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Removing media for no livestock tank?

M

Morgan Freeman

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16 Aug 2010
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I have two 300lph internals running on my 23l tank but it looks like I'll be moving soon, so won't be adding any lifestock yet. I was thinking about removing all media to improve the circulation rate, does this sound like a good idea? Should I leave some to help with removing debri etc? Or maybe add filter floss to help keep the water clear?

Both filters only have sponge media.

Thanks,
 
True, you'd be surprised how much detritus occurs even in a tank with nothing but plants.
 
Garuf said:
...how much detritus occurs even in a tank with nothing but plants...
Click to expand...
Nothing but plants???
Hello, Earth calling hobbyists!
In a CO2 enriched tank, by a massively wide margin, most of the organic waste produced in the tank is a direct result of plant metabolism, NOT due to the animals. That's exactly why EI calls for such stringent water changes. Buildup of organic waste stifles plant growth, is toxic to fauna and encourages algae. Is this sinking in yet? It's a fundamental point and should be the basis of our programming. It's so important that it's actually worth obsessing over... :crazy:

Cheers,
 
as of curiosity Clive, besides O2 what other organic wastes are produced by plants?

cheers,

GM
 
Hi,
Actually, Oxygen, is not an organic product. Organic material is defined generally as matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay (or is the product of decay) or is composed of an organic compound. An organic compound, by definition must be made of Carbon (but not all Carbon material is organic). Oxygen, CO2 and Nitrogen are all products either generated or consumed by organisms but they are not in and of themselves organic products.

If we follow this definition we discover that the very same products produced by the plants for living become waste products. Amino acids, proteins, enzymes, fats and carbohydrates leach from the plant into the water column . The plant leaf and plant roots are a 2-way street - Nutrients, water and gasses enter while proteins, starch and other gasses leave.

This is how plants interact with their environment. They don't just sit there looking pretty. They have a profound impact on the world in which they live. All the Oxygen you breath (and which your ancestors ever breathed) came solely from plants - about 80% of the Oxygen production is due to Diatom Algae. You might want to consider this fact the next time you get angry at the tenacity of the algal blooms in your tanks. It's specifically because of this tenacity and stubbornness that enabled them to survive and to modify the very atmosphere that enables you to survive. In the very same way that plants modify the atmosphere, they also modify the water column by ejecting vast quantities of carbohydrates and protein products which the nitrifying bacteria feed on. In natural systems the bodies of water are so large that the concentrations of these products are diluted and are recycled easily. In our closed system these solids cannot escape the tank in the same way that gasses do, so they build and coat every surface of the tank, suffocating the residents.

Study the thread A Few Hypothetical Questions for more details on organic waste. Also be sure to study the thread Right amount of water changed? to understand a little bit more about the water changes.

Cheers,
 
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