Marc,

So how do you maintain crystal clear water with no mechanical filtration?
During vaccuming and water changes, lots of particulates get kicked up,
and I cringe until my mechanical filter clears the water again.

What confuses me is, yes, biowheels create nitrates 24/7, but so does any
biological filter, no? Thats what its there for. And you need that. Or is
the issue that live rock performs more efficiently as a biofilter, and
produces fewer nitrates? Or are you saying biowheels sustain nitrate
production even when the cycle is not being fed with DOCs, whereas
liverock wont.

I like how you've converted a trickle filter into a sump. Actually, you
have me thinking very seriously about installing a sump/refugium, and
employing DSB and macroalgae for denitrification. I'm very nervous about
yanking my biowheels, since thats my established biofilter. I may
consider slowly ramping up the liverock until thats active, and then
axing the biowheels. Do I need strong lighting to use liverock as my
primary biofilter? I have only 30w now.

In anycase, that will be a slow migration. Meantime, I think I'd like to
take on a sump and get denitrification happening.

Thanks,
Phil


Marc Levenson wrote in
:

Biowheels create nitrates 24 hours a day. Dirty filter pads do as
well. Plan on rinsing them well every 3 or 4 days if you want to stay
with that system.

My 29g doesn't have any type of filter pad, wheel, sock .. nothing.
The water is crystal clear and people are surprised by this.
Particulates trapped in any type of pad will rot as they break down
and nitrates have nowhere to go but up.

http://www.melevsreef.com/reducing_nitrates.html

Marc