# Biofilter media consideration and setup



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

This is a continuation of the discussion about biofiltration started in this thread:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...073-spray-bar-vs-duck-bill-circulation-2.html

"...Here is where I am interested and confused, and its about the biofilter. Usually planted tanks are lightly to moderately stocked, so the primary concern when it comes to filtration (from what I have gathered from peoples opinions over time) is mechanical, and to a lesser extent chemical if you use Purigen. From what I have read, people say biological media doesn't do the primary biologica filtration, and that plants and the substrate do most of it...

...So why does Amano, or the users of Poret foam place such an importance on the biofilter? ..."

If you look at the planted tank as a dynamic system then the need for a well estabished biofilter will make a lot of sense. Actually it is mandatory.

A planted tank can be run without any filter. Just water movement. And not much if it either. I have done it before - my canister filter broke and for a few weeks I let the tank run as normal, except without any filter. Just one 250 gph powerhead in a 55 gal. tank. The plants' growth picked up speed the very next day after removing the filter. That's easy to explain - there were extra nutrients that the missing biofilter (in the canister) was not processing and the plants took advantage of them.

Another example: My first planted tank back in 1983. It had no filter at all. Water movement was from an air stone. 25 gal. tank produced 2 handfull of cutting every single week. I meticulously changed part of the water on the same day. Fed the fish literally in the mouth - put a piece of food in right in front of them so they immediately swallow it. And so on. Tank was pristine. I did not know how algae looked like. One day I saw BGA algae in a tank at a local store. I thought it was the coolest thing on Earth.

So a planted tank without a filter works.

But not using a filter is basically waiting for trouble. For whatever reasons a planted tank is a dynamic system. Changes take place for no apparent reasons. Performing the same steps of consistent maintenance does not mean that things will happen exactly the same way day in day out. Concentrations will vary, behaviour will vary, plants will eat a lot or shut down for a while. That's Nature I guess.

*A biofilter is a buffer.* It takes care of variations in the environment that WILL take place. These fluctuations could throw the system off ballance (ballance being "no algae + healthy plant growth" in this case).

I think that something like that happens in tanks that are totally overgrown. Tanks with so many plants that the fish can't move. The plant mass takes care of all the fluctuations.

A biofilter could be compared to the work that Amano shrimp and Otocinclus do in a planted tank. They take care of problems BEFORE they become visible. At the very root of the problem and when it just starts out.

There is also the aspect of diversity. A biofilter is not just bacteria. It is also other organisms. They all have different requirements and process either different kinds of matter or process it in different ways. That diversity makes the biofilter very adaptable to anything that comes its way. And when one adds the plants and substrate to that system then it becomes pretty clear that a proper planted tank setup will very much be guaranteed to stay clean at all times with minimal maintenance. Nice, eh? 

Except what is "proper planted tank setup"? After at least 11 years of this hobby being at a new level in the US we're still debating. ADA has figured it out. ADG has proven approaches too and I have high hopes that they will put out some information soon.

Here in this discussion we are talking about the filtration only. Which is one part of the system. Once again - a planted tank needs to be looked at as a system in order to be setup right. ADA takes many questions out. They sell you a system. Makes sense now I guess 

--Nikolay


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

"...The person who runs Swiss Tropicals told me the best way to use the foam if you are using a canister is to layer it for progressive filtration, so it would go from 10 PPi to 20 PPI to 30 PPi and then to 45 PPI...."

And that will probably work very well. But ADA does something different. After the break-in period it's all lava or pumice rock. And a small layer for mechanical filtration - so small that it seems like an excuse for it.

The reason is that ADA believes in flow through the media. And they have designed their canister housing, the pump, the pipes, the inflow and outflow, and the placing of the pipes in a special way. It is not just "how to stuff a filter so it works good". It's about ease of maintenance, simplicity, and also - elegance.

The power of the Poret foam comes from the size of the pores where different organisms can live. Also from the material itself - it is designed to provide good adhesion of the organisms to the subsrate. And - proper flow. 

Flow... As I mentioned in one of the Dummy Question threads - the flow through a Poret filter needs to be optimal. Too much flow interferes with the adhesion of the organisms (washes them away I guess). That maybe easy to understand, haha. But get this: Too little flow actually makes some of these organisms not just stop processing waste. It makes them RELEASE waste. Your Nitrite now is being turned into Ammonia by the very same bugs you thought were your friends!

Flow is important. ADA believes in flow. It's always the same thing at the end of the road - a little Japanese smiling guy nodding his head.

Flow maybe important allright. But what is equally important is consistency. The flow needs to not slow down because of clogging. ADA uses a pump that is designed to maintain the flow even if there is resistance because of clogging. That may not be very important in a tank that is well established and with an efficient biofilter. But should there be a need the pump will guarantee consistent flow. Another "buffer" against potential issues. Another nod by the little Japanese guy I guess, haha.

--Nikolay


----------



## bif24701 (Jan 11, 2011)

Niko,
I have read many of your post. Very interesting stuff though much is over my head being a novice at this. I think I understand you stance on filtration: Use a combo of mechanical and bio filtration that optimizes flow rate, and that will not slow after time. 

My question is. To keep flow at its best can i rinse the some of the bio media in removed aquarium water to keep it from clogging or is the mum buildup a good thing?


----------



## bif24701 (Jan 11, 2011)

Do you use Poret foam alone? My wife and I used the stuff in Italy in a 30L aquarium I didn't know at the time it was so special but I did know it worked GREAT! In my Fluval 305 with 3 baskets and a prefilter what is your recommended foam types I should install?


----------



## bif24701 (Jan 11, 2011)

bump


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Hm, I had forgotten about this thread. The discussion in the last 2 months needed to be just one big thread.

Let's link this thread to the other two:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...club/75400-excited-word-about-filtration.html

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...478-discussion-laminar-vs-turbulant-flow.html

--Nikolay


----------

