I’m thinking of adding 3 Ziss moving bed filters along with a canister. Anyone have any real world experience with these?
Ziss moving bed
- Thread starter BullyBee
- Start date
Although I haven't used the Ziss brand, I have used moving bed filtration.
Usually I make my own, and have friends that make their own out of plastic soda water bottles.
There are plenty of DIY versions on youtube.
The term filter may be a little misleading, what they do is help the biological process.
They don't clear the water, or do much for the looks of the tank, or remove poop, although they sometimes may help break it into smaller particles if it gets caught up in the flow.
Below is one I made of clear and standard PVC parts, it is about 4 ft tall/8" in diameter, and i had it on-line biologically filter 4 or 5 tanks, equaling about 500-600 gallons.
It held about 4 lbs of aragonite media that also helped buffer alkalinity, I didn't use aeration to move the media, I used a water pump to fluidize the media.
Usually I make my own, and have friends that make their own out of plastic soda water bottles.
There are plenty of DIY versions on youtube.
The term filter may be a little misleading, what they do is help the biological process.
They don't clear the water, or do much for the looks of the tank, or remove poop, although they sometimes may help break it into smaller particles if it gets caught up in the flow.
Below is one I made of clear and standard PVC parts, it is about 4 ft tall/8" in diameter, and i had it on-line biologically filter 4 or 5 tanks, equaling about 500-600 gallons.
It held about 4 lbs of aragonite media that also helped buffer alkalinity, I didn't use aeration to move the media, I used a water pump to fluidize the media.
Last edited:
I just ordered an fx6 and was debating about getting 2 hob or 1 more canister to get the most bio media I can. Then I came across these and figured it would be good instead of using a bubbler for extra oxygenation of water.
idk- I tend to over think things
idk- I tend to over think things
I'll tell you it works as advertised. I have 2. They have a little sponge attached to the inlet so it does a bit of mechanical filtration but not much. Clogs pretty quickly I rinse them every couple of days. With plants they do the job alone on a 75 and a 65 for me.
Do you think it would provide as much bio filtration as a hob would? I already have a fx6 which is gonna be for the main filtration of this tank.
I agree with this, the moving bed seems to keep the bacteria in a very robust state, sloughing off old biofilm, and allowing new bacteria to constantly be replaced.
However.......the only way to really get an idea of this, is by doing ammonia nd nitrite testing.
If your current testing shows your bio media is not pulling its weight, and if and when you try a moving bed, and compare, if your results are better well...
another thought is.... if you have small fish that will eventually grow into large ones, adding a moving bed filters as their growth effects water quality this is a plus.
These filters do not however effect the reduction of nitrate, because nitrate reduction happens in an anoxic environment, (the opposite of what is occurring in a moving bed), so expecting it to help lessen frequency or volume of water changes for nitrate reduction is "not" realistic.
True. This is why I use terrestrial and aquatic plants in both of these tanks. I also do weekly vacuuming and waterchanges. Ammonia and nitrite are always 0 nitrate on wc day is around 20 on api tests.
Thank you guys so much for the explanation and help! I think I’m gonna go with both the moving bed and a second canister.
That way I have enough bio media for a “full cycle” and have the moving bed internal filters to help.
Unlike my other tanks I’m less concerned with hiding equipment and more concerned with the fish. So if I have stuff showing so be it
That way I have enough bio media for a “full cycle” and have the moving bed internal filters to help.
Unlike my other tanks I’m less concerned with hiding equipment and more concerned with the fish. So if I have stuff showing so be it
what kind of air pump do they need? I’d be using two of the ZB-300’s for a 120gallon and one ZB-200 for a 32gallon. I’d like to use one pump for the 32 and a different one for the 120
Tank is gonna be 120gallons