Who's running without mechanical filtration?

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I never used any mechanical filtration on my system in 20 years. Yes, the sump and refugia collected mud on the bottom. I never considered that a problem.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I guess that depends on what you consider to be mechanical filtration.

A skimmer can be considered mechanical in some contexts. While it does primarily serve to break organics away chemically (adsorption at air-water interface), it is also serves to mechanically float away larger undissolved organics. But traditionally, that would not be considered in the same context of a mechanical filter (floss, filter fabric, sand filter, etc.).

Likewise, those mechanical filters often create surface area for biological filtration and/or may also provide some form of chemical filtration (say treated filter materials). So, in most cases there are no hard lines.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I never used any mechanical filtration on my system in 20 years. Yes, the sump and refugia collected mud on the bottom. I never considered that a problem.

I did not realize that. Do you plan on doing anything different for the proposed lagoon?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I started my reefing with socks, this lasted about 6 months or less. Stopped and have never looked back. I have built 2 sumps since then and haven't included sock holders on either. I go 1 step further and just have a return chamber in my sump. The rest in a refuge. My skimmer sits on a platform at the drain side of the sump. The photo is just after I put the system together. I keep a steady .03-.1 phos and 10 nitrates.

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

It’s one of the reasons why I chose my moniker ‘FrugalReefer’.

 

[mythesis]

But of course:

The mesh really is for when i turn off the return pump and levels in that chamber rise.

Thanks. Apparently I was overengineering the solution.

I just put that kind of crate stuff in mine and sure enough, the chaeto tumbles without all going downstream.

Appreciate it!

 

[KrisReef]

no desire to quibble about specific timeframes or what is wholly "inert" vs basically "inert".

My brain is either full of mulm or approaching the inert state (s) you describe.

I don’t know why I am feeling flush but the situation is concerning me.

 

[BeanAnimal]

My brain is either full of mulm or approaching the inert state (s) you describe.

I don’t know why I am feeling flush but the situation is concerning me.

Could it be that you are a replicant and have been administered a Voight-Kampff test, but don't realize what is happening as a result?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Could it be that you are a replicant and have been administered a Voight-Kampff test, but don't realize what is happening as a result?

LOL :face-with-tears-of-joy: I had to look that up

 

[scottb33]

I prefer mechanical capture where detritus allowed to decompose. Test tank as well as every other tank I've had both fresh and salt seemed to go that route. Current design of main going that route. Early on was due to laziness. Past decade because I've now come to better grasp decomposition beyond the basics learned in biology early 70s.

Seems silly to me to chase the eviction of detritus with socks, floss, skimmers or the latest rage of roller mats that have now evolved to roller mat/skimmer combos. Lots of profits trying to prevent nature which did make sense when nitrates were unmanageable but no longer the case and even in the 80s knew plumbed tub of caulerpa solved that.

Life lives amongst detritus and although I'm not sure what that is there's always been this belief in fresh that fry benefited from it. Known that since early 70s when it was called mulm. Have heard uronema live there too. Who knows. Can't worry about everything therefore best avoid that or keep healthy fish that can fend it off.

Although I get the unpleasantness of seeing detritus interrupt clear water but that's solved by finer capture incorporating several layers from coarse to fine and if large enough volume allows time for each section to decompose further until final step is what today I believe we call mulm which can also be capture and that thrown away, if needed. That next to last step in decomposition which I'm told can take decades or centuries to mineralalize and release goodies such as calcium and magnesium. Best I've researched. At this point it is inert and contributes nothing further to inorganic loads.

