Filtration

Now that the lighting has been figured out, it is time to decide on everything else! Two aspects of the aquarium I have not touched on yet are filtration and water movement. These are easy compared to the lighting.

Filtration
Filtration involves biological, chemical, and mechanical filtration. The biological filtration will be done with live rock, primarily, and a deep sand bed (DSB). What makes the rock live? The bacteria. Bacteria are responsible for the breakdown of the products of the nitrogen cycle: ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. These metabolites are toxic to the reef inhabitants.

The deep sand bed (DSB) will be located in the middle section of my sump The DSB serves as a place for further breakdown of nitrate to nitrogen gas. In order to be efficient, the sand must be at least 4 inches deep so an anaerobic environment can be achieved and maintained. The anaerobic bacteria will further break down nitrate into nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas will then be lost to the air at the water surface. Macroalgae will planted in the DSB as well. This will serve to further collect nitrates, which the marcoalgae need to grow, and to be a breeding ground for copepods and amphipods. Copepod and amphipod larvae are a primary food source for many fish and coral. If I can grow a healthy colony of copepods and amphiods, then I will have to feed the fish less processed food. Less processed food ultimately means less chemicals added to the aquarium. Once the system is operational, which will take about 6 weeks to grow and develop, there should be very little nitrogenous byproducts in the aquarium.

Mechanical filtration will be done by a protein skimmer. The skimmer will remove dissolved organic compounds from the water column. This is the particulate matter that gives the aquarium a cloudy appearance. Some type of sponge, or prefilter, will remove the large, viewable debris that will end up being knocked loose by the tank inhabitants. The skimmer will make the water will shimmer! I plan on buying the Tunze Nano protein skimmer.



Chemical filtration will have a limited place in my aquarium. I may use activated charcoal on an "as needed" basis, but that will probably be the extent of the chemical filtration The condition of the fish, how well they are eating, and the condition of the water are some variables that will dictate how and when I end up using activated carbon.