Fluidized filter

[markcarvour]

What opinions do members have on fluidized bed filters. Is anyone familiar them and any pro or con thoughts on them.

 

[MICEY]

I had a small hob with a fluidized bed it worked ok but was a pain to get adjusted just right so the sand floats but does not get washed out
for a newbie your better off with a hob or canister , with more experience for a big freshwater or a saltwater tank a wet dry filter is probly the best

 

[1998golfer]

Sand or with some other media like K1?
One with K1 like Joey's at

 

[Andy Sager]

We tried them in a few different systems and had problems when the electric cut out for a few minutes. The sand would compact on the bottom then not "fluidize" once the system came back on without intervention so we scrapped them from our systems. That's been my experience with them. Better options are out there IMO

 

[Virbius]

I use K1 for an outdoor pond. I find it has to be large to deal with my 800 gallon pond. I use a 20 gallon food grade drum. I also have a wet dry filter.

 

[markcarvour]

Virbius is that wet/dry filter also used on your pond? If so why? I'm asking these silly questions because when I set up my freshwater aquarium I want to get it right the first time. I'm not totally inexperienced as I did have aquariums 30 years ago. Thank you.

 

[Virbius]

Really the wet dry filter was an after thought. Well, after a baby bird drowned in the pool, that is. My K1 filter is made from a 20 gallon drum and handles normal bioloads very well, but when I could not the cause of a sudden spike in nitrates and ammonia, I added a homemade paddle wheel made from bicycle rims with shade cloth sails to act as a wet/dry filter. It took care of the problem until I could find the dead baby bird in one of the 4 inch pieces of PVC that I have for the fish to hide in. I am too lazy to remove it now.

 

[markcarvour]

I want to thank everyone who replied to my question whether I use the advice or not. To give you a little insight to my thinking and the question I'll tell you what I know about FBF. One person mentioned hard to adjust flow to prevent sand spilling out and into the Aquarium and that is true on shorter tube types (6" to 8"). Those with longer tubes are fairly easy to adjust. Clumping is more likely a problem with sand so loaded with bacteria that it probably needs replaced with new sand. Sand will get sticky after long use. There are other products such as ceramic balls or Purigen that can be used instead. Swimming pools, ponds, and large commercial aquariums use FBF. I do know that wet/dry are more efficient than canisters and FBF are more efficient than wet/dry. With FBF you should use a sponge filter or a canister filter preceding the FBF to prevent premature clogging. FBF do use a lot of oxygen as the bacteria colonizing FBF media is anaerobic and aerobic. Air stones and or excellent aquarium surface circulation solves this problem. I will most likely use a canister followed by a FBF. Redundancy is good and like a belt and suspenders will save you embarrassment. Thanks again.