Brightwell bio brick

[dino]

website says this

You can use more bricks than the capacity shown above. You can't have too much filtration, the bacterial growth will be self limiting. It is prudent to use a whole brick even in smaller systems down to about 50 U.S. gallons. If the system is smaller than that, then use the cubes instead. For nitrification, or removal of ammonia and nitrite, employing the brick aerobically, or above the water line will provide maximum results. To do this, mount the brick in air, above the water level, and run a small stream of water through the brick. It is not necessary or desirable to run the whole flow of the main system pump through the brick. A flow of about 40 to 80 liters per hour is ideal. An adjustable flow control will allow you to adjust the water flow to only that which will flow through (and not around) the brick. On the other hand, removing nitrate is an anaerobic process and limiting oxygen to the brick as much as possible will maximize the nitrate removal. In this case, mount the brick beneath the water surface in the sump in a very low flow area, if possible.



To use one brick for both aerobic nitrification and anaerobic denitrification, mount the brick below the water surface and provide medium flow around it. The bacteria growing in the top 1/4" of the surface of the brick will be aerobic and will use up all the oxygen so that the inside of the brick goes anoxic or anaerobic. Anaerobic denitrifying bacteria will then colonize the internal surfaces of the brick and you will get both nitrification on the surface and denitrification in the internal parts.



While the BIO Brick will perform both nitrification and denitrification, if your need is primarily for denitrification, you should purchase the NO3 Brick instead or in addition.



One important criteria in marine systems is gas exchange. Xport is the best bacterial media in the world, but it is not good at gas exchange. Bio balls are the best for gas exchange, so any system will work better with a small stack of bio balls placed in the main flow (in air).

[Ryanerickson]

Wow this is a much better explanation thanks dino

[dino]

Help my brick is crumbling apart? I guess I'll try to contact JL to see if they can help

[SoloSK71]

They all crumble. They are soft, to the point with some that even handling them by the edges will cause the edge to crush.

Handle with care, don't place them where they will be subject to being touched and they should be fine.

Charles

[dino]

oh well that's kinda disappointing. I don't think it will last a year even without touching it

[Ryanerickson]

Mine is in perfect shape still but I did touch it after seeing this post it sure is soft.

[SoloSK71]

Originally Posted by dino

oh well that's kinda disappointing. I don't think it will last a year even without touching it

It should not be that soft, if I am reading between the lines here correctly. Water flowing over it should not cause it to erode or crumble unless you have a jet hitting it. If the brick is crumbling just sitting in the water I would take some pictures and talk to Brightwell directly. They have incredible customer service.

Charles

[dino]

Mine is just sitting in the sump. I purchased from JL and sent them a message. I'll wait to see if they respond. I'll also try brightwell if they don't respond

[RogueSnail]

Hope it doesn't turn into a block of gel after a few years .

[RogueSnail]

It will dissolve like my marine pure block did over a year's time, if the flow is to high around it.