The Evolution of a Filtration System Part 3

Wrassman · 03-18-2003, 08:40 AM

[glow=black, 3, 300]Ok, you’ve seen my sump now several times; and I’m sure that you have several questions about it that you are dying to ask. *Well, let me assure you, it has changed a little since that picture was taken; the bioballs are gone, and the protein skimmer is different, of course. And the two Fluvals I was using for mechanical filtration (I told you I was cheating *) have been changed to one Eheim 2213. In case you aren't familiar with what one looks like, I just happen to have a link in my pocket:[/glow]

This is, of course, the way Eheim suggests that the 2213 be packed for proper filtration. *Areas 1 and 3, in the diagram, are filter pads, which are, IME, nothing more than nitrate producers, rather than eliminators. *Areas 2 and 4 are sintered glass and ceramic media, respectively. *These can both be use to hold de-nitrifying bacteria.

Using some of my "newfound" information (from my German colleagues), I discovered another way of packing the Eheim 2213 that works even better, for low maintenance, high bioload tanks (see my post on “How to Use a Canister Filter,” to go there click here) *I've been keeping SW systems for a long time, and I've found that this system works for keeping heavy bioloads, by keeping the nitrates very low. *My fish are happy and healthy -- my corals are happy. *[glow=red, 2, 300]And my algae war has been WON!!![/glow]As long as my critters are happy, I'm happy... *

I have been carrying on long, technical discussions with a few people on the German site of which I am a member (meerwasserforum.com). To say those discussions were enlightening would be a gross understatement. Those discussions caused in me a "[glow=maroon, 2, 300]paridigm shift[/glow]," forcing me to re-think just about everything I have been doing as a SW aquarist, for the past several years.

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One of the things that I had to re-think, was the use of bio-balls. *A couple of my German friends ask me to defend my usage of the bio-balls, which I did, as I always have. *But, after I had done so, my colleagues began to tear it apart, piece by piece, which no one had ever done before, in a polite, respectful, and considerate way. *Always before, people have been more interested in defending their egos than debating an issue in marine aquatic theory. *

German marine aquatic theory is quite different than that which we are used to. The common lack of a DSB is only one instance. *The common use of Nitratereductors is another (if you are interested in these strange devices, let me know and I will post an explanation of them for you).

However, in a few short hours they helped me understand my OWN THEORY better than I ever have, plus, they helped me come up with a simple plan to put MY THEORY into practice better than ever.

1. *Redesign my sump/refugium. *Now, it was not going to be as much a refugium (that I will add later as a hang-on unit), but as a nitrate-reducing sump. *Remove the bio-balls, add more substrate (about 4 x 4 x 12), plus more live rock. *I will be adding live rock until the from tank side is completely full. *Here’s a pic of my “new sump/refug.”

2. *Use my redesigned Eheim 2213 as an additional and necessary part of this high bio-load / low nitrate system.

[glow=Teal, 3, 300]Edit: *As you can see, my new sump is not complete. *There's at least 30-40lbs of live rock that I need to fill the 'from tank' side. *When that is complete, I will write part 4 of this series, and the Evolution will be complete...[/glow]

Matt Rogers · 03-18-2003, 04:31 PM

Very interesting Wrassman. You didn't mention flow rate, do you turn the flow down for maximum effect in your canisters?

Wrassman · 03-19-2003, 04:09 AM

As far as flow rates are concerned, my 2213 runs at 116ggh, and it is plumbed separately from the sump/refugium. So, the flow rate for the canister is approximately 2x per hour on the main tank. I want that to be fairly slow, so that the water has time to come in contact with the bacteria in the canister.

The flow rate from main tank to the sump/refug is about 500gph, or about 8x per hour for the main tank. I aim for a turnover rate of 6-10x on the main tank through the sump/refug. I feel that moving the water faster than 10x gives you no benefit whatsoever from the setup, and moving it slower than 6x is too slow to get the oxygenation and replinishment effect to the main tank.

My skimmer is in my sump/refug and is running off of a OR 2700 which pumps around 700 gph. So, I throttle my tank pump back just a bit, so that I am sure to get water that has been skimmed pumped back into the tank. I do actually have all this worked out on paper, for anyone that would like to see it.

CheckMateKingll · 03-19-2003, 06:02 AM

I would like to see how you configured the GPH,,,
[glow=red, 2, 300]Education is a very large part of this Hobby, [/glow] [smiley=thinking2.gif] anything you can pass on would be most appreciated, not that you havn't passed on alot to me already, Master [smiley=whip.gif]

Gooser · 09-12-2003, 07:52 AM

I like the advantages of a sump system, but I need some help setting one up... does anyone have a diagram?

Matt Rogers · 09-12-2003, 09:14 AM

Not a diagram, but I use pics and try to explain it here:

http://www.3reef.com/cgi-bin/yabb/Ya...num=1033512777

Edit: Thanks for joining by the way!

[flash=468,60]http://www.3reef.com/fish/sitepics/threesteps3.swf[/flash]

Gresham · 09-12-2003, 09:55 AM

Wrassman, is the site only in german? Sounds like a good site.

On another off topic thing, in Mexico, we've got a basslet thats very rare, it's common name among those how know of it is, wrasse-ass, because it mimics a rainbow rock wrasse (not the blue head male, the females/juvi's). Wrassebass sounds wierd, so they went with wrasse-ass.