Chapter 2 Pt 4
Floss, sponge, internal, can, bonding
....or things that happened to me on spring break.
Filtration overview: I will go into natural filtration later but for now, I will go over the types of mechanical filters that are practical for a nano reef tank. I plan to talk about the ways we go about getting rid of "dirty water". In golf terms, the different ways we keep our balls clean. I will go over fuges because I use a 2 part filtration system.
1. External and canister: As the name implies its outside of the tank and can be placed out of sight. One hose draws tank water into the filter where it is set upon by a static defense line of pixie sprites of the sponge clan. As they fight a holding action with the larger gunkies the smaller nitrate-orous, rotting fleshed zombie goblinids zip through. Well Castle filter has the second line of defense waiting, the carbon-ic porous rock fiends. These fiends having a genetic make-up for crater like pores (they eat a lot of chocolate in their teenage years) all over their surface trapping the nitrate producing banzais.
Some even go a step further and have their magicians produce small fetish bags to ensure even the smaller more insubstantial elemental spirit matter gets netted before returning the much cleaner water back to the tank. Canister filtration can be of the pressure or diatomaceous kinds. Both are not considered everyday filters because the media (filtering agents), like a hold out pistol, get used up in a hurry. Nothing wrong with the external filter. Things you need to consider are: 1. Noise. Companies are forever reinventing their products to quell consumer complaints. (If the British, monarchy would've only listened to it's subjects) So, newer models are much quieter then those of the previous fortnights. 2. Plumbing. You got your new glass tank and want a external filter. Have yee ever cut glass knave? Thoust in a pickle if not. Get the filter and tank at the same time. That way the smithy where you've laid good coin to, can help thee make a fitted outlet and return. A way to cheat here is looking into a hang on back filter (HOB) Yet, the catch 22 is your lighting system. Pendant MH or standing light system no problemo. 3. Cost of expendable fetishs. Is the filter you're eyeballing only capable of using its own disposable media units? Then, operating costs will be higher for products exclusive to that particular filter.
2. Undergravel filter: So 80's. Put it to rest, along with the Flight of Seagulls. There are some ancient tomes that discuss this as the everlasting method. Yet, there was a reason the dinosaurs became extinct. Be vewy, vewy caewful of anyone attempting to sell you an undergravel set-up.
3. Internal filter: If you are attempting the "natural" look, you will have a tough time doing it if you choose this method. They for the most part need to be completely submerged to work, add heat to the tank and some of the nicest ones would take up most of the display. If you want to use one as a weekly maintenance tool to polish up your water then, god bless.
4. Protein skimmer: I submit to all of the skimmer-heads that it is probably the best form of filtration that a person can own. If I had a large reef set-up I would use one. There, happy now
!!! It works like this (cliff notes version). Using high pressure in a confined space it produces micro bubbles of air that attract dissolved organic matter to their surface and bonding them to it. These now disgusting garbage pails travel up through the chamber to a narrow tube into a chamber of air, where they pop. The pop releases the black and smelly gunk into a collection cup. A 12 day old corpse in a room thats been a steady 90 degrees has a better aroma then what one discovers after opening their skimmer cup for the 1st time. Benefits are many: added O2to your tank, removal of nitragenous waste and is a favorite topic of conversation among aquarists when slugging back a boilermaker at the local gin mill. Only two negatives, with the nano is space considerations. If you run a sump then not a problem. I run into the original problem of space so my choice was to run a combination of internal filtration using a sponge, bags of carbon, chempure and occasionally purigen and a polyfilter in the 1st chamber of the integrated sump. I then attached a small azoo pc light for chamber 2 w/lr (liverock) rubble and macro algae. Chamber 3 is dedicated to the heater and powerhead. Yes my nitrates measure 5-10, yet my xenia is getting to become a crabgrass problem and I brought a dead gonipora back to life.
5. Refugiums. A fancy word for a safe place to intentionally grow algae. Most people that run one use the sump for this purpose. You can put liverock into it for added natural filtration. A deep sandbed strategy can also be employed. I will get into natural filtration at a later time. It has an added benefit of being a zooplankton (tiny critters) farm that will feed your tank. How does this act as a filter device? Well algae being a plant, feeds upon nutrients that become available with the breakdown of solids. As organic matter decays it breaks down into usable nutrients. If not used up by plankton, filter feeding inverts or algae then it further breaks down by the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia begets nitrites that begets nitrates. Yes I know it's not the pure science explanation but it had to be dumbed down to this H.S. graduate. Ammonia is lethal like arsenic and old lace bad. Nitrites like PCB bad and trates are like the great air quality of Los Angeles. Thankfully algae uses nitrates as food. One problem though, most nano's are too small for most herbivorous fish. How do we export (eliminate from the tank) the nitrates that are absorbed by the algae. You got it right Farmer Brown if you answered pruning. Good old fashioned gardening, should be done twice a month. I'll discuss in the future the good and bad macros so stay tuned.
