4 Attachment(s)
How I manage water quality....
Well, I've finally taken the time to snap off a few shots of the filtration system that I employ on my discus tanks. Attached are some pictures of the contest tank's filtration.
I basically run two filters. The canister (Fluval 405) is the biological powerhouse. It's contents are simply foam pads for mechanical filtration and ceramic biomedia. I won't explain away the canister. I think we all know how that works.
The second filter (wet/dry) is where I do all my voodoo magic. LOL! The wet/dry gives me surface skimming via an overflow box plus gives me room to put all the stuff that I need to make plants grow and keep water crystal clear and DOC free.
The wet/dry works like this...
Water leaves the tank through the "siphon" overflow box. It passes through a prefilter in the overflow and travels down to the sump. The water then trickles through filter floss and drips through a perforated plate down in to the bio ball chamber. Once the water makes it through the bio balls my pumps and reactors take over!
First, the water enters a protein skimmer. Now, protein skimmers don't really do much for a freshwater tank, but the manner it which it whips water around makes it a great ozone reactor plus it has a built in venturi. The water enters the protein skimmer and is injected with ozone. The ozone increases the ORP (oxidation-reduction potential) of the water and increases it's ability to break down dissolved organics.
The water then spews from the protein skimmer and is sucked up by the return pump/CO2 reactor. The return pump simply delivers that water from the sump back to the tank. While it's returning water to the tank It also delivers CO2 to the plants. The tank's CO2 is controlled by a Ph meter. Based on the KH of the tank, I set the Ph meter to allow the controller to dispense CO2 to the tank in order to maintain 30ppm CO2. When the controller senses a rise in Ph, it applies the CO2 to the return pump. The return pump pulverizes the CO2 bubbles and pumps the freshly mixed CO2 water back to the tank.
Before the water makes it back to the tank, it passes through a carbon reactor. Since I am using ozone, it's important to pass the ozone treated water through carbon before sending it back to the tank. Ozone can be as harmful to fish as it is to dissolved organics! I am not a big beliver in the use of carbon for standard filtration. With ozone, it is a must! The water goes back in to the tank and the process continues.
This filtration system will allow me to change water every 7 to 10 days without ill effects. Yes, there is a lot to it and it does require some occassional tweaking, but it helps me keep my water bill below $100 a month! LOL!
The attached pictures show the mess below this tank. I don't want to hear any complaints! :p This is actually clean and organized compared to most days! LOL! ;)
Best wishes!
4 Attachment(s)
Re: How I manage water quality....
And here is the rest.....
Re: How I manage water quality....
that is a killer setup.. goodluck chad!
Re: How I manage water quality....
i have a new level of respect for you Chad, that is a crazy setup. i wish i knew what half of what you posted meant, :o. your fish will do marvelously
Re: How I manage water quality....
WOW! That's an incredible set up! Did I also see an inline heater or was it all filtration etc.? Also, what size is the sump? Thanks for sharing.
Chris
Re: How I manage water quality....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MRQuad
that is a killer setup.. goodluck chad!
Thanks! And good luck to you as well!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rickztahone
i have a new level of respect for you Chad, that is a crazy setup. i wish i knew what half of what you posted meant, :o. your fish will do marvelously
Thanks man! That's kind of why we're here! To learn! LOL! Thanks for the kind words! I really appreciate it! Best wishes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Scribbles
WOW! That's an incredible set up! Did I also see an inline heater or was it all filtration etc.? Also, what size is the sump? Thanks for sharing.
Chris
Thanks! The sump is a total of 13 gallons. 5 gallon bio ball chanmber and 8 gallon sump area. No inline heaters. I do have an inline desiccant dryer though. It's purpose is to provide dry air to the ozonizer.
Re: How I manage water quality....
That's awesome Chad. Being an ex reefer I've always tried to fing ways to adapt reef technology to freshwater/planted tanks. You've done a great job here!:)
Re: How I manage water quality....
WOW!!! I want to be just like you when I grow up Chad:D:D Great set up, I think:o:o So much to learn..
Re: How I manage water quality....
Chad
You have come such a long way since I taught you all I knew re TDS! LOLOL
Now if I could just understand everything you said I know I would be very very impressed...for now I am just sooooooooooo :confused:
:vanish:
Re: How I manage water quality....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
calihawker
That's awesome Chad. Being an ex reefer I've always tried to fing ways to adapt reef technology to freshwater/planted tanks. You've done a great job here!:)
Thanks Steve! I really appreciate that. Have a great holiday weekend!
Best wishes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jerbear
WOW!!! I want to be just like you when I grow up Chad:D:D Great set up, I think:o:o So much to learn..
LOL! Thanks Jer!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mr Wild
Chad
You have come such a long way since I taught you all I knew re TDS! LOLOL
Now if I could just understand everything you said I know I would be very very impressed...for now I am just sooooooooooo :confused:
:vanish:
Hey Kath!
I have been so fortunate to have you as a teacher! :p
I know it sounds confusing. It's like smoke and mirrors! LOL! I'll have to draw it up in a diagram.
Have a great weekend! Best wishes!
Re: How I manage water quality....
Wow Chad that's is killer filtration set up and must learn from you how to set up my very first wet/dry system....thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.:)
Cheers
Francis:)
Re: How I manage water quality....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
seanyuki
Wow Chad that's is killer filtration set up and must learn from you how to set up my very first wet/dry system....thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.:)
Cheers
Francis:)
Thank you Francis! Let me know when you're ready and I'll do what I can to help you out! Have a great weekend!
Best wishes!
Re: How I manage water quality....
In another thread you said that water use was an issue in San Diego, how often are you planning wc with this filtration?
Chris
Re: How I manage water quality....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
avionics30
Hey Kath!
I have been so fortunate to have you as a teacher! :p
I know it sounds confusing. It's like smoke and mirrors! LOL! I'll have to draw it up in a diagram.
Have a great weekend! Best wishes!
Chad
You are a love, but I don't think I diagram would help me!!!! LOL I am flat out working out what power point I have everything plugged into! :D Wish you the very best and I hope all those gizmos help you win the contest!
Re: How I manage water quality....
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Scribbles
In another thread you said that water use was an issue in San Diego, how often are you planning wc with this filtration?
Chris
Chris,
50 gallons weekly is all this tank will get.
Best wishes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mr Wild
Chad
You are a love, but I don't think I diagram would help me!!!! LOL I am flat out working out what power point I have everything plugged into! :D Wish you the very best and I hope all those gizmos help you win the contest!
LMAO! Got it! Thanks for the well wishes. I'll keep you posted as things go on! Have a great weekend!