What Are Bioload and Biomass and Why They Are Important

[D Curious]

Thanks, Willie!

[Willie]

I use stacked Hydro V Pro filters because they're the easiest to clean. The Pro version is preferred because the larger pore size minimizes clogging. Over the years, my preference has been to do 100% water changes, rather than multiple, partial changes. I can cheat by squeezing out the sponges right in the tank, drain all the water out and refill with fresh water. After even 1 week (4 Hydro V Pro filters in a lightly stocked barebottom 125 gal tank), the water turns black with squeezing. All that crap accumulates every week (sometimes less) in my water column.

A wise, recently passed, discus guy explained that relying solely on filtration is like using your bathroom without flushing the toilet...

[D Curious]

Filters do not clean your water. They take garbage and move it out of sight. It's still there in the water column and the flow over it is continually contaminating your water. The only way to clean your water is to remove this stuff. Waiting for some arbitrary pressure gauge has no scientific basis.

Many of us avoid fancy canister filters because they're complicated to clean and they don't get cleaned regularly. Think about a system where you can mechanically remove the crud and do it easily without making a mess. If your filter is collecting this stuff, I would suggest cleaning it weekly. Otherwise, you're just kidding yourself about clean water.

Willie, what filter type(s) do you favor?

[Willie]

Filters do not clean your water. They take garbage and move it out of sight. It's still there in the water column and the flow over it is continually contaminating your water. The only way to clean your water is to remove this stuff. Waiting for some arbitrary pressure gauge has no scientific basis.

Many of us avoid fancy canister filters because they're complicated to clean and they don't get cleaned regularly. Think about a system where you can mechanically remove the crud and do it easily without making a mess. If your filter is collecting this stuff, I would suggest cleaning it weekly. Otherwise, you're just kidding yourself about clean water.

[D Curious]

Thanks, Daniel!

[D Curious]

Very interesting threat - thanks! #1, I love the idea of having a pressure gauge on a canister filter to determine when the filter needs cleaning. This is an efficacious method of figuring out when pool filters need to be cleaned. I am happy to see the idea applied to aquarium filters. How do you install a pressure gauge with a canister filter? Is it inline with the outflow of water back to the tank?

[danotaylor]

The main difference w discus is they come from a low TDS, low pH, low bacteria count as their source bio type. I don’t think you can apply the same principle you outlined above to an animal species who wild biotype is completely different. The relative working theory has to relate to the species native habitat.
Dealing w tank raised hybridized & line bred species may change that slightly but the more time you spend with discus you will realize their susceptibility in conditions that deviate too far from their native habitat. The clear exception to this is pH with tank raised variants doing well in a wide range, providing nitrates & bacterial counts are kept as close to undetectable as possible. Hence why large frequent water changes & bare bottom tanks are recommended, at least in the grow phase from fry to 5”. Adult discus tend to tolerate less frequent water changes better, but you’d be surprised to see how many folks start to experience discus pimples and darkening color if the nitrates are consistently higher than 10, which for most species of tank raised species does zero harm.

[D Curious]

Very interesting threat - thanks! #1, I love the idea of having a pressure gauge on a canister filter to determine when the filter needs cleaning. This is an efficacious method of figuring out when pool filters need to be cleaned. I am happy to see the idea applied to aquarium filters. How do you install a pressure gauge with a canister filter? Is it inline with the outflow of water back to the tank?

The discussion of biomass and bioload makes me think about a study I read about that studied biodiversity of bacteria in back yards, bacteria diversity on the skin of teenagers living in those homes, and the health of those teenagers. There was a strong correlation between microbiome biodiversity in backyards of homes, the amount of bacteria present on the skin of teenagers living in those houses, and the health of the teenagers. Yards with more biodiversity of bacteria were associated with teens with more types of bacteria that could be cultured from their skin, and those teens with more variety of bacteria were healthier as a whole compared to those teens with less variety. Somehow leading this thought back to discus, I understand the need to get rid of decaying material in a closed environment, but I wonder about how to encourage and maintain rich microbiome in a tank to help the fish. My last tank was a 100 gallon livebearer tank (overstocked) with gravel and undergravel filter, heavily planted. The fish looked good and were highly active, water was clear, plants thrived. I know that comparing a discus tank to my livebearer tank does not make much sense, but this discussion just makes me of the two systems comparatively. I am a complete newbie to discus, and when I set up my tank (soon, I hope), it will be bare bottom, as I plan to follow the accumulated wisdom offered by this forum and other seemingly good sources. Hope you don't mind my long expression here.

[Filip]

Re: What Are Bioload and Biomass and Why They Are Important

Hi Paul,

how do you determine what the sq in requirements are per discus? Also how do you determine how much a canister has in regards to sq in? (for example a 2217 Eheim?)

