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FiltrationandBiofiltration
Intheworldofaquaculture,filtrationandbiofiltrationareverydistinctandseparateentities
andtheymustbetreatedassuch.Filtrationistheremovalofsolidwaste,whereasbiofiltrationis
thebiologicalprocesswhicheliminatestoxicnitrogenouswastes.Thispagewillcoverthese
differences,aswellasdelvingintosomeofthenumeroustypesoffiltrationdevices.

Filtration
Solidwasteistypicallycategorizedbyitssizeandspecificgravity.Settleablesolidsare
thosesolidswhichhavearelativelyhighspecificgravitycomparedtothewaterinwhichthey
exist.Theywillsettletothebottom.Suspendedsolidsarethoseinacategorywhichhavea
specificgravitythesameasorslightlyhigherthanthewater.Theytendtostayinsuspension
andwillonly"dropout"overalongperiodoftime.Dissolvedsolidsarethosewhichactually
becomeapartofthewater.Thedissolvedsolidsareeliminatedbyreverseosmosis,anionand
cationresins,activatedcarbon,etc.
Onemethodofremovingsolidwastefromaroundfishtankistouseadoubledrain.It
willdirectthesettledsolidstoaseparateareafromthesuspendedsolids.Thesettledsolidscan
bedirectedintoasmallclarifier,muchsmallerthanonewhichhadtobesizedtohandlethe
entireflowofrecirculatingwater.Theotherdraintakesthesuspendedsolidsalongwiththe
nitrogenouswaste.
Suspendedsolidscanberemovedbyseveralmethods.Oneistheaffinitybeadfilter
whichincorporatestheuseofsmallpolyethylenebeadsthathaveanelectrostaticcharge.These
beadshaveanaffinityforthenegativelychargedsuspendedsolids.Astheparticlespassthese
beads,theyare"statically"drawntothem.Whenthebeadsareloadedwithsolids,itistimeto
backwashthem.(Toooften,backwashingisnotdonefrequentlyenough.)Suspendedsolidscan
alsoberemovedbymechanicalmeanssuchasbagfilters,drumfiltersandvegetablefilters.

Beadfilters:Openstyleontheleft,closedstylefiltersintheback

Biofiltration
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Biofiltrationistheaerobic(withoxygen)breakdownofdissolvednitrogenousfishwaste
(ammonia).Fishwillexcreteabout14gramsofammoniaforeachpoundoffoodeaten(at35%
protein).Thenitrificationofammoniaisaccomplishedbytwostrainsofautotrophicbacteria.
Thesebacteriaarenaturallyoccurringandwillultimatelycolonizethebiomediainyour
biofilteraswellasthetankwallsetc.Thespeedofthisprocessisdependentontemperature,
pH,salinitysurfacearea,flowrate,etc.
Thesebacteriauseoxygeninatwostepprocess.Thefirststrainofbacteria,
Nitrosomonas,convertsthetoxicammoniaNH3,toNO2whichisnitrite.Nitrobacteristhe
secondstrainofbacteriathatconvertsnitritesNO2toNO3whichisnitrate.Nitrateistypically
toleratedbymostculturedspeciesuntilitreachesveryhighlevels.Controllingnitrateis
accomplishedbydilutingwithcleanwaterorbyusingadenitrificationchamberwhichconverts
nitrateintonitrogengas.(Thisisananaerobicprocessthatusesagroupofchemoheterotrophic
bacteria.)Athirdmethodthatcanbeusedtokeepnitratelevelsincheckisbyusingplants.You
canhaveagreenwatersystem(usingalgae),avegetativefilterorevenuseahydroponicplant
filter.
Forthoseofyouwhoaremorechemistryminded,herearethenitrificationprocesscalculations:
Nitrosomonascalculationconversionofammoniatonitrite
55NH4+ +76O2+5CO2===>C5H7O2N+52H2O+54NO2+H+

Nitrobactercalculationconversionofnitritetonitrate
400NO2+NH4+ +5CO2+195O2+2H2O===>C5H7O2+400NO3+H+

