Oops,
Just re-read through this part quoted by Mike a few pages back:
Quote:
|
the well airated upper zone has high energy and is kept areobic.
|
And somewhere between there and the end it got re-interpreted to a high flow in the WATER zone of the plenum filter. However, I still see some issues with an increased flow rate through the bed. You are going to have to fine tune very carefully the thickness of your bed Vs the grain size you plan to use. The larger size substrate is only going to make it harder to fine tune that flow to boot. While it's a great idea in order to solve the clogging issue, I'm not sure if it's going to work or not.
I'd be very interested in the results if someone does try it out.
I had an article around here discussing various methods of filtration, and how they compared as far as ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate handling capabalities over a duration of 6 months from being setup. If I recall, it actually took the plenum a bit longer than just a month before it could start handling nitrates effectively.
If we break this down a bit more, we can see that by flushing the bed and plenum area, we effectively wipe out the nitrate reducers. I think we can all agree on that. You are under the school of thought that this is ok, because the bed was rinsed thoroughly at the same time, and nothing is going to need broken down for some time. I can also agree with this. BUT...
Once it DOES have something to break down, it's going to have a LOT to break down, with no population levels of bacteria to handle that waste. it equates to cycling an aquarium the way I see it. Doing it off-line is better, but you are still going to have to get it cycled somehow before bringing it back online, IMO. Else you are looking at extra amounts of water changes, or something to help handle that transition.
Anyways, just wanted to throw out a few more thoughts from a different angle to stir things up a bit
Cos