Another overgrown nitrate filter root trim & filter mod

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CWO4GUNNER

USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
As all my nitrate filters have super-sized I have had to remove the original cartridge filter which after a few months is starting to block water flow. In the photo below you can see my $70 CL 100 acrylic tank's nitrate cart filter inundated with roots and dirt. So like all my other nitrate filters with carts it is time to lend relief to water flow by trimming off the old blue-bond fabric with scissors and just use the grate alone give roots something to grow on while good GPH water flow is restored. The roots will now act as both nitrate and mechanical filter. As you can see the root system is very healthy due to GPH concentrated water flow over the roots from all areas of the tank 48 tank turn-overs per day bringing the nutrients (Nitrates) to the plant, rather then a floating plant waiting for nutrients.




Flow restored
 

jackiomy

Lover of Oddballs
Jul 6, 2008
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Don't you use plastic mesh also? How did using that turn out? I bought 2 small Pothos yesterday and I am excited about using them.
 
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dafishman

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Aug 3, 2010
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So how well does this work for overall biological filtration? Does it handle most of the waste, or is additional media needed in a second filter for dealing with the ammonia/nitrites more effectively?
 

angel fresh

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May 23, 2010
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nice use
 

dafishman

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Aug 3, 2010
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Well, and, if they work well for biofiltration in general, how much of a bioload can they handle?
 

CWO4GUNNER

USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
Don't you use plastic mesh also? How did using that turn out? I bought 2 small Pothos yesterday and I am excited about using them.
The plastic canvas mesh is actually much better becasue you can custon cut the shape and size to fit the 1st cart slot on the power-filter leaving more reservoir space for plant roots, Its also thinner. The only reason I used the original bulky cart frame here is because I was too lazy to cut one out of plastic canvas mesh at the moment lol, but ill get around to it.
 

CWO4GUNNER

USN/USCG 1974-2004 Weps
So how well does this work for overall biological filtration? Does it handle most of the waste, or is additional media needed in a second filter for dealing with the ammonia/nitrites more effectively?
Its not a biological filter but rather a living organism filter that removes compounds and toxins, one of which is nitrate. For the record nothing handles biological filtration better then the surface area of your cycled tank. I use it as a secondary filter to process toxins and nitrates but there are larger systems around the world that use the same process on a huge scale to successfully process waste water very effectively. For me it handles nitrates very well once established 5 to 8 weeks depending on the size tank and the mass of the plant. The bigger the established plant the more nitrates it needs to maintain and grow. I typically can go 6 weeks without a water-change becasue Nitrates top out at 20 PPM and remain there.
 
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excuzzzeme

Stroke Survivor '05
I tried it and my plants died which is very unusual as I do quite well with most common terrestrial plants. Never did figure out what went wrong. Trouble is, I was doing this for about 2 years before I saw Gunner's post and was doing just fine. I had transplanted it into a 20 Hex terrarium. Read the previous threads on this and went to do another and they all died! Oh well, I do better by accident than intent I guess.
 
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