inches of ehiem substrat pro to all 3 of them. Plus the Fluval Bio-max it came with and Purigen. I've noticed my water clearer since the change. I've always ran Purigen before this change so it's the the Purigen clearing it up. Just wondering since I'm using so much more media has this made the difference in water clarity?

 

[tlindsey]

The reason I ask is for the three Aquaclear 110s I run on my 220 I took out that foam pad that came with the filters and added probably 4 to 5 inches of ehiem substrat pro to all 3 of them. Plus the Fluval Bio-max it came with and Purigen. I've noticed my water clearer since the change. I've always ran Purigen before this change so it's the the Purigen clearing it up. Just wondering since I'm using so much more media has this made the difference in water clarity?

Yes it does.

 

[itrebebag99]

Yes. For one the addition of the bio material provides lots of surface area for waste particles to settle on, where the beneficial bacteria will digest all that junk. Also, cloudy water can be caused by a bloom of bacteria feeding on nutrients in the water. However, the bacteria living on the bio-media will consume a lot of those nutrients, reducing the amount of free-floating bacteria in the water.

 

[duanes]

I'm of the opposite opinion.
Bio media does nothing to reduce turbidity, or particulate.
Although the biomedical will collect a little dust here and there, the bacteria are minuscule and only process water soluble by-products of metabolism.
Particle is removed with mechanical media like sponges, filter bags etc (or foam fractionation which can remove small particulate from the water column, and color).
The extra bio-media will improve water quality, but particulate and color are another story.
Although 3 aqua clear 110s are rated around 100 gal each, to me that means they are rated for a community tank of small average fish.
If it were me with large messy fish, I wouldn't remove the mechanical media sponges, but i'd have the entire back of the tank lined with as many 110s as would fit, 5 or six, and be cleaning the mechanical media on one, every day.
This is one of the reasons I like sumps, using filter bags (socks) for mechanical, and large enough to toss in buckets of bio-media, with only using 1 strong pump for 2 or3 tanks on a single 75 gal or larger sump

 

[freak78]

I also have an ehiem 2262 and Fx-5 on this tank as well. All the filtration came with the tank.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I am with duanes on this one. First the thread title states water quality and your first post states water clarity. Two somewhat different things.
You can have very clear water which has too much ammonia, nitrites or nitrates.
A tank needs two types of filtration. One is mechanical for water clarity in that some material traps physical bits of various waste often called detritus or mulm. These mechanical filter media are meant to removed and replaced from time to time. I prefer to remove the dirty media throw it away and replace it with new media. I am not in the rinse it gently in tank water group.

For water quality the first and best thing is regular water changes (WC). After this there is some sort of fairly permanent surfaces best placed in the water flow on which beneficial bacteria (bb) can form colonies of bio-film.
I like to have a mechanical media first to trap detritus with some sort of bio media behind it for the bb to colonize. I also like to run the old style UGF which gives me a huge surface for bb.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I suggest reading this currently active thread here in the forum.

Here is the link.


https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...arge-water-changes.694758/page-3#post-7832060

 

[robham777]

I am also in the makes no difference camp. Water clarity is achieved through maintenance, mechanical filtration, and appropriate stocking levels.

 

[freak78]

I think I'll just keep doing what I've been doing. This is getting a little technical for me.

 

[skjl47]

Just wondering since I'm using so much more media has this made the difference in water clarity?

Hello; Sorry to be a part of any confusion. Back to one of your questions quoted above. Yes more media tends to trap and hold particles from the water. At some point the flow likely will slow as this media gets clogged. You will have to decide how to deal with cleaning or replacing at that point.
Good luck