Continued from page 2

Drip Systems as part of the Trickle Filter:

Although not something that you will find in too many filters, it is a nice and helpful addition. Use them to dispense liquid carbonate hardness (KH) generators, vitamins, Kalkwasser (Limestone water), even fertilizer if you keep a lot of macro-algae. In most cases, and because drip systems can only be regulated down so low, you will have to dilute what ever product you are adding before putting it in the drip system.

For more details on how to do so, and how to set up manual drip systems, we refer you to "Advanced Reef Keeping Made Simple" and also to "The Marine Fish and Invert Reef Aquarium" (6th or later printing), both by Albert J. Thiel.

Improving the Efficiency of your Existing Filter

Since many Hobbyists already own a trickle filter, we receive many phone calls at "Marine Reef", the newsletter published by Aardvark Press, enquiring how one can improve the efficiency of an existing system. Since we are setting up a Reef Tank using only the minimum basic equipment required, it is most important that all the components of this system run at their optimum efficiency.

Here are a few suggestions:

Blow more air into the biological chamber. Using regular aquarium air pumps, it is not possible to blow too much air in the chamber. Run the air through carbon first, to clean it.

If you are not blowing air into it yet, start doing so, and make sure the drip plate is vented. Usually this is done by means of a piece of half inch, or three quarter inch, pipe sticking up from the drip plate. This will prevent an airlock from being created inside the biological chamber, should the water level in the sump rise to where the air can no longer escape through the bottom.

If some of the media in the biological chamber is submersed, adjust the water level so it is out of the water. The efficiency of the filter will increase by over 50 percent. We guarantee it !

Clean the sump of accumulated debris and detritus, this will increase dissolved oxygen levels and improve the water quality,

Switch to a different medium inside the filter. For example, if you are using DLS, switch to one of the plastic filtering media. We highly recommend Bio-Techs and Bio Blocks. If you are using trays with dolomite or crushed coral, switch to a plastic filtering material as well. If you don't switch, clean the trays one at time, to remove accumulated detritus, at one week intervals, to prevent the total loss of the biological filtering bacteria.

Switch from a "spray bar" filter to a "drip plate" filter type; better gaseous exchange will take place, with the inherent improvement of the water chemistry,

If you are already using a drip plate, improve its efficiency by using some, or all, of the recommendations we have made earlier. For example, increase the number of holes, but use smaller ones, and make the holes tapered.

Add compartments for products such a Poly Filters, Chemi-Pure, X-nitrate, or whatever else you decide on using, including resins.

Use one or more canister filters in addition to your trickle filter. Fill them with any of the above compounds, or use them for additional biological filtration by filling them with plastic filtering media. The efficiency of Bio-Techs, used in submersed form, is 65 percent of their efficiency in non-submersed form. A large difference, but still quite of a lot of extra biological filtration ability.

If you are using ozone, make sure none of it is finding its way into the back chamber (biological chamber) of your filter. Ozone will destroy some, or all, of the bacteria, and will greatly reduce the efficiency of your filter in the process.

Set up a reverse osmosis drip system, running the output of the unit directly into your sump. Use a very small unit, and do not let it run continuously. Use it to change water very slowly, and make up for evaporation at the same time. If you let it run for long periods of time, the water level in the sump will rise, and could overflow, unless of course you have a drain piped in. This is done by running a hose attached to a tank fitting, placed at the appropriate height, from the sump to a drain, or to a sink that is lower than the sump (e.g. in a cellar).

If you do not have a drain, use a power head coupled to a float switch that kicks the pump on, when the level in the sump rises above a certain height. That water can then be pumped to a vat or sink, or wherever you can dispose of it. Always watch your salinity carefully when you are doing this, because you are adding fresh water, which will make your salinity go down slowly, but down nevertheless. Make up for this change in salinity, or specific gravity, at appropriate times.

There are, I am sure, many other tried methods. If you have one that really worked for you, I would like to hear from you at Marine Reef, the Newsletter. We will compensate you for your contribution if it is published in the newsletter.

In-Line Cartridge Canisters:

These canisters, which can often be bought at do-it-yourself type hardware stores, and carry brand names such as Cuno, Water Kleen, AquaPure, etc. can be piped in-line with the water flow.

Some even have a by-pass assembly built-in to the unit, e.g. the units sold by Thiel-Aqua-Tech, making changing the cartridge very easy, because it does not require you to stop the system at all. Alternatively you can pipe-in the by-pass yourself.

Many types of cartridges for such filters are available:

to remove rust
to remove fine particulate matter, rated in micron ratings
filled with activated carbon
filled with a mixture of compounds to purify the water

Keep in mind, when installing such in-line canisters, that they all put a lot of back pressure on your pump(s). This will reduce the water flow through the filters and through the tank.

Micron ratings go in various sequences, usually <1 micron, <1<5 micron, 5 micron, 25, 50 etc. microns. You should also know the difference between absolute and nomimal ratings. Absolute means no particles of the size given, or larger, can go through the cartridge. Nominal means "most" of the particle of the size given will get trapped, but some will get through. Nominal rated cartridges are good enough for our purposes, and 25 or 50 micron rated ones should take out most of the free floating material that you may want to remove. Do not go too low in the rating, because you do not want to filter out all of the living organisms, indeed filter feeders need them for survival.

Moreover, the finer filtering the cartridge performs, the sooner it will plug, and the sooner it will need replacing. That can add up to quite a few dollars, if you have to do so too frequently.

Two types of such cartridges deserve special mention, they are manufactured and sold by Poly-Bio-Marine (through their distributors) : the PMA and PSM types, the former performing molecular absorption filtration, and the second one sub-micronic filtration.

The one of most interest, in my opinion, is the PMA unit. They are specially tooled to be able to hold a number of disks, of Poly Filter material in disc form. Because of the way they are constructed, all the water has to go through the disks, before it can actually re-enter the main water stream.

Because Poly Filters are so highly efficient, and because these canisters are easy to install and service, we highly recommend them. In fact, I personally use them on all systems I install, and of course on my own show aquarium.

PSM canisters should not be used in continuous operation form in Reef tanks, because they remove all the material that filter feeders need. You should pipe them in so you can run them for a few hours, and then by-pass them without having to stop the system.

See the diagram on the Next Chapter for one method of piping in such a by-pass. The first canister shown could be any type, and is not required. It is shown here, because many Hobbyists use both PMA and PSM canisters in-line, one after the other. The first one should be the micronic, and the second one the molecular absorption one. The first one removes very fine particulate matter, and the second one acts as an extremely efficient chemical filter.

Remember to take the PSM cartridge off after you by-pass it, otherwise the water in the canisters will go anaerobic, and the next time you try to use it, you will push all that anaerobic material in the tank. Such is very dangerous for your invertebrates, and even for the fish you keep. With a properly set up by-pass, this problem does not arise. Just unscrew the bottom of the canister, rinse the bags inside, empty the canister and replace it.

The above diagram shows that you can isolate one or both canisters, meaning by-pass just the first one, or both, by switching the valves around. Under normal circumstances you would run the first canister, e.g. with a cartridge filter of, for instance, 25 or 50 microns, or a PSM module, and the second one with Poly Filters, X-nitrate, or some similar product.

Remember the remark about emptying the micron filter when it is not in use, to prevent the formation of anaerobic by-products. If you don't, the next time you place it back in line (use it) all these anaerobic compounds will end up in your system, and will create a great deal of stress on the tank life. It will greatly reduce your redox potential, reduce dissolved oxygen levels, and may even kill off some of the tank life.

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