RotatingBiologicalContactor:Abiofilterconvertingammoniatonitrate

BiofiltrationMedia

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BioBallsBioFillTM

Biofiltrationmediaismerelyamassofsurfacesservingastheattachmentbasisfor
microorganisms.Thespacingbetweenthesesurfacesisimportant,bothforthepassageofwater
andtoprovidesufficientroomforbacterialgrowth.Thebiggestcauseofbiofilterfoulingissolid
waste,whichgrowsheterotrophicbacteria.Alwaystrytofilteroutallsolidspriortoyour
biofilter.BioBarrels,Bio
Balls,BioStrata,BioFillTM,scrubpads,andevensandcanbeusedasbiofiltermedia.It
isrecommendedthatyouuseapproximately300sq.ft.ofsurfaceareaper100lbs.offishina
warmwaterrecirculatingsystem.Togiveageneralidea,thesemanufacturedmediarangefrom
26370squarefeetofsurfaceareapereverycubicfootofmedia.Anothergeneralruleofthumb
ishavingthevolumeofthebiofiltertobearound15%ofthetotalvolumeofthesystem.

StagesofFiltration
Regardlessofwhichtypeoffilteringequipmentyoudecidetouse,theimportantthingto
keepinmindistoalwaysstageyourfiltration.Itisanalltocommonmistaketodesignasystem
thatreliestooheavilyonasinglefilteringdevicetoprovideallofthefilteringdemandsthata
recirculatingsystemhas.Bystagingyourfiltration,youwillfindyoursystemperformingator
nearitspeak.
Sedimentationremovalofsolidwastesfromthewater
1.Dowhateverispossibletoallowfishfecestodropintactintothewastecollectionarea
orselfcleaningbottomwithminimaldamage.Minimizetheuseofpumps,aeratorsandair
diffuserswhereverfecesispresent.
2.Donotpumpthewastepriortoseparation.Designforgravityflow(orsiphon)intoa
sedimentationtankorbasin.Splashingandturbulencecanattachairbubblesandbreakapart
solids.Fecesandfoodparticlessmallerthan40micronsmaynotsettlewithoutchemical
floculents.
3.Alwayslocateyourbiofilterafterthesolidsremovalsystem.Solidsprovidecarbonfor
heterotrophicbacteriawhichcanfoulabiofilterand/orreduceitsperformance.
4.Cleanboththesettlingareaandfiltersatleastonceadayeveniftheycontainlittle
waste.
5.Iffurtherfiltrationisrequiredaftersedimentation,pumpthewatertoanaffinitybead
clarifierorparticulatefilter.
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SedimentationBasinDesign

Hereisagoodsedimentationbasindesign:Wideinlet(toreducevelocity),asurfaceareaof.7
to1.4sq.ft.ofbasinpergpmflow(forfeceswithaspecificgravityof1.01orgreater),wide
outletweir(neverastandpipe),nobaffles(whichincreasevelocities)andasimplewastedrain.
Adepthofjustafewinchesisenoughformostdesigns.
Degassingremovalofdangerousgassesfromthewater

Degassingisaprocesswhichisusedtoremoveundesirablegasses,thatarepresentingreater
concentrationsinthewaterthanwouldotherwisenaturallybefound.Whentheyareinthisstate,
suchgassesarecalledsupersaturatedgasses.Asupersaturatedgashasanaturaltendency,when
exposedtoaninterfacebetweenairandwatertoescapeoutofthewaterandintothe
surroundingair.(Thisislikeinfizzydrinks,wherewhileenclosedinacanandunderpressure
thegasstaysinsolution,butwhenthecanisopenedthepressureoftheliquidreducessuddenly.
Theabilityofthedrinktoholdsuchanamountofgasisreducedandthegashasarouteto
escapethroughthesurfaceofthedrink.Thegasformsbubblesintheglassasittriestoescape.)
Themainfunctionofadegasseristocreatealargeinterfacebetweenthewaterandtheair.This
isachievedinavarietyofways.Onewayisbyheavyaeration,wherethesurfaceareaofthe
bubblescreatesalargeinterfaceastheyrisethroughthewater.Aerationalsocreatesalotof
turbulence,bringingwatertothesurfacewherethegascanescapedirectlytotheatmosphere.
Anotherdegassingmethodislettingthewaterfalloverweirsandcascades,whereitisbrokenup
intodroplets,therebyincreasingtheinterface.Alsocommonlyusedarepackedcolumns,which
arevesselsfilledwithatypeofmediaoverwhichthewaterruns.

