Hello,
Would anyone who has experience with these please reply and let me know your experience.
I have been reading that these filters are the best in the world. They are often used on larger scale aquaponics systems. The sand is an incredible amount of usable surface area when agitated correctly. I have not read a bad thing about these yet. In fact, they seem to be overkill for most home aquariums.
Here is a link to a short reseller's guide: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/FluidizedSandFilter.html
Next I have read this. Note the it is measured in 1kg of food per day, not 1kg fish weight.
1 kg / 2.2 pounds of fish feeding produces about 37g ammonia per day.
1 square meter surface of bacteria can convert .9g .2 being more real.
1 mm sized(medium) sand has S:V ratio of 3141 per cubic meter to 1.
Very Fine sand can have a S:V ratio of 10,000 to 1
Fluidized sand filter gives most surface area for bacteria
Takes longer to get bio started in FSB filter.
So my 1 tablespoon of food (2 oz.) is about 1/18th the amount discussed in the above system. This should produce about 2g of ammonia per day.
Long story short I would need a fraction of a cubic foot of sand to do the job. This fits with all the estimates for efficiency I have been able to find. In theory, these could be the best bio filters yet known to man.
My Question:
According to the manufacturer's link above, it says the model 600 (their smallest) works for a tank up to 160 gallons. It also says that it is rated for 210gph.
It is also common advice to make sure the water cycles at least 5 times per hour.
I have a 130 gallon tank. 130 x 5 is 650 gallons per hour. Are the rules for cycling the same with one of these? It seems it is common to use just a sponge filter for mechanical filtration. Is that what you do? How often do you clean it? What is your bio load?
Thanks in advance,
Nate
Would anyone who has experience with these please reply and let me know your experience.
I have been reading that these filters are the best in the world. They are often used on larger scale aquaponics systems. The sand is an incredible amount of usable surface area when agitated correctly. I have not read a bad thing about these yet. In fact, they seem to be overkill for most home aquariums.
Here is a link to a short reseller's guide: http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/FluidizedSandFilter.html
Next I have read this. Note the it is measured in 1kg of food per day, not 1kg fish weight.
1 kg / 2.2 pounds of fish feeding produces about 37g ammonia per day.
1 square meter surface of bacteria can convert .9g .2 being more real.
1 mm sized(medium) sand has S:V ratio of 3141 per cubic meter to 1.
Very Fine sand can have a S:V ratio of 10,000 to 1
Fluidized sand filter gives most surface area for bacteria
Takes longer to get bio started in FSB filter.
So my 1 tablespoon of food (2 oz.) is about 1/18th the amount discussed in the above system. This should produce about 2g of ammonia per day.
Long story short I would need a fraction of a cubic foot of sand to do the job. This fits with all the estimates for efficiency I have been able to find. In theory, these could be the best bio filters yet known to man.
My Question:
According to the manufacturer's link above, it says the model 600 (their smallest) works for a tank up to 160 gallons. It also says that it is rated for 210gph.
It is also common advice to make sure the water cycles at least 5 times per hour.
I have a 130 gallon tank. 130 x 5 is 650 gallons per hour. Are the rules for cycling the same with one of these? It seems it is common to use just a sponge filter for mechanical filtration. Is that what you do? How often do you clean it? What is your bio load?
Thanks in advance,
Nate
