# Aerobic & Anaerobic Bacteria Balance



## Tyler_James_L (Jun 19, 2013)

Hello everyone! First time poster but long time reader here.

I have been doing a lot of research lately and would like to hear from you guys: 
A) Which plays a bigger role in the aquarium (freshwater in this case), aerobic or anaerobic bacteria?
B) Is one form of bacterial filtration more desired than the other?

* I understand there are different ways of interacting with these bacteria such as plants (rooted in substrate... or [not rooted?]), deep sand-beds (difference between one inch and beyond three inches deep), amount fish waste, I mean everything, including the water itself.

Basically what I am trying to get at here is this-
I am building a sump for fun and I have multiple ways to go here. I have a 37 gallon tank to use as a sump. Submerged ceramic rings (or any media) would be considered anaerobic biological filtration, correct? A Trickle filter using bio balls (or any media) would be considered aerobic biological filtration, am I correct on this too? Will the amount of water passing through a trickle filter affect its efficiency? Now, regardless of media right now, should one form of biological filtration be more desired over another (OR even both)? AND as I am writing this, I just had a thought: is it possible to have true anaerobic filtration with ceramic rings in a sump or can this only happen in a situation like a deep sand-bed?

Sorry for the scrambled questions there, but I do not know exactly how to word this. I hope this question is posted in the right spot too. Thank you for bearing with me here and feel absolutely free to ask me questions if you need me to clarify anything!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Because the water flowing through your filter contains oxygen, the bacteria there are aerobic, even submerged ceramic rings. In the simplest freshwater tanks we try to avoid anaerobic bacteria.

The amount of turnover in your tank (not necessarily in the sump) affects the efficiency of the filter because you need enough flow to sweep all debris out of the tank and into the filter. Shoot for 10X hourly in your tank.


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## Tyler_James_L (Jun 19, 2013)

Thank you for your response, I understand now.

Thanks again for your help!


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

there are ways to employ anoxic filtration in a tank to reduce nitrate. This can be done by employing a plenum beneath the substrate, which needs to be gravel of about 1/8" and about 2" deep. The result is an environment that while not devoid of oxygen, is very low. The bacteria that reduce nitrate live in this area, and water moves through it very slowly, as equilibrium is sought in the tank. Things like digging fish can totally disrupt this so it never caught on although it was used, perhaps still is, in salt water tanks.


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