Thoughts on gravel vs pure liner

[Miami Al]

Not sure what type of filter your using, but a good filter with a decent turn over ratio should clear the silt from the rocks in 2 hours or so. If it takes a lot more than that I'd think about updating my filtering system.

It did. It still upset me to not see my fish for a few minutes. It cleared up in less than an hour.

 

[Miami Al]

BTW: I can now see all the fish under normal lighting. They look gorgeous. They look interesting now, even the ones that look dark from above. I'm very happy with the gravel move.

 

[Miami Al]

It's funny... With the gravel, I am utterly convinced that I have "too much" biofiltration. The bottom drain pumps into the Oase 1600 UV/Mechanical/Bio filter that flows into the Aquascape Urn, and the urn is primarily filled with more biofiltration and a small back of activated charcoal at the end.

I think that I'm going to remove some of the bags of biofiltration ceramics to make room. I'm going to go with larger bags of activated carbon (replaced quarterly) to remove tannins. Then replace the coarse mechanical filter it came with some much finer filters to polish the water. I think that if I massively increase the carbon and the mechanical filtration, I'll get clearer water.

Between the bog system, the UV lights, and the Bio/Mechanical filter, I think I have plenty of biological filtration.

I think that more mechanical filtration is my goal now. Some attachable "bag" filters on the settlement tank in-bound pipes to capture the larger crap, and some denser/finer filtration on the urn for polishing.

When I turn off my commercial system and just run the bogs (separate pumps), the water levels are fine. I believe that the bogs do everything that I need to keep my fish happy and healthy. So the Bottom Drain -> Commercial system (i.e. my Koi Pond system) is just for polishing the water, so I think I can go more all in on this.

 

[Miami Al]

So the gravel is such a game changer. My wife can't get over how visible the fish are. I used Accu-Clear flocculant - holy crap the water is crystal clear. This is amazing. I'll use it weekly for a while, but I think that polishing the water with more filtration is better than chemical solutions.

I've been really happy with the upgrades I've been making.the past few weeks. But more filtration and more visibility is always the goal.

 

[GBBUDD]

I caution you. Any drastic changes done quickly can shock the system and the fish. Just because a product worked once doesn't mean it should become routine.

 

[Miami Al]

I caution you. Any drastic changes done quickly can shock the system and the fish. Just because a product worked once doesn't mean it should become routine.

We’ll, I was reading directions on the bottle.

 

[Miami Al]

Nice clear water. You see some food flakes sitting there, but I think it's pretty clear.