Funny Newby Mistake

The more filtration the better. Do you need it? No. Is it bad for your set up? No. Does it help? yes. Does it cost more? Yes. Is it worth the time and effort???????????????????????

 

I'd imagine changing your filter pad once a month doesn't take too much effort. If your tank is doing good, and the water and everything looks fine, I wouldn't touch a thing!

 

I dont think it was a mistake
well if it was, then its one many of who came from freshwater have also made

It was not that easy for me to come to terms with the principle that the rockwork was my biological filter

thus my 1st set up had a couple of litres of sintered glass rings in a cannister
simply because freshwater had ingrained in me the need for a physical filter

also the principle that you can only have as much bacteria as you have nutrients to support it, was something that took ages to sink in for me
hence at one time, I also believed that extra capacity/ real estate for bacteria would be a good thing

I now realise that if you can support enough bacteria on 1 rock, to deal with the waste from 1 fish - then its pointless having 2 rocks , because half the bacteria will live on each rock

Steve

 

I would only use it for carbon, not as a biological filter. It's certainly likely that you can remove aerobic, as well as, anaerobic bacteria from live rock by using an external biological filter. The reason being as Steve
mentioned, the bacteria population is dependent on the amount of nutrients. Also, with a bio-wheel, the bacteria is exposed to air which increases it's ability to process ammonia and nitrite. So, it outcompetes the bacteria on the LR and the LR bacteria dies off. This also decreases the density of denitrifying bacteria because the nitrate near the LR is now more diffuse as it has to travel
Some distance through diffusion to get there. So, there is likely not as high a concentration in the pores
Of the LR and therefore not enough to sustain the same population density as would be the case if nitrification occurred on the LR.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

dam your a smart man K+