One perhaps should question anything with dollars driving it. No dollars in cultivating detritus. Same with canisters and undergravel filters and for the life of me can't figure out why one must pays close to $500 to hang a dollars worth of plastic netting to utilize pest algae. Can't see the lights used being that expensive and do they really need to be made of acrylic? Yeah it looks better on YouTube and Instagram so there's that but seriously why do we need acrylic cylinders vs cheap manufactured out of some plastic that is cheap. Like aren't canisters made that way and undergravel filters which now cost over $50 for a piece of plastic with holes in it :confused:

I will agree with you 100% I have a sump with bio balls and Nano tech bio spheres mixed together, I only have a older 2 chamber sump but it works well with my 75 gallon fish only system. I just got a metal halide light for it and a ReefBrite blue so I will be adding corals soon, just need another powerhead for more flow and I will be ready to go

 

[SnowyFox]

I’m planning on using a RollerMat in the reef aquarium that I’m working on starting up, but I want to use it as an as needed tool and not 24/7. Will likely need it more during the first year or so until the corals can grow out enough to take over. Also planning to have a refugium in the sump as well.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I suppose the rock and sand in the first bay of my sump performs some mechanical filtration. Whatever it catches isn't removed though. It's just reduced, demineralized, broken-down, and etc..

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I did not realize that. Do you plan on doing anything different for the proposed lagoon?

I did use a skimmer, but I wasn’t considering that mechanical. I would use a skimmer in any future tank.

 

[SnowyFox]

If I could go back in time I think I would chose the skimmer now over a RollerMat. I purchased the RollerMat many months ago, when I first started working towards getting a reef tank started. Learned quite a lot since then, but hard to justify the cost of swapping it out at this point. May switch to one in a year or two once I’m not needing to run the ReefMat much anymore

 

[Reefering1]

I did use a skimmer, but I wasn’t considering that mechanical. I would use a skimmer in any future tank.

How close are we to following your new build thread??

 

[BeanAnimal]

I did use a skimmer, but I wasn’t considering that mechanical. I would use a skimmer in any future tank.

Are you considering bare, shallow or DSB?

 

[KrisReef]

I don't have a pacemaker either, but I have not run any farther than across the street in a few years.

 

[BryanM]

So I dislike the idea of filer socks… so I went with roller mat and skimmer.

I also dislike refugiums, just due to the sprawl.

Didn’t know what an algae turf scrubber was until I virtually met @VintageReefer …

I like natural things, and things that make sense. ATSers seem to be fuges on steroids, and I think do everything I want. I’m making the move to that. I’ll keep my skimmer and use it as needed, but I think that will be infrequent.

 

[VintageReefer]

So I dislike the idea of filer socks… so I went with roller mat and skimmer.

I also dislike refugiums, just due to the sprawl.

Didn’t know what an algae turf scrubber was until I virtually met @VintageReefer …

I like natural things, and things that make sense. ATSers seem to be fuges on steroids, and I think do everything I want. I’m making the move to that. I’ll keep my skimmer and use it as needed, but I think that will be infrequent.

I went many years using a skimmer and ats combo. They work differently and can coexist well. Yes you can use one or the other also. But I find my skimmer output is greatly reduced. It does add some oxygenation though. And it does pull stuff but I need to run real wet. I leave the skimmer connected for “as needed” times such as removing a medicine, or if somehow my numbers get a little higher than I prefer

 

[GARRIGA]

Something else to ponder. Recently there's been this awakening to corals preferring ammonium as they need to down convert nitrates to nitrites then to ammonium. This really isn't new. Was known with plants long ago and best I recall the need for ammonium some point in the 70s studying German planted tanks. Past decade when I learned they down converted nitrates. Nice to finally connect the dots although I didn't grasp corals behaved the same. I'll admit corals still new to me.

Therefore one potential approach being the capture of detritus and allowing it to decompose to provide this needed ammonium in tanks where nitrates run low due to inhabitants, macroalgae or carbon dosing keeping it low. Water changes would skew the numbers because one is tossing out that needed along with not.

Wasn't long ago we sought zero nitrates and perhaps one day we will stop seeking to toss nature out with the trash. Plus can't be fun constantly servicing socks or dealing with the stink from roller mats and skimmer cups. Large enough media compartment and you won't smell decomposition and if you do something went wrong. Bottle of heterotrophic bacteria might solve that.