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Asimpledegassingcolumn
Airisdrawnthroughthecolumnagainstthefilmofwaterwhichcoatsthemedia.Toachievefull
degassing,asisdesirablewithsupersaturatednitrogen,itisnecessarytocreateavacuumatthe
airwaterinterface,thishastheeffectof"drawing"thesupersaturatedgasoutofthewaterata
fasterratethanwouldotherwisebeachieved.Thesedevicesareknownasvacuumdegassers.
ProteinSkimmers(FoamFractionators)

Proteinskimmersarehelpfulinremovingdissolvedorganicmaterialfromwater,andare
beneficialforimprovingwaterclarity,aerationandredoxpotentialinmarinesystems.These
unitsareoftenusedinconjunctionwithozonegenerators.
OzoneGenerators

Theuseofozoneisincreasinginpopularityforseveralreasons:
1.Itishighlyeffectiveinremovingorganics,pesticides,color
andnitrites.
2.Itrevertsbacktooxygenquickly.Unlikechlorine,thereare
nodetrimentalresiduals(exceptinsaltwater).
3.Itisproducedonsite,withnoelectricitynearthewater.
4.Itiseconomicalandnonpolluting,whenusedcorrectly.
5.Itcanbeusedasasterilizer,before,duringandafterwater
isusedforaquaculture.
6.Ozonizationimprovesbiologicalfiltrationand
particulatefiltration.
7.Itcanremovethebiologicaloxygendemandinthewater.
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8.Itoxidizeslongchainmolecules,whichbiofiltration
cannotdo.
Ozoneisgeneratedbypassingairoroxygenthroughareactionvessel,whereeitheran
electricarc,coronadischarge(CD),oranultraviolet(UV)lamp"excites"theoxygen.Inthis
reactionoxygenmoleculesseparateintoatomsofoxygenwhichthentemporarilyrecombine
witheachothertoformozone.Whenozoneoxidizesorganicsonlyoneatomofoxygenisused,
leavingonemoleculeofoxygen.
DifferentTypesofOzoneGenerators
Ultravioletlightswithaspecificozonegeneratingwavelengtharegenerallyusedtoproduce
lowlevelsofozone.Theslowerthegasmovesthroughthereactionvessel,thehigherthe
percentofozone.
Thecoronadischarge(CD)typeofusesanelectricarcsimilartosparksorlightningto
producehigherpercentagesofozonebyweight.ArelativelysmallCDreactionvesselcan
producearelativelylargevolumeofozone.Thegreaterthepercentageofozone,thefasterthe
oxidizingreactionstakeplace.
Ozonecanbeusedinaproteinskimmer(foamfractionationdevice),whereithelpsthe
processwhilethevesselallowscaptureoftheoffgasforventingorozonedestruction.Ozone
worksverywellinoxygensaturatorsforthesamereasons.
UVSterilization

Ultravioletlightcanbeveryeffectiveateliminatingviruses,bacteria,algaeandfungi.Since
itistheintensityoflightthatisdoingthekilling,wemustknowhowmuchlightenergytouse
andhowmuchisreachingthetarget.JustassomesunglassesandsunscreensreduceUV
intensity,sodoesdiscoloredwater,temperatures,turbidity,dirtyquartzsleeves,andevensome
dissolvedsaltssuchassodiumthiosulfate.Old"rundown"lampsalsoaffecttheintensity.Even
lamptemperaturescanreduceoutputwhenoperatedincoldwatertemperatures(110Fis
maximumUVoutput).
ToinsuresterilewaterusingUVlight,youmustfirststartwithclearwater,havealampand
flowratethataresizedtodeliverthecorrectamountofirradiationforthetargetorganism(see
anexposureslist).IfaUVlightisflowratedfor15,000mwsandyouwant30,000youcan
eitherdoubletheamountoflampsorreducetheflowbyhalf.
ReturntoStartuppage

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