Quantifying the filtration needs is beyond our common science and knowledge Kim . There are just too many unknowns in this equation .One Example is that in the same tank under Same circumstances, if you feed BH 5 times a day you will have much bigger bioload than 1 dry feed per day in that same tank .And feeding is just one variable out of many more in this experiment .

[kim457]

Re: What Are Bioload and Biomass and Why They Are Important

Yep, thank you sir!

[afriend]

Re: What Are Bioload and Biomass and Why They Are Important

Hi Paul,

how do you determine what the sq in requirements are per discus? Also how do you determine how much a canister has in regards to sq in? (for example a 2217 Eheim?)

kim457,

I developed the requirements for my filtration system experimentally. Basically, I set it up by guessing at what was necessary to accomplish my goal and then modifying it until I got the desired results. My show tank is 100 gallons and contains ten adult discus. I ended up using two Inland pleated filters contained in a single canister filter. Each of the two pleated filters provides 30 square feet and filters down to 25 microns. Here's a picture of one of them:

https://www.marineandreef.com/Inland_Seas_25_Micron_30_sq_ft_p/ris02330.htm

Note that the manufacturer has provided data on the size and filtration capability.

My canister filter has a pressure gauge on it that measures the incoming water pressure. When the gauge begins to indicate an increase in pressure, I use this to determine when its time to service the filter. My goal was to create a filtration system that would provide at least one month of service without having to clean the filter. If I'm careful on what and how much I feed my fish, my experience has shown that the filter will last at least six weeks.

I reviewed the specs on an Eheim filter and was not able to determine how much filtration area they provide nor the level of filtration. Sorry I can't be of more help to you here.

Hope some of this is helpful.

Paul

[kim457]

Re: What Are Bioload and Biomass and Why They Are Important

Cons: Only 325 sq in of filter area. You will need at least 504 sq in for a 75 gal tank with 7 adult discus. Probably does not filter to 25 micron level. You will need to have a separate purigen reactor.

Paul

Hi Paul,

how do you determine what the sq in requirements are per discus? Also how do you determine how much a canister has in regards to sq in? (for example a 2217 Eheim?)

[geo57]

Re: What Are Bioload and Biomass and Why They Are Important

Hi Paul, to start with I use the best sand for aquariums that money can buy, I use national Geographic sand and I use white sand. Any thing and I mean anything shows up right away, and from what I have read and studied the only thing that will penetrate into the sand is oxygen. My tank is four foot deep, my arms are just over two foot long, no way i can stir with the hand lol. But I do come up with tools to do the same. I stir my sand up daily really, cause dirt and poop etc, show up so vividly I can't stand the look of it. When I stir my sand there is no gunk, I use a long siphon that I attach thick plastic picks at the end that protrude about two to three inches below the siphon, so that when they hit the sand i know I'mm close to pulling up sand, i just allow the debris to be pulled, then i rotate the siphon and stir that section of sand....waalaa clean. I use sand not because it looks better than BB, But because the fish love it. I agree it is more work to clean, but I do that for my fish. What I don't agree to is that bare bottom tank is cleaner, i think you can be just as clean with sand, a little more work but just as clean. I have done bare bottom before, as a matter of fact all my tanks use to be bare bottom...I just think fish like sand better.

[afriend]

Re: What Are Bioload and Biomass and Why They Are Important

Sand is a better substrate than gravel because feces and food are less likely to become trapped. However the sand at the top still collects a biomass because food suspended in the water column will stick to the sand particles at the top and thus collect to form a biomass.

If food collects on the sand and causes a bio-load as you say, i would assume it will also happen on glass at the bottom of your tank. I know this is an old thread but i just have to say a bit of this logic is failed and faulty. Also when i clean my sand i usually vacuum up a bit of sand, leaving my bottom cleaner than a bare bottom tank. Unless your speaking facts it's all speculative, logic can be bent in many ways my friend.

geo57,

If I were to use a sand substrate, I would suggest that you consider using a product produced by SeaChem called Purigen. Purigen (when used properly) will absorb huge amounts of organic material, thus assisting the task of reducing pathogens. How this is accomplished is explained in detail at my Homestead page here at Simply Discus. The link below will direct you to my page:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/forumdisplay.php?372-Adult-Discus-Show-Tank-(afriend)-NW-Arkansas

I hope this will be helpful for you.

Paul

[Filip]

Re: What Are Bioload and Biomass and Why They Are Important

PFS sand that we use in our tanks is ussualy 0.3-0.8 mm of grain size .
Dirt and debris particles can be much smaller and finer size than sand and they get and collect deep inside the sand bed quite easily. You can easily check this , if you just give the sand a good stir with your hand . Your water will be filled with dirt and gunk if you try that .