http://www.earthangroup.com.au/diy-5-minute-kaldnes-bio-filter-for-your-fish-video/
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REACTORS- Filtration for stingrays
- Thread starter DIDYSIS
- Start date
Your mind seems to be made up but I suggest you dont waste your time and just use the bio balls as they were engineered and designed to be used. A Bio Tower prefiltered by multiple levels of mechanical filtration.
This hits the nail on the head. Making adjustments and tuning the reactor after installation is essential to adapt it to your feeding rates. It will take some time to properly integrate it into your system and maximize its efficiency.
I run a small amount of bio chips in each reactor currently running.
Mind sharing some info on yours? Size, how much of what kind of media, flowrates, all the jazz?
I'm getting ready to tear mine down again. Gonna try one in a tank instead of drums.
Just answered some PMs with similar information so might as well post it here too. Tanks, drums all work fine. Tank is nice because you can get a good view of any type of waste buildup and improve mechanical prefiltering early on to avoid a later problem.
For my 55g MBBR
Media: K1, biochips (No arguments over media x has 20x more surface area. Someone with a tank under 700g who is using a MBBR properly and needs more surface area for biological growth than 3ft3 of K1 in a 35g-60g container may have to address stocking levels or feeding regiments)
Size: 55g cylindrical container
Flow rate range: 600-800gph
Air flow: This you have to play with and adjust. Takes weeks for the media to mature and as it grows the thin film the air requirement to get a good rolling boil may decrease slightly due to the media becoming less buoyant.
Reed how many lbs of k1 are you using in your 55g reactor? And how many bio chips?
Pics are worth a 1000 words as well. Can we see some pics w/ some descriptions? This is all pretty new to me as far as trying to understand how it all works.
Pics are worth a 1000 words as well. Can we see some pics w/ some descriptions? This is all pretty new to me as far as trying to understand how it all works.
I can understrand where maybe some media can be a touch different then others in looks and design, but over all I feel that as long as it the same neutrally buoyant media its going to be very similar. They all are a very similar design. I do like the video above in the fact that he points out that some media designs have been imporved over the years. Myself I am almost always game to get something a little cheaper and get more quantity.
Questions-
How many people are running a seperate reactor vs actually running a fluidized bed filter in the sump they all ready have. I have room in my sump where I could do this vs having a seperate unit and pumping water out of my sump and to the unit then flow back into the sump. What are the PROS and CONS to each?? But I like the idea of having it seperate also.
I have tons of water pumps, are air stones(Air) really an important part of the bio media growth? I might just build my first one with a pump to try out and then I could always add air later if I wanted. Thoughts?
Keep the thoughts comming, Happy to have you all participate and share your information.
This is a huge filter, or he is a midget, lol
Questions-
How many people are running a seperate reactor vs actually running a fluidized bed filter in the sump they all ready have. I have room in my sump where I could do this vs having a seperate unit and pumping water out of my sump and to the unit then flow back into the sump. What are the PROS and CONS to each?? But I like the idea of having it seperate also.
I have tons of water pumps, are air stones(Air) really an important part of the bio media growth? I might just build my first one with a pump to try out and then I could always add air later if I wanted. Thoughts?
Keep the thoughts comming, Happy to have you all participate and share your information.
This is a huge filter, or he is a midget, lol
I've opened this back up in order for the discussion to continue. Please ensure that this discussion stays filled with fact versus opinions.
Just wanna scoop in and say that you can make the k1 mature alot faster by laying them in a bed of kaliumperganat. The film will develope faster if you do so. I have had an idea for long time now, and would appriciate any feedback. I have a 150 gallon sump that i dont use for anything but waterchange. I have an autodrip system on my tank, and drain 110 gallons out of the 150 gallon each day(to add fresh new water). So for some houres of the day(til it drips up again), some of the k1 will be above water, but with the return pipe smashing over the media, (just like wet dry i gues). Would this type of "filteradding" work? I already have an Ultima 2 (or powerbead85, same filter), so i have enough, i just want to ensure myselfe about having enough filter, so i was thinking what the heck, why not.. IF IT SEEMS OK! This might be the wrong thread to add it to, but it is some sort of reactor.(IMO)
I run pair of 55 gallon drums right now sitting in my pond. I'm not happy with the airstones (too many lines going down in) and they move around. Not happy with the drains. Not happy that I can't see what's going on in there. Hard to cover entirely (moisture) and I don't trust the barrells to keep the media in when using Prazi. Filled up a wet dry last time when rising media knocked a screen off.
Whole filter room is getting rebuilt. Ripping pond out and will likely go to a 240 gallon sump, Will be going to 2 banks of double sewn filter socks 200/100 then maybe 100/50 or 50/25. Will be hacking up a 125 for the new reactor. Going to try a few different kinds of airstones in different configurations and can't see what the heck is going on in blue drums...... Just waiting for a dozen bulkhead fittings, weld on, bio chips, screen, and some big bubble disks.
I'm currently at 2.5 ft3/ of K1 / 55 gallon drum (2 drums). Guessing each reactor's seeing 3Kgph.
I like to use falling water to aid in boiling. Air pump fails and I'm still covered. I just run a pair of 55 gallon tanks with socks and rings, each 55 gallon tank drains through a pair of 2" pipes then runs to a reactor. Each reactor has a pair of 2" drains that feed a 2X1X2 pot scrubbie filled bio tower. Towers dump into pond, a pair of circulation pumps in the pond push it over to the 2 dart return pumps. May be a bit overkill for just the big tank, but originally I was planning on using a single filter for everything, now all that will be broken up and spread over 2 systems.
I personally think the air is very important....... More the merrier. I'm running a Pondmaster AP 100 just on the reactors. I use a luft pump for the bubble disks in the tank.
Eriik- I think you're going to want to mechanicly filter that water prior to entering the reactor. Maybe just drain from main tank into smaller tank with sock, then falling down to reactor?
