| I have to admit that this thread has been interesting to read.
Most of the time I would characterize myself as a ‘lurker’ here and the reason is obvious in this tread, Just as I would never want to actually play baseball with the pros, though I love the game, I’m just not in their league, and I know it! So I’ll watch and appreciate the skill and depth of knowledge expressed.
As I’m trying to rap my mind around some of the theoretical aspects of the bio filtration expressed here, I‘m compelled to ask if there is a way for me to take these theories and apply them in a practical way?
For instance Steve C said in response to John’s statement:
"It is impossible to know how many fish a biological filter can support, and how much fish waste and ammonia the biological filter can metabolize without knowing its SSA. SSA tells you how much nitrifying bacteria can live on the media - the biofilm layer as it is commonly referred. You don't know how much gasoline your car burns without knowing the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) - well, SSA is the same type of critical number to know."
John R
“Even knowing these factors you cannot adequately determine how much fish/waste a filter will metabolize unless you can also determine the ongoing cleanliness of the media, the flow rate and it ability to pass the nutrients in close enough proximity to the biofilm itself.”
Steve C.
How does one calculate this? What is the actual proximity and flow rate that the nutrients have to pass in order for the boifilm to act upon them?
Let’s try an example. Say I have a 15K pond with 10 - 30” fish in it, feed at optimum levels at any given temp. Where do you begin and end in this example?
Oh Yeh, No rock in this pond example.
Jim |