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I was doing a lot of research on sumps and other filtrations. In one of the articles I was reading was the comment that a teaspoon of flake food was enough to poison a 90 gallon tank if there was no Bio-filter. Now the purpose of mechanical filtration is to remove solid waste from the water so it does not pollute the tank BUT since most of this waste breaks down to its inert components in a matter of hours and since most filters are not cleaned daily I have to wonder what the point of the filter really is.
Consider what happens when no power filter is present. All the waste falls into the gravel and breaks down to its inert components which are removed with a gravel vac. Does it really make a differance if the material breaks down in a HOB filter or laying in a gravel bed?
I guess what it boils down to, Why have a HOB or other mechanical filter when you have to vac the gravel anyway? Does anyone actually have a tank that does not require substrate cleaning?
"We are Starfleet officers, Weird is a part of the job" - Captain Janeway, USS Voyager
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I've never placed much importance on mechanical filtration, because in the end it all comes down to how adequate your bio-filter is.
I do appreciate having some type of barrier in the filters though, because that way any gunk that does get sucked up ends up defiling my sponge instead of my bio-media. Which means I can wring it out or do whatever I want to get the sponge clean while the bio-media rarely needs even a gentle swishing in tankwater to clean it.
I could see having a valid concern over suspended debris making your water look really dirty (like some lakes/rivers) depending on your setup and fish. However, I'm presently running a penguin with nothing but a bio-wheel in my guppy tank (no cartridge for mechanical filtration, and the bio-wheel doesn't trap debris either). I don't have any problems with large "stuff" floating around or cloudiness in the water even though there's nothing in the filter to catch it.
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Moderator
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To tell the truth, I have never vacuumed the gravel in any of my tanks. I do water changes religiously once a week. Now I have lots of live plants in the tanks, and that makes it really impossible to vac the gravel, or at least very difficult. I have piles of Malaysian livebearing snails, the sall cone shaped guys, in all of my tanks, and they do a great job of stirring up the gravel, as do botias. I have pretty heavy mechanical filtration on most of my tanks, bt that is because I have really heavy fish loads.
***************************Be warned -- everyone at college has a weird roommate. If you don't have a weird roomate -- then you're the weird roommate.
Conan O'Brien, Stuyvesant High School.
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Fishkeeping GURU
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I think planted tanks are different in that respect...the plants use the mulm created by the breakdown of organic material in the gravel. I believe non-planted tanks (if they have gravel...sand is different) should be vacuumed regularly. I have sand in all of my tanks except two, and one of the two is planted, so I rarely vacuum (the sand tanks get stirred though).
When it comes to filters, it really is the biofilter that matters, and the water movement (stagnant water is not good). But powerheads and a cycled gravel bed should work fine in place of a mechanical filter, as long as it is regularly vacuumed and the stocking is relatively conservative. Saltwater tanks run this way all the time...mechanical filters can actually be a problem because they cause nitrate build up.
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Yes, as Hailey says, planted tanks are different, and I agree with the procedure of vacuuming a different part of the tank each week. There is a line, that it takes some experience to find out where it is, between letting a tank go and keeping it too clean -- neither are good.
***************************Be warned -- everyone at college has a weird roommate. If you don't have a weird roomate -- then you're the weird roommate.
Conan O'Brien, Stuyvesant High School.
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Senior Member
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Woah, the last thing I expected was agreement....
"We are Starfleet officers, Weird is a part of the job" - Captain Janeway, USS Voyager
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| As far as most modern research goes, the old distinctions of mechanical (physical) filtration, chemical filtration, and biological filtration are becoming less and less important. In reality, if you can achieve either biological filtration or chemical filtration, then mechanical is usually implicitly taken care of. Also, the notion that mechanical filtration removes wastes from the water flow is completely false (as many of you agree)--if it is still touching the water it will have an effect. Another interesting question is what is the point of special bio-media. After all, cheap fiber floss will work just as well as bio-balls if used appropriately. That is, each can support the same size of bacteria population under certain conditions. Thus, why do major companies spend some much time researching what is really a very simple concept (and why do they charge so much for it)? My theory is two-fold: 1) they want to make more money and thus create "new" methods and gadgets and 2) people are misinformed on how to make their own, effective bio-media. MOA
"Tears aren't a sign of weakness, they're a sign of poor plumbing." --Dead Men's Lies
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Senior Member
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| Perhaps the term "bio-media" is a bit too tech-ish for the masses... It sounds like something complicated to most when in fact it is just a place for bacteria to hang on to... Then again the companies are pushing a more is better mantra on consumers when in fact anything more then enough is completely wasted. Oh well, I have decided to do a bit of experimenting and remove my HOB filter. I am also going to install reverse flow on my UGF and see how things go. It should be interesting to see how things are affected... Just as soon as my power head pre-filters arrive that is... :}
"We are Starfleet officers, Weird is a part of the job" - Captain Janeway, USS Voyager
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 Posted 2/14/2008 3 | | | |