my filtration system

[ckwhon]

hi sifus.... presently i am having a 24x18x24 tank connected with a roughly 1 ft sump.

for my sand bed i am using crushed seashells together with a plenum...

for my sump the first compartment where water comes from the tank is made up of wet/dry filter wool and sponge... the 2nd compartment is with bio-balls... the third compartment is where the return pump, skimmer, uv sterilser pipe(thru and flow) are located.

my tank is currenly about 4 mths old...

what are the things that i can improvise to have a better filtration system??

another thing is i was just thinking whether i could replace my bioballs and setup a mini refugium instead? but i could not have a DSB in it as water comes out of the bottom from the first compartment....

wat should i do??

[ckwhon]

sorry some points to add in... the refugium i meant is to put in microalgae like what pple call the GRAPES to absorb the nitrates.... will it be more effective than bioballs??

[terryansimon]

you have grossly mistaken. bioballs do not absorb nitrates. (=

[typrobin]

remove the bio ball and create a refugium to curb NO3...by using bio-balls,NO3 will build-up...

try to have a DSB in the main tank,i think your plenum is good enuf...have lot of microalgae in your refugium too....

[ckwhon]

well what i mean is to build up bacteria to control the nitrites or nitrates level

[ckwhon]

try to have a DSB in the main tank,i think your plenum is good enuf...have lot of microalgae in your refugium too....

currently i onli have around 1 inch of crushed seashells as the sand bed with a plenum... so what u mean is to remove the bioballs and get some microalgae to replace instead??

[Siput]

sorry to hijack bro ckwhon, but is it ok to have the macroalgae in the main tank instead? Thought it might look pretty decent if it is only a FOWLR set-up as opposed to reef...any comments on this? Might also be a way out of bro ckwhon's predicament above...

[ckwhon]

hmmm currently i have two gonipora and 3 sponges in my tank...

should be a reef.... hopefully not to put into the main tank...i mean the microalgae....

seems like nobody willing to help mi.... remove bioballs and replace the compartment with microaglae??? or alternative way???

[Michael Young]

well what i mean is to build up bacteria to control the nitrites or nitrates level

The bacteria that lives in your bio balls are nitrifying bacteria that will convert nitrite to nitrate for you. So they actually give you nitrate. Not control them.

[Michael Young]

sorry to hijack bro ckwhon, but is it ok to have the macroalgae in the main tank instead? Thought it might look pretty decent if it is only a FOWLR set-up as opposed to reef...any comments on this? Might also be a way out of bro ckwhon's predicament above...

There are people who grow macro algae in the main tank but there are also people who thinks they look ugly in the main tank. Its just personal preference really.

[Michael Young]

another thing is i was just thinking whether i could replace my bioballs and setup a mini refugium instead? but i could not have a DSB in it as water comes out of the bottom from the first compartment....

wat should i do??

Simple really. All you need to do is to silicone another piece of glass about 1-2 inches next to the one from the first compartment. Make sure this piece sits at the bottom of your sump. So, when the water exits compartment one, it will be blocked and force to go upwards and cascade over this new baffle in your new refugium.

You can also use 2 smaller pieces of glass, silicone one above the other with a gap in between for water to flow through to your refugium. I actually prefer this as oppose to the former because water will be flowing across and above your DSB instead of splashing down.

[ckwhon]

in this case then i need to empty my sump before doing any upgrading... well so i need to have bioballs and microaglae in my sump to give a better result???

[RAV-65]

Bro, remove the bioballs... if u have a DSB, it would do alot og good for removing nitrates, but u realise that nitrate is still building up, u can use macroalgae to help export the nitrate.... but remember to use lights, the macroalgae needs light in the sump...

Hope it helps...

Vincent Ho

[ckwhon]

Bro, remove the bioballs... if u have a DSB, it would do alot og good for removing nitrates, but u realise that nitrate is still building up, u can use macroalgae to help export the nitrate.... but remember to use lights, the macroalgae needs light in the sump...

I do not have a DSB in my main tank and neither can i apply DSB in the sump as the 2nd compartment where my bioballs are has water flowing from the 1st compartment from the bottom of the glass. DSB will block the water from flowing to the 2nd compartment. i can onli replace the bioballs with LR with microaglae... will this help???

[RAV-65]

Bro.... u didn't get me, remove the bioballs... you have a plenum, the plenum should be sufficient to to export nitrate... the bioballs in your sump is only producing nitrates....

Vincent Ho

[Kalib]

I think he doesn't have a Plenum unless I'm seriously mistaken here. He says he has a 1inch deep crushed seashell bed with a plenum below, 1inch is way too thin for a plenum system to work.

So.... is it a 1inch deep crushed seashell bed with the plenum plate directly below it or is there another deep sand bed below this 1inched of crushed seashell followed by the plenum plate?

Incase you don't get what i mean,here's an illustration:

1)So is it this?

----1inch crushed seashell bed----

xxxxxxxxxPlenum Platexxxxxxxx

2)or this?

------1inch crushed seashell bed------

-Much deeper sand bed of at least 2"-

xxxxxxxxxPlenum Platexxxxxxxxxxx

[nutx]

Like what Michael Young said, the bioball is for growing the nitrifying bacteria that will convert nitrite to nitrate.

If you have sufficient Liverock, the liverock will be able to grow the nitrifying bacteria.

Without the live rock, you may need to bioball to grow the nitrifying bacteria.

Why many people ask you to remove the bioball is because after 3-6 mths, debris and food will be stuck in-between the bioballs and start to 'rot' which will contribute more nitrite & nitrate to the system than removing them.

While for your question on growing micro algae, that is for the exporting(removing) of NO3.

DSB can be a substutite, but DSB is only start to function after 6-9mths.

There are equipment such as denitrator, etc that can use to export NO3. Water change also helps.

so, you may want to search thru the forum for some sump design, or look at the Members Tank and Spec section for some reference.

In it more important to know the cycle:

NH3/4 -> NO2 -> NO3 -> "out of tank'

and deploy which ever agent/or mechanical equipment to remove them.

[ckwhon]

ok i truely understand what u guys mean.... for kalib question i do not have a deeper sand bed in between my crushed seashell and plenum...

so nutx if that's the case.... i might as well remove my bioballs and grow some microalgae to export NO3?

[nutx]

so nutx if that's the case.... i might as well remove my bioballs and grow some microalgae to export NO3?

before you remove your bioballs, make sure you have enough 'agent' to convert NO2 to NO3....the substitute could be Liverock.

[typrobin]

i think your sand bed is not enough...if u dun want a DSB in the tank maybe u might consider removing the bio-balls and create a DSB + refugium there? if your DSB is not thick enough (5-6inches) then it will be redundant as oxygen-rich water can reach the plenum and thus no denitrification(hope my terminology is correct) can occur....