Fluidized Sand Bed Filters

[robalv]

Alright Reefers I am new to this so don't know if this has been discussed. I did a search on the forum and found nothing. Anyone have experience with FLUIDIZED SAND BED FILTERS and if so any pro or cons that can be addressed would be appreciated. I have little room for a refugium under my 46 Bowfront and already running a wet/dry filter under it... So looking for something simple. This is what it looks like link provided .http://www.cichlid-forum.com/photos/art_diy_fbf_02.jpg...I know there is a member out here I believe it's ACE whom is the acrylic guru, I see your work so don't deny
like to see if you can take a shot at it .. apparently 1 lbs of sand can handle a 100 gallons of volume(if that makes sense) so you can see the benefits if it works out. I think a cylindrical application would be easier depending on the cost of the acrylic. Let see what you all think...

Thanks for looking
Rob

[robalv]

anyone?

[justahobby]

Interesting... it sounds plausible but I'm not 100% convinced. If you do a DIY keep us posted on how your parameters look. On a side note one side effect might be an unwanted amount of sand dust clouding your display caused by the constant collision? But then again it also seems to be more popular in fresh tanks, maybe someone else could chime in with a reason

[hobogato]

looks simple enough to build, shoot me a pm with contact info and i will give you a call so we can discuss it.

[Texreefer]

Keep in mind there is a reason it is slanted like that. it is so the water flowing in can easily push the sand up the incline thus turning it over and keeping it "fluidized". In a straight up and down square or cylinder the water and sand will be pusing up against the other sand and only the bottom portion of the filter will stay in motion.. FYI

[hobogato]

yep, or it could be a cylinder with a cone in the bottom....

[robalv]

I did see on a DIY youtube made with a cone

[CoryDude]

Didn't realize these things are still around. I had one on a cichlid tank back in the 90's. Very healthy tank w/no ammonia or nitrite problems. Had some issues with nitrates, but that was to be expected.

I did replace 1/2 the sand every 6 months to help keep nitrates from accumulating. Never used one on a salt tank. Be careful with a stronger pump. When I first hooked it up, the pump was too big and blew out all the sand.

[OrionN]

Con:
These filters, like wet/dry filter, use aerobic pathway to break down ammonia and nitrite with the end result is nitrates. It is use in a fish only type of tank. In high light situation, there will be lots of algae bloom due to high nitrates.
I do not recommend this type of filtration system in a reef tank. Live sand and live rock as a filtration system +/- skimmer use an anaerobic pathway which completely break down ammonia to Nitrogen, thus eliminate the nitrates build up.

Pro:
Very high capacity in converting ammonia to nitrates. You can keep lots of fish with one of these, but your nitrates will be high