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I don't think so, Nitrate will not disappear in thin air, you need to do WC or have more plants to absorb nitrate...
your idea turning on filter for 1 min in 30 mins is weird, you want to save electricity?
Would just like to ask if this method is possible for reducing nitrate levels.
(Nitrates are converted by anaerobic bacteria, but in a high flow rate filter, the filtration media is constantly exposed to oxygenated water.)
If i get a small hang-on filter, say 150 lph, and set a timer to turn the filter on every 1 minute in half an hour, would the water be deoxygenated inside enough for anaerobic bacteria to act?
-i know there are other ways to remove nitrates, just want to know if anyone has tried this.
I don't think so, Nitrate will not disappear in thin air, you need to do WC or have more plants to absorb nitrate...
your idea turning on filter for 1 min in 30 mins is weird, you want to save electricity?
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erm.. no...Originally Posted by wongce
The idea is to allow water inside the filter chamber to be restricted of oxygenated water flow. Thereby giving more time for media inside the filter to process nitrates.
As wongce mention water change is important for controlling nitrate level.
Clearing mulm also help to bring down nitrate level.
mulm http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Mulm
Another way to control it is through live plants,like hornwort and java fern.
Thanks guys, but as mentioned in first post i wanna know if anyone has tried this and if it is theoretically or practically possible.
Due to personal reasons, I have some restrictions against doing frequent water changes. As for adding more plants, i would prefer not to either as it would spoil the scape i currently have.
I think the TS's main point is that he wants to create an anaerobic environment for denitrifying bacteria to grow and convert nitrate back into nitrogen gas, which will then off-gas into the air. In a way, its really to make nitrate disappear into thin air.
The problem is creating such an environment in an aquarium where oxygenation is key for the survival of the nitrifying bacteria (that breaks down ammonia to nitrate) as well as the tank's inhabitants.
Some filter media (eg. biohome) claims to be able to do that, others claim that a deep soil layer may do that and there are folks who would chain their canisters to create a very long path for the water to flow through, hoping that the nitrifying bacteria in the front would deplete all the oxygen, allowing denitrifying bacteria to take root and grow in the last segment of the chain.
How well these various methods actually works, I do not know and it hard to say because every setup is different and will affect the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.
The TS's plans, while innovative, would likely fail. This is because it would take prolonged period of low/no oxygen for the denitrifying bacteria to establish themselves in the filter, similar to how long we must cycle the tank before nitrifying bacteria will start breaking down ammonia. Changing the oxygen levels by having fresh oxygenated water coming in every 30mins will likely not allow any bacteria to establish themselves in the canister, or at best, allow normal nitrifying bacteria to grow. I cannot remember where I had read this, but nitrifying bacteria are known to be able to survive for up to 7 hours in a canister during a power failure, as long as there's water in the canister.
Edit:
Thanks for posting this excellent explanation, the various methods do seem interesting.
Once again, thanks for taking the time to explain in detail, much appreciated.
Last edited by ken90ken; 12th May 2013 at 16:55.
You could try using Seachem De*Nitrate to help breakdown nitrate further... not sure how well it works but it can be worth a try. Note that for the De*Nitrate media to work, the flow rate has to be less than 200 liter per hour(l/ph), so you'll need to either regulate the flow of your existing filter lower, or install a 2nd filter with a slower flow to process the nitrates.
At slow flow rates (less than 200 l/ph), the De*Nitrate media will function as both an aerobic filter and an anaerobic denitrifying filter.
Here is some product info on it: http://www.seachem.com/Products/prod...denitrate.html
If you manage to try it out, do update if it works.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 12th May 2013 at 17:24.
Hi, i've read up on the seachem site, it mentions that for higher flow rate, Matrix or Pond Matrix can be used to reduce nitrate.You could try using Seachem De*Nitrate to help breakdown nitrate further... not sure how well it works but it can be worth a try. Note that for the De*Nitrate media to work, the flow rate has to be less than 200 liter per hour(l/ph), so you'll need to either regulate the flow of your existing filter lower, or install a 2nd filter with a slower flow to process the nitrates.
At slow flow rates (less than 200 l/ph), the De*Nitrate media will function as both an aerobic filter and an anaerobic denitrifying filter.
Here is some product info on it: http://www.seachem.com/Products/prod...denitrate.html
If you manage to try it out, do update if it works.
I'm currently stocking Matrix in my 820lph filter.. I think it's still too fast. Not enough info to conclude though, because i didn't measure before/after.
Might try running it in my 200 lph filter and see?