Floss, sponge, internal, can, bonding
....or things that happened to me on spring break.
Filtration overview: I will go into natural filtration later but for now, I will go over the types of mechanical filters that are practical for a nano reef tank. I plan to talk about the ways we go about getting rid of "dirty water". In golf terms, the different ways we keep our balls clean. I will go over fuges because I use a 2 part filtration system.
1. External and canister: As the name implies its outside of the tank and can be placed out of sight. One hose draws tank water into the filter where it is set upon by a static defense line of pixie sprites of the sponge clan. As they fight a holding action with the larger gunkies the smaller nitrate-orous, rotting fleshed zombie goblinids zip through. Well Castle filter has the second line of defense waiting, the carbon-ic porous rock fiends. These fiends having a genetic make-up for crater like pores (they eat a lot of chocolate in their teenage years) all over their surface trapping the nitrate producing banzais.
Some even go a step further and have their magicians produce small fetish bags to ensure even the smaller more insubstantial elemental spirit matter gets netted before returning the much cleaner water back to the tank. Canister filtration can be of the pressure or diatomaceous kinds. Both are not considered everyday filters because the media (filtering agents), like a hold out pistol, get used up in a hurry. Nothing wrong with the external filter. Things you need to consider are: 1. Noise. Companies are forever reinventing their products to quell consumer complaints. (If the British, monarchy would've only listened to it's subjects) So, newer models are much quieter then those of the previous fortnights. 2. Plumbing. You got your new glass tank and want a external filter. Have yee ever cut glass knave? Thoust in a pickle if not. Get the filter and tank at the same time. That way the smithy where you've laid good coin to, can help thee make a fitted outlet and return. A way to cheat here is looking into a hang on back filter (HOB) Yet, the catch 22 is your lighting system. Pendant MH or standing light system no problemo. 3. Cost of expendable fetishs. Is the filter you're eyeballing only capable of using its own disposable media units? Then, operating costs will be higher for products exclusive to that particular filter.
2. Undergravel filter: So 80's. Put it to rest, along with the Flight of Seagulls. There are some ancient tomes that discuss this as the everlasting method. Yet, there was a reason the dinosaurs became extinct. Be vewy, vewy caewful of anyone attempting to sell you an undergravel set-up.
3. Internal filter: If you are attempting the "natural" look, you will have a tough time doing it if you choose this method. They for the most part need to be completely submerged to work, add heat to the tank and some of the nicest ones would take up most of the display. If you want to use one as a weekly maintenance tool to polish up your water then, god bless.
4. Protein skimmer: I submit to all of the skimmer-heads that it is probably the best form of filtration that a person can own. If I had a large reef set-up I would use one. There, happy now
!!! It works like this (cliff notes version). Using high pressure in a confined space it produces micro bubbles of air that attract dissolved organic matter to their surface and bonding them to it. These now disgusting garbage pails travel up through the chamber to a narrow tube into a chamber of air, where they pop. The pop releases the black and smelly gunk into a collection cup. A 12 day old corpse in a room thats been a steady 90 degrees has a better aroma then what one discovers after opening their skimmer cup for the 1st time. Benefits are many: added O2to your tank, removal of nitragenous waste and is a favorite topic of conversation among aquarists when slugging back a boilermaker at the local gin mill. Only two negatives, with the nano is space considerations. If you run a sump then not a problem. I run into the original problem of space so my choice was to run a combination of internal filtration using a sponge, bags of carbon, chempure and occasionally purigen and a polyfilter in the 1st chamber of the integrated sump. I then attached a small azoo pc light for chamber 2 w/lr (liverock) rubble and macro algae. Chamber 3 is dedicated to the heater and powerhead. Yes my nitrates measure 5-10, yet my xenia is getting to become a crabgrass problem and I brought a dead gonipora back to life. 5. Refugiums. A fancy word for a safe place to intentionally grow algae. Most people that run one use the sump for this purpose. You can put liverock into it for added natural filtration. A deep sandbed strategy can also be employed. I will get into natural filtration at a later time. It has an added benefit of being a zooplankton (tiny critters) farm that will feed your tank. How does this act as a filter device? Well algae being a plant, feeds upon nutrients that become available with the breakdown of solids. As organic matter decays it breaks down into usable nutrients. If not used up by plankton, filter feeding inverts or algae then it further breaks down by the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia begets nitrites that begets nitrates. Yes I know it's not the pure science explanation but it had to be dumbed down to this H.S. graduate. Ammonia is lethal like arsenic and old lace bad. Nitrites like PCB bad and trates are like the great air quality of Los Angeles.
Thankfully algae uses nitrates as food. One problem though, most nano's are too small for most herbivorous fish. How do we export (eliminate from the tank) the nitrates that are absorbed by the algae. You got it right Farmer Brown if you answered pruning. Good old fashioned gardening, should be done twice a month. I'll discuss in the future the good and bad macros so stay tuned.
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