View Full Version : moving bed media filters
any reason the saltwater world couldn't employ these filtration systems ? I was flipping through youtube today and came across several fresh water systems using these systems. some are called mechanical bed filtration or moving media bed filtration systems. these systems are also used in koi ponds. its basically a tumbling plastic media in a sump or reactor. most people seem to be using a media called kaldness k1. looks like it could be a viable option for housing beneficial bacteria and filtering our systems...
RocketEngineer
02/06/2016, 12:26 AM
They do the same thing as bioballs and that is convert ammonia into nitrate. Beyond that, they don't do much. Given that LR can do the same thing in our systems, I personally don't see the advantage. Good for FW setups with a lot of fish/waste but not so helpful for a reef tank.
I am currently designing a reef tank that will have no live rock. I am going to use siporax for denitrification. I just stumbled across the moving bed filters and thought it might be a another useful way to house beneficial bacteria. my only concerns is there is not much info if this method reduces or creates nitrates
RocketEngineer
02/06/2016, 09:40 AM
I'm curious how you would have a tank with no rock in it. Will it just have sand it it?
This produced will produce nitrates. That is their intended purpose. You need areas of low oxygen whether those are down in the rock or low in a sand bed in order to reduce the nitrates produced elsewhere into nitrogen gas and eliminate it from the tank.
I love growing corals and putting them on display. live rock takes up real estate. I have no desire to replicate the look of a natural reef. there will be no sand in the dt. I may put a small amount in the sump with some detrivores just to add some biodiversity to the system. most of the filtration will be done by the siporax and chaeto. I recently acquired a very neglected jbj cube reef aquarium. I took out all the sand and live rock. I loaded the filtration area with lots of siporax. 3 months later my nitrates are barely able to register, phosphates are ultra low and the corals and fish i have added are doing great.. based on this I am designing a much larger system..
dartier
02/06/2016, 10:43 PM
I am currently designing a reef tank that will have no live rock. I am going to use siporax for denitrification. I just stumbled across the moving bed filters and thought it might be a another useful way to house beneficial bacteria. my only concerns is there is not much info if this method reduces or creates nitrates
If you are just looking for something to do nitrification along side the Siporax (which handles the denitrification), you might want to consider a fluidized sand filter as it would be much cheaper than the moving bed media and have way higher surface area.
Dennis
thanks for the sand filter suggestion. the new tank will have a small bio load in relationship to volume. I think I am just going to stick with siporax and chaeto refugium and see how that pans out. I can always make adjustments. I just thought the moving bed might be another alternative but i can see how it could become a nitrate factory. i did find an article in the aquaponics community about the moving bed filters and they love them because it does produce nitrates for the plants to consume..
Tlc, what if you add the biopellet reactor and the output is channelled into the moving bed filter? Then the output of the moving bed filter reactor is channelled to the skimmer. Your siporax would be placed at the end of the sump before the return pump.
I considered bio pellets however, I am not planning on using a skimmer. bio pellets are much more effective when a skimmer is used. I am sure I risk getting flamed for not using a skimmer or any live rock but I have run very successful reefs without a skimmer for years. I had a 500 gallon volume reef running for about 7 years and never had a skimmer on it. I grew all kinds of sps, softies, and lps with that system. it did have a small bio load in relationship to water volume and I think that's important when running skimmerless. I am still in the early stages of planning another large system and think I will just run siporax for denitrification. if modifications are necessary I will have plenty room to grow
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.