This is just one post from one guy on this forum, what a load of bull, the sad thing is if you look at some of the posters they are from our forum, they could of posted the same thing here, in fact MattSilfester from the ITFS forum has posted a post that has got no relies, I have just signed up on this forum to you think it would be a bit mean to take on this guy that posted this, once he feels the rage he is half way to tuning to the tark side of the force.
the one post from one guy in Canada
I've tried to explain the concept here, as well as in other threads and forums. It's hard to remember what I said and where, so here's an over-simplified answer to your questions.
1. It may or may not have much of an impact on your system. It's more of a way to fine tune what is already there, than a replacement of other technologies. If it's done properly, it will take about a year to see measurable results. It's function is to reduce and remove the \"bad stuff\" while providing \"good stuff\" for feeding fish & inverts. There is no miracle system that absolves you of a duty of care, but this is the best one I've found so far. It's a hybrid of many methods, borrowing the best of each.
2. The benefits are nutrient reduction and export, as well as passive nutrition through the fostering of zooplankton and other pro-biotics. The basic idea is to make every inch of your system an efficient part of a greater ecosystem. The crux of the system is the two level naturalized filter (Duplex).
Now here's the long version...
It was a necessity for space that led me to fine tune what was already happening in my sumps (spontaneous populations of benthic invertebrates and sporadic macro-algae growth). The refugium needed to be shallow, and the sponges, tunicates, and fan worms that found a niche were limited by light, flow and sites to attach themselves. A two level (Duplex) offered a solution to my housing crises. I was now able to support as much life in a 30 gallon sump, as I could in a 300 gallon.
The system continues beyond the basic sump design. The display tank needs to be set-up in a fashion conducive to a successful, captive reef. The chain is as strong as the weakest link, and we're talking about a long chain here. These are the basic principals...
a) Laminar upward and/or circular flow, rather than random flow aimed down at the reef. This is best achieved with a closed loop with external pump, but can be accomplished with powerheads if that isn't an option.
b) Proper flow dynamics to allow for adequate surface tension at overflow box, to skim thin layer of surfactants from surface and eliminate dead spots. Cross-flow is the key, with no interference of the water around the overflow teeth.
c) Open rock work with adequate shelves for coral placement and limited shadowing.
d) The use of wasted space in the overflow box with the addition of a remote deep sand bed, and/or bio-mechanical filtration through the use of starfish, hermit crabs, colonial polyps, anemones, etc. Non-reef-safe inverts prove to be voracious cleaners.
e) Draining surfactant-rich surface water directly into the protein skimmer or at least setting up a skimmer zone that allows for all of the the water to pass through the protein skimmer, and only once. The turnover rate is about five times per hour for the sump and protein skimmer (matched).
f) Shallow macro algae bed to avoid sexual reproductive crashes and breakdown of shadowed \"old growth\" algae. Lower growth is harvested, leaving the newer top growth to mature. The refugium zone also minimizes stray bubbles from the skimmer and display drain line as the water flows through the algae culture.
g) Rubble rock zone with egg-crate bottom for zooplankton, shading benthic invertebrate zone, and to allow detritus to settle to a lower zone where it can be reduced by detrivores. If need be, it can be siphoned manually without causing too much disturbance.
h) Benthic invertebrate zone with slow flow, little or no light, and lots of sites to attach and grow. A network of egg-crate grid, used as a lattice, appears to offer more real estate and water flow than any other media.
i) A mangrove and or sea grass section for the support of a higher ecosystem. The system follows natures lead, using the same building blocks and methodology.
j) The use of a calcium reactor to get away from chemical dependencies. It lowers operational costs and allows for trouble-free operation without requiring a knowledge of witchcraft or alchemy.
k) A final stage where chemical media and filters can be located with minimal detritus accumulation or clogging.
Science has been very helpful with basic biology and chemistry, but for the most part, we're still working in the dark. There is little proof of validity to anything that we employ in our systems. This hobby is paved with good ideas that have faded into obscurity. Some of those ideas fade in and out several times. Time will tell how the Duplex filter is received.
Protein skimmers have been in use in marine aquaria since the late 1960's, but only recently, have we found out what they are removing. For now, we agree that their function is beneficial, but this can change, as our views of technology and methodology have many times in the past.
Protein skimmers are a form of chemical filtration. They don't mesh with the idea of an ecosystemic aquarium, and have no place in many successful systems. This illustrates that they are neither a good or bad idea, just one tool in our arsenal.
It's hard to qualify one aspect of something and apply it universally to every situation. For example, Julian Sprung convinced us that mechanical filters were detrimental in the late 1980's. At the time, he was correct, because coral nutrition was extremely limited. Advances in coral feeding technics and products, as well as flow dynamics have not only dispelled this belief, but have created a need for mechanical filtration.
The Duplex filter is nothing entirely new. It's basically a jacked up Jaulbert with an algae turf scrubber on top. Algae turf scrubbers have been around for over 50 years. They were turned into efficient machines by Dr. Addey in the mid 80's. His contribution to the idea was the shallow trays of algae that were harvested periodically. His pure system focused too much on the turf scrubber and left no room for chemical filtration (carbon & protein skimming). He also used bacterial algae (cyanobacteria) rather than macro-algae. It left little for marketers to go on, so it fell out of popularity quickly.
The plennums of Jaulbert were another idea that didn't lend itself to glossy adds and sexy photos. I believe it was the benthic invertebrates living in his plennums that should be attributed to their success, and not the gas exchange he surmised.
Leng Sy's Magic Mud and macro-algae bed offers the same real estate opportunities that we're talking about here. His claim was that the mud was magic and offered magical heavy metals. I think we all saw through that one. The macro-algae in his systems doesn't grow because it is in a continual photo-period. As a result it doesn't crash (sexually reproduce), but it also fails to export nutrients. It merely acts as media for bacteria and zooplankton, much like the mangrove roots in the Duplex system. A shallow algae bed will not become overcrowded, stressed and crash. It will continue to grow without going to seed just as your lawn does if you keep cutting it; however, if you stop cutting it for a while, nature will take its' course.
One of the limiting factors in establishing a benthic (or cryptic) zone is the lack of readily available critters. The ocean floor is teaming with the stuff, but there is little demand for them at this point in time. If you follow the ascidian links provided earlier on in the thread, you will see how amazing (looking) some of these creatures are. Steve Tyree offers starter cultures on his web site, but the prices are out of my budget.
The presence of benthic invertebrates in our sumps and dark corners has established that there is a need for them. They are opportunistic feeders, that have found excess nutrients in our systems. By eliminating their growth limiting factors we can harness their power.
The most difficult aspect of replicating a natural reef is finding a place for all of its' constituents. If you had 1000 sq' of space, you could support a very stable 250 gallon tank, by shear water volume alone. Most of us don't have that option, so we need to pack as much into a tight space as possible.
Hobby Experience: 32 yrs hobby, 20 yrs aquarium business
Current Tanks: 15 gallon seahorse tank
Interests: freshwater, marine, reptiles etc.
That would be a ecumenical matter!!!
