| Oh man.... here we go again. The BIGGEST problem about DSB's is that folks just dont know how they work. Just reading the posts you can see it. Also alot of folks lame DSb's for crashes and even have tried to tie them to old tank syndrome, which are both not the case.
Ok if we are going to have a discussion we first need to understand how a DSB works. Then we can understand what makes it viable and what doesnt.
Here is how it works. A DSB is an enviroment that skews itself to the creation of bacteria. The fine grade particle as most folks know allow more surface area and thus more of a population. In the bed thier are a ton of different types of bacteria that need different enviroment in order to live, they also require different food sources. Also a big miconception is that baceria export, well they do and they dont so here is how it works.
In the areobic zone (the top layer of your sand that is saturated with oxygenated water) In this layer you have all the critters that everyone talks about (pods/worms/nematopes/ larvae and so on). The critter tht live in this zone will eat detritus and waste, but they also poop out more then 90% out in back in, plus they also die, so thier is no real export to get from them. The real work is done by baceria. The bacteria that works this zone reduce detritus and waste. They do this by stealing protons and electrons. an example would be NO3 to NO2 and down. The problem with them is that they only reduce nitrogen based products. Every thing beyond nitrogen based is not consumed and not reduced, so with the stirring action of bacteria and critter these non nitrogenious product slip down into the bed along with the biporduct of this first wave of bacteria (nitrates).
Now you begin to enter the first stage of anaerobic. This is a zone where the oxygen begins to deplete. The first layer of bacteria in this zone are the types that will begin the process of denitrification. These bacteria can comsume oxygen, but when it runs out they turn over and fix nitrate instead. Now once again through the action of bacteria and critters this are is seeing a constant flow of detritus. The detritus consists over nitrates from the actions above (nitrogen based products ) and alll the other things we put in our tanks that are not nitrogen based (some of these would be phosphates, sulfides, metals, bacterial flock, enzynes and microbes used by bacteria to reduce). SO in this upper part of this zone the bacteria will again reduced (stealing protons and electrons) nitrate through a pfew stages until it leaves and end product of dinitrogen gas. Now once again through the action of bacteria and a few types of critter this gas is allowed to escape up and usually off gasses out of the tank. Because the nitrogen cycle turns its end product into gas and critter action releases it this is a form of export. So we can all agree that a DSB is a very productive denitrifier..and it is. IF you have the required critters stirring. This is the good part of a DSB.
Now it doesnt stop here. Non nitrogen based waste, bacterial flow (mainly thier shells and dead bodies) enzynes and microbes( things used by bacteria to reduce as they need to liquify thier food to eat it, phosphates, sulphides, particle dust (small sand particles reduced to dust through movement and reduction) Hydrogen and organic acids and so on still move down. OK the next round of bacteria that dominate are the sulfate reducers. They again reduce the same way as the nitrogen bacteria but thier final end product is sulfide gas. Not a very friendly little thing. BUT again now all the stuff that is not nitrogen based and not sulfate based continues to move down along with all the stuff that was used in the above process. Ok now if you have a deep bed say 6 inches you get into the methagen reducers. and then the metal reduces. anyway the rest is boring and doesnt come into play unless you dig inot it.
So the food that is once placed into the bed through feeding and waste and additives has gone through and been cycled (bacteria reducing) and you are left with a variety of end product (from argonite dust, to enzynes to dead bacteria to all the other products put in that do not get reduced) this is what builds up in a bed, the building up of these products will raise the anaerobic zone and reduce the areobic zone as time goes by. Which will eventually saturate the bed and render it useless.
So thier is the biological concept behind a DSB filter. This is exactly what it does and it does these things well.
So now with this understanding we can talk more about if its problems, its goods, how to save it how to kill it or how to work with in its boundries.
Travis youre a S*** disturber, lol
Mike |