# Moving Bed Fiter



## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

Has anyone experimented with these or does anyone have one currently installed in their tank? I understand they make an ideal filter when your raising fry, but how affective are these filters?


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## sick of chiclids (May 25, 2010)

if your refering to an undergravel filter... i'd say ditch it. all it does is trap shi# at the bottom of your tank.


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## Gaijin987 (Nov 14, 2006)

I actually just ordered some K1 kaldnes off ebay to make myself a moving bed filter for my sump, but I am still waiting for it to arrive.

I've never used a moving bed filter before but from reading online they supposedly work great as supplemental filters in larger systems, such as a fish farm, to help combat ammonia spikes from over feeding etc. the MB filters can supposedly process the spikes faster due to the constant agitation of the media which continually knocks off the dead or weaker BB so that only the strongest and healthiest BB are colonizing on your media. how well this works in practice I really don't know, and I would like to hear other peoples opinions on MB filters as well.

I don't have issues with ammonia spikes in my tanks, but I decided to make one for the fun of it, because as the years go by in this hobby it seems I am getting more and more into the tank/equipment side of keeping fish... especially DIY stuff.


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

Yeah Gaijin, I was plnning to do a DIY moving bed filter, suposely it's quite easy to make. You need a plastic bottle or jug, some tubing, sponge filter head, check valve, a air stone and you can simply just buy some biomax media. I'm probally gunna try making one once I get my red bellies to start breeding.


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## Gaijin987 (Nov 14, 2006)

Sylar_92 said:


> Yeah Gaijin, I was plnning to do a DIY moving bed filter, suposely it's quite easy to make. You need a plastic bottle or jug, some tubing, sponge filter head, check valve, a air stone and you can simply just buy some biomax media. I'm probally gunna try making one once I get my red bellies to start breeding.


yea.. I was planing on making one alot like those in tank jugs just bigger and in my sump.

question though, is that biomax media neutrally buoyant?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

I'd just use a sponge filter of a hob filter with a sponge on the intake.


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

Gaijin987 said:


> Yeah Gaijin, I was plnning to do a DIY moving bed filter, suposely it's quite easy to make. You need a plastic bottle or jug, some tubing, sponge filter head, check valve, a air stone and you can simply just buy some biomax media. I'm probally gunna try making one once I get my red bellies to start breeding.


yea.. I was planing on making one alot like those in tank jugs just bigger and in my sump.

question though, is that biomax media neutrally buoyant?
[/quote]

Now that I think of it I dont think they are lol. The videos Ive seen have either light wieght plastic media, or the biomax is proballly just getting pushed by the force of the air pump connected into the check valve


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

CLUSTER ONE said:


> if your refering to an undergravel filter... i'd say ditch it. all it does is trap shi# at the bottom of your tank.


I agree... it's a ticking "Nitrate Bomb."


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

These are the vids which I used when Im going to design mine. Also no its not a under gravel filter.

This one just shows how to make it and how the moving bed filter works.
http://www.youtube.c...&feature=relmfu

These other two vids show the actually moving bed filter in the aquarium doing their cycle. ( bad choice of music in this first one though)
1. http://www.youtube.c...&feature=relmfu

2. http://www.youtube.c...&feature=relmfu


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## wizardslovak (Feb 17, 2007)

Sylar_92 said:


> These are the vids which I used when Im going to design mine. Also no its not a under gravel filter.
> 
> This one just shows how to make it and how the moving bed filter works.
> http://www.youtube.c...&feature=relmfu
> ...


good find , but i kinda dont feel having it in my tank tho doesnt look good , paint it black maybe


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

I was planning to hide it behind my plants and attach a CO2 tube into the moving bed filter as well so it doesnt just filter the water for the fry but help the plants grow bigger for the fry to hide in.


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## Alexraptor (Jan 30, 2003)

If i were looking into a filter system like that i would sooner consider the fluidized bed filters, which are rumoured to be the efficient filter systems in the world.
Not only does the sand like medium allow the bacteria to use every micron of surface area, it is also self cleaning and does not trap debris.


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## Gaijin987 (Nov 14, 2006)

Sylar_92 said:


> These are the vids which I used when Im going to design mine. Also no its not a under gravel filter.
> 
> This one just shows how to make it and how the moving bed filter works.
> http://www.youtube.c...&feature=relmfu


yep.. those are the same vids that inspired me to try and make my own MB filter... lol and I ordered the same K1 media he is using in the vid from ebay just over two weeks ago and I'm still waiting to get it in the mail.









but to my understanding the media needs to be "Neutrally buoyant" in order to get the right "moving bed" action from the media. the stuff they are using in the vids is called "K1 kaldnes Bio Filter media" or something like that. K1 media ebay link I'll update this thread and let you know what I think of the stuff when I finally get it in the mail.


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