Biofilter

[Steve]

Just heard back from my friend up on the Potomac... the fellow who uses RID-X to get his biofilter up and running for his closed system shedding tanks. I asked him to elaborate on the use of the biofilter and here's what he had to say:

You not only need the rid x, but you must also have a way to introduce bacteria to the system.  Fish seem to do the job best, but HARD crabs will also work.  The whole idea is to have the biofilter in total working order prior to adding any peelers. The whole process can take about four weeks but is well worth the effort!  Mike Osterling of VIMS  has a very good book about setting up a closed shedding system.

I assume that what he's saying is that the bacteria need food in order to get established and to thrive. Food, in this case, would be the waste products of live fish or hard crabs. Sounds to me that you need to get the closed system up and running and stabilized for at least 1 month with fish/hard crabs. Once the bacteria colony is fully established and water conditions are acceptible then you remove the live fish/hard crabs and introduce the peelers.

[NJ Grasshopper]

Hummmmmmmmm

This topic is really turnin into a lot of 'work' for someone that wants some softshells. Not my 'cup of beer'!!

[Crabito]

I´m beginning with my closed system but I´m going to try with another bacteria because RIDX don´t  sell here.

[cw4340]

crabito the closed system is worth the effort because you can put it in back yard  close to your bed sure bets power naps in pickup think spring

[Steve]

Ok, my friend added the following comments about establishing the biofilter:

Yes the fish waste is what provides food for the rid-x bacteria.  The process is really something to watch.  First you have a big rise in the amount of ammonia in the water, then the ammonia goes down and the nitrite goes way up.  The final step is the nitrite comes down and the nitrate goes up.  The actual numbers for the nitrate goes far beyond  the ability of my test kit to measure.  The book says not to worry but I dump the water from my system  (after I've been shedding for a while) once a week or so in an effort to keep it in a readable range.

Hope this helps!

[waterman4456]

  The peeler run starts slow here. I only need a few weeks bio conditioning and i can start putting in 3 or 4 hundred peelers a day.By the time pellers are coming on strong my system is purring like a kitten.

[waterman4456]

  Grasshopper' you could shed all you want to eat and put some in the freezer with the old in the water wood float. Cheap to build and fun for the whole crew!

[NJ Grasshopper]

I hear ya Waterman, I hear ya ...............

[eljapon]

Hi, just to say that u do not need to buy bacteria. the bacteria needed in biofilters are Nitrosomas sp and Nitrobacter sp and those kind of bacteria live almost anywhere. You can go to a farm where beans or other plant of the king are cultivated, take about 2 pounds of soil, put some water and sake, after the soil settles put that water on your system and there you have it, wait until the bacteria grows in the biofilter and that´s it but do not over load the system with a lot of crabs, you have to load it slow putting first a few crabs and gradually increasing the number so that enough bacteria can grow to "eat" the crabs waste.
Also you can go to an established aquarium or pet store and ask if they can give you some water from a fishtank with a operating biofilter (specially bottom water) and add it to your shedding system to start growing your own bacteria in your filter.

hope is useful information

Eljapon

[waterman4456]

  I get my bacteria from oyster shells that i put in the creek in baskets. I get em up put em on top of shells already in tanks and let um prolifacate. They produce like gang busters and clean system up quick. I have tried the soil deal and they seem to work slow compared to the creek bacteria but maybe it's just ME!