Natural Filtration
What do we mean when we decide to go for natural filtration ???
Majority of our filitration comes from molluscs and one kind of soft coral..
- molluscs
We will be using green mussels and oysters (if we can find them)
Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Picture: Ron Offermans.
Why we choose them ???
Mussels, in contrary to all other molluscs live exclusively on filtration. From the surrounding water they not only take oxygen to breathe, but also food. This nutrition method proved to be so successful that mussels not only managed to distribute into almost all parts of the sea, no matter in which climate zone, but also into the ever changing salt-less waters of rivers and ponds on the continents. Blue mussels for example can filtrate up to 5 litres of water per hour, oysters even manage 25 litres.
An experiment with blue mussels. In the left glass there are no mussels, in right one mussels filter the water.
Reference from Robert Nordsieck
http://www.molluscs.at/bivalvia/index.html?/bivalvia/common_mussel.html
- Soft Coral
Many might wonder which soft coral can filter water ?
Answer is Xenia !
Why Xenia ?
It is believed that they can absorb some nutrients directly from the water. Xenia may do better in tanks that are not frequently skimmed. Base on this believed we choose Xenia .. Having said that, Xenia also provide a constant look of gently flowing and waving in the water. Their cream to white stalked/polyps added another group of colours into our nano reef.
***To be Cont***