Re: [APD] How do you guys do water changes?????

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

I jsut haven't heard of diatoms grabbing idividual
molecules. Lang chain polymers maybe.  Some wimming ools
use sand filters and they can be kept equally clear as
those using diatom filters.

Diatom filters do provide the finest mechanical filtering,
that's availble in any practical way, but if the DE is
clean, it doesn't e.g., alter pH or KH or GH.

Anybody else got a line of removing PO4 using a Diatom
filter?

Of course, by removing solids from the water system when
you change out the dirty diatoms, you remove fish waste,
plant detritus, and uneaten food, which if not removed
would break down to yield phosphates and nitrites/nitrates.
In that sense any good mechanical filtering can help to
hold PO4 and nitrate levels down.

I see it as a problem more than a fix for most planted
tanks, unless your tank is way high loaded with fish.

Scott H.
--- Mark & Peta <mbethke at socal_rr.com> wrote:
> Greetings and thank you for replying,
> There was a thread running about on another list (killie
> listserv) as to the
> effectivness of "DE" filtering , many swore by it's
> ability to extract PO4.
> Now is this correct, I don't know? Maybe , maybe not.
> I do know for a fact that DE filters are a key to
> consistat clearity, in
> swimming pools they use large DE filteration and I have
> seen a cloudy pool
> goto clear in less than a day. DE filters boast that they
> can remove
> anything bigger than one micron, including most bacteria,
> fungus, nutriants
> and other possibly harmful byproducts,, I beleive that
> includes PO4 .
> Now all this data comes from the manufacturer of the DE
> filters so the
> results could be tainted. But than again any added
> filtration usually pays
> for itself *exceptions do apply I'm sure*. I'm a big
> beleiver in
> overfiltration.
> This idea of using twice as much filtration than needed
> and the use of
> plants as a back-up filtration was handed down to me from
> an old time
> aquarium keeper. I trust these guys as they are a vital
> knowledge base. They
> seem to have done it all and made all the mistake so we
> don't have to relive
> them , IMHO. Mark B.
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>
> To: "aquatic plants digest" <aquatic-plants at actwin_com>
> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 3:16 AM
> Subject: Re: [APD] How do you guys do water changes?????
> 
> 
> > A Diatom filter is a mechanical filter. I never heard
> of
> > them taking PO4 out of the water, neither organic or
> ortho.
> > Do you have source for this, seems worth looking into.
> >
> > I suppose with carbon in the mix, like Vortex's
> Super-char,
> > you can start pulling all kinds of things out of the
> water,
> > including the organic phosphate compounds, however, one
> > would needn't to have a diatom filter to do that--just
> any
> > filter that handles carbon.
> >
> > Scott H.
> > --- Mark & Peta <mbethke at socal_rr.com> wrote:
> > > Thank you Laura,
> > > I believe you are right. I plan to add a Diatomaceous
> > > Earth filter to clear
> > > the PO4. I've been told that the "DE" filters do
> exactly
> > > that.
> > > Boy it will be nice to get back my aquarium....
> thanks
> > > again,
> >
> > =====
> > S. Hieber
> > -  -   -   -   -   -   -   -
> > Aquascaping by Takashi Amano and more at
> > the AGA 2004 Annual Convention
> > Nov 12, 13 & 14; Marriott Crystal Gateway, Arlington,
> Virginia, USA
> > Aquatic Gardeners Association www.aquatic-gardeners.org
> >
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=====
S. Hieber
-  -   -   -   -   -   -   -
Aquascaping by Takashi Amano and more at
the AGA 2004 Annual Convention
Nov 12, 13 & 14; Marriott Crystal Gateway, Arlington, Virginia, USA
Aquatic Gardeners Association www.aquatic-gardeners.org

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