Filtration

[GioReef]

Ok so i have the bc14 and i still have not set it up. People tell me to remove the bio balls from the 2nd chamber cause the may become filled with nitrates... Is anyone using bio balls and having success?

 

If i can't use them, then this is my setup.

 

1st chamber, sponge and/or floss, heater

2nd chamber, carbon and purigen (after the cycle is over)

3rd chamber, pump and thermometer probe

 

How does that sound?

 

Thanks

 

P.S. If i can use them then they will go in the 2nd chamber.

[neanderthalman]

you can have success with bioballs, you can have success without bioballs.

 

However, bioballs tend to increase nitrate levels.

 

Here's why.

 

They are intended to increase surface area for aerobic ammonia/nitrite consuming bacteria to grow. The very same bacteria that exist in the outer layers of liverock. What happens is that your bioload can only support a certain population of aerobic bacteria. Thus, when you add bioballs, the population of bacteria is now split between the LR and balls.

 

However, the bioballs do not provide anoxic zones for nitrate consuming bacteria. Thus, any nitrate produced in the bioballs must enter the water column directly. The same nitrates, if produced within the LR, can now be drawn deeper into the liverock by the nitrate concentration gradient. There, the anaerobic (anoxic) bacteria will consume nitrate. Some nitrate still escapes the LR without this processing, but the amount is still less than the bioballs.

 

Thus, the use of bioballs will tend to cause nitrate levels to rise.

 

Recent articles show that anoxic or anaerobic conditions can occur within a few mm of the surface of many mud substrates. Thus, even small LR rubble can have anoxic zones for nitrate processing, while bioballs cannot. I would recommend replacing the bioballs with LR rubble contained within a filter sock. Otherwise, you cannot easily remove the rubble and they become a detritus trap. With weekly water changes, remove the bag of rubble and rinse it in the removed water change water to remove built up detritus. Without periodic cleansing, the rubble is of no benefit, and can even increase nitrate levels.

[GioReef]

Thanks sooooo much. I really needed to know why this happens. So is my config without the bio balls good?

 

Thanks

[neanderthalman]

Yup. Just remember to replace floss / clean sponges with every water change (if not more often)

[GioReef]

Thanks and should i keep the drip tray in the 2nd chamber or no?

 

Thanks

[neanderthalman]

sorry, I am not familiar with the drip tray.

[GioReef]

OK thanks though for everything else.

[GioReef]

For my cycle i will be using...

1st chamber- sponge, and carbon cartridge

2nd chamber- floss

3rd chamber-heater

 

So my question is, can i put carbon during cycle?

 

Thanks

 

After cycle i will add purigen and chemipure.

[Scott Riemer]

For my cycle i will be using...

1st chamber- sponge, and carbon cartridge

2nd chamber- floss

3rd chamber-heater

 

So my question is, can i put carbon during cycle?

 

Thanks

 

After cycle i will add purigen and chemipure.

You know I answered this once in another thread of yours about the same subject.

 

You want all your bacteria to colonize your rocks during the cycle. I wouldn't use the ceramic rings. I wouldn't use carbon during the cycle either, there's no need to.