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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. ---- Marthe Troly-Curtin
KoiRun on YouTube, latest video:
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To summarize something I read somewhere (i.e. take with a pinch, or handful of salt)..
Some filter organism - typically the free swimming animals like certain copepods, consume larger particulates rather than absorbing chemicals in the water. These critters feed on waste material and help keep the ecosystem in balance. Over aggressive removal of waste material starves these fellas.
Then again if you have a seriously aggressive waste removal system, you wouldn't need these guys in your filter.
I have no uv on this and water is perfect after rdf to shower. Removing the fines is great and when the pond builds algae on walls again the biobugs thrive there again. Pond has been going 5 days and I'm feeding alot with 0 waste in pond
Last edited by kevin32; 05-13-2018 at 12:50 AM.
As with everything in the answer is it depends. My opinion is with either a sieve or RDF you wouldn't need any additional mechanical filtration. The RDF is going to be superior to the sieve but either are going to be superior to anything else. Also don't think you have to have a shower filter. A moving bed filter is also very effective and isn't as finicky about the pre-filtration as a shower filter seems to be.
True, filter critters "crop" biofilms so that they are nice and tight. Examples of critters are rotifers, nematodes, bristleworms and flatworms. Apparently biofilms aka beneficial bacteria form nice flocs or films to protect themselves from these predators (among other advantages of being in a floc or biofilm). With a very healthy biofilm one can expect lower DOCs as these are absorbed and less turbidity as fines are adsorbed resulting is clear water. Bacteria and 'critters' which are protozoans and metazoans secrete substances that are sticky and have ionic charges that can adsorb heavy metals, toxins, and fines. Critters can negatively affected by toxicity and low dissolved oxygen. They can also be washed out by aggressive removal or by high a highly turbulent environment. High turbulent environment makes it difficult for female and male organisms to meet and copulate. I visited a friend once with a sick pond which had recently been treated with chemicals for an unknown culprit (probably a bacterial pathogen) and found the water pretty turbid. I examined a scrape of his filter under a microscope and found no critters or anything moving. I attributed this to chemicals used which I think was formaldehyde based. He also was using salt.
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. ---- Marthe Troly-Curtin
KoiRun on YouTube, latest video:
https://youtu.be/72iiuRXY2Wk
If I remove the fines so well I don't need the critters to help with the fines removal. My rdf often has worms on the waste tray and also has some wigglers on the shower media also. I have no foam on my pond after shower right now. I used to get foam in the morning when the pond had algae and sides and some would die off overnight but with a constant flow now I'm wondering if my walls will even build up carpet algae again. Time will tell I guess
I meant microscopic critters. These you can't see with your naked eyes. But macroscopic ones won't hurt either. My only guess why you've been lucky to have clear water is not only because of your RDF and Saki food, but also the feather rock you use in your shower. I think these has lots of protected spaces for biofilm and it's critters.I bet you don't touch this.
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. ---- Marthe Troly-Curtin
KoiRun on YouTube, latest video:
https://youtu.be/72iiuRXY2Wk
I cleaned my shower media once and really I should have left it alone. My water quality has to do with a combination of things though imo. My prefilter is huge and the best you can get imo.most of my shower media is ceramic though and it does the same thing imo. Eventually any media needs cleaned but the better you prefilter it the less it needs cleaned . Ive used a sieve filter and also 2 different rdfs . The new rdf Is keeping the media so clean now and water is pristine
Last edited by kevin32; 05-16-2018 at 11:24 PM.
I suspect the feather rock is also why your nitrate levels are low and mine are through the roof. Feathered rock has a lot more sheltered space for these critters to thrive. My new pond's shower will have at least one tray set up with feather rock.
I think feather rock has similar 'specific surface area' as Seachem Matrix which claims to be able to control nitrate. That is probably because it also claims to support not only aerobic but also anaerobic bacterial species. Many suspect they are exactly the same. Although Matrix is shaped like rocks, it is white. Feather rock is dark-coloured.
Last edited by KoiRun; 05-25-2018 at 01:14 AM.
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. ---- Marthe Troly-Curtin
KoiRun on YouTube, latest video:
https://youtu.be/72iiuRXY2Wk
Perhaps you were reading about Asellus Aquaticus.
https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...rful+thing+has
Since this thread from 2008, I have been actively cultivating these critters in my filters. They live in my static upflow biofilters which contain all kinds of mixed media from bioballs, ceramics, k1 types and matala matts. I never have to flush these filters anymore - the creatures keep them that clean. They also live in my sand and gravel filters which feed into the bio barrels and get flushed weekly, but I still see them in there all the time, so I guess many hang on, while some get washed away. They are not microscopic, they are about 1/4” long.
Last edited by *Ci*; 05-25-2018 at 07:42 PM.
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Cheers,
Ci