From what i've read online, Matrix is meant as a general purpose bio media and does the dual job of nitrifying and denitrifying at any flow rate... on the other hand, De*Nitrate's capabilities are mainly designed to be used with low flow rate filters.
I guess its a choice of a media which is general purpose vs a media which has a more specific capability (and more specific flow requirements).
An idea which i have been thinking of is perhaps to just put De*Nitrate just under the substrate or stashed in places with very low circulation? The limited flow in those areas could possibly create anaerobic conditions for it to work too.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 12th May 2013 at 18:33.
Not a bad idea, my tank is carpeted with riccia, maybe i can hide some de*nitrate under the mesh...From what i've read online, Matrix is meant as a general purpose bio media and does the dual job of nitrifying and denitrifying at any flow rate... on the other hand, De*Nitrate's capabilities are mainly designed to be used with low flow rate filters.
I guess its a choice of a media which is general purpose vs a media which has a more specific capability (and more specific flow requirements).
An idea which i have been thinking of is perhaps to just put De*Nitrate just under the substrate or stashed in places with very low circulation? The limited flow in those areas could possibly create anaerobic conditions for it to work too.
Anaerobic conditions in general are not very recommended, because they also generate hydrogen sulfide, which will be very toxic in sufficient quantities to you and your fish.
i need to know how to reduce the nitrate level. i have place potted plants inside the tank to absorb nitrate, but still so high. When i test with API test kit...the colour is almost dark orange, means is around 40 - 60 ppm. i do water change too....
I have HC as my carpet plants only.... Any expert here, can advise.
Thanks
Imho, nitrate levels of 40-60ppm is still a manageable level, most fishes/shrimps should still be okay at those levels, but if you see those levels rising higher and higher over the following days and weeks, it'll indicate that your tank's current plant mass is not able to keep up and absorb enough nitrates being converted by the beneficial bacteria.
To balance nitrate levels, reduce your fish/shrimp bioload, reduce feeding, clean the tank of detritus and rotting plant matter, and add alot more fast growing plants temporarily to help soak up the excess nitrates.
By far the fastest and easiest way to reduce nitrate levels is doing water changes, the nitrate level will reduce according to the percentage of water changed, ie. 20% water change = 20% reduction in nitrate level. It's best to do many small water changes to reduce nitrates in stages (rather than large drastic water changes) to reduce stress on the fauna.
But ultimately you still have to balance the tank environment so that the nitrate consumption match the nitrate production, or else nitrate levels will just keep increasing and you'll keep having to do more water changes, end up become very hassle.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 12th May 2013 at 23:17.
hi Ho, thanks for that advise, i will continue to do a 20% change until the nitrate drop. Do you have any suggestion on fast growing plants?
My tank is 2ft, i have around 50 shrimps, i feed the shrimps with Mosura Excel every morning (half spoon) before i go to work. Is this consider overfeed?
any idea how to suck up those dirts under HC? i don't know if it was because of this reason that causes my nitrate to be always at the high end.
Your suggest above is benefit me alot.thanks.
If you have space on the substrate, you can plant water wisteria, water sprite or hornwort, they grow very fast and consume good amounts of nitrates, but you'll have to also trim the plants to avoid them overtaking the tank and overshadowing your HC.
You can also add floating plants like amazon frogbits or salvinia (even water wisteria, water sprite and hornwort can also be grown floating too), but since you are also growing HC, you'll need to make sure the floating plants don't block too much light from the HC (or it'll affect the HC growth too), so you'll need to clear out portions of the floating plants periodically to control their surface coverage.
Not too sure about the feeding quantity, you'll have to test and see... though for shrimps it's a good idea to feed them the food in a dish, so that small bits of food don't end up dropping into the substrate and rotting inside where the shrimps can't reach. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do to clean under the HC, just have to let the food particles rot (or get eaten by the other micro organisms) and get naturally converted to plant fertilizers.
You could also try reducing the feed quantity by 25%-50% on alternate days, and maybe also take a break from feeding the shrimps for a day or two per week... in a mature tank the shrimps usually have lots of algae and bio-film to forage on. I also have a shrimp-only tank with similar numbers too, and sometimes i don't feed them for 3-4 days (when i'm on overseas travel) and when i get back they're still healthy and molt well, no deaths.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 13th May 2013 at 00:09.
I face this problem as well in my CRS tank. even when I have frogbits and hornworts, controlled food amount, the nitrate still remains at 20ppm. I have another old HOF (200l/h, adjustable flowrate) sitting in the storeroom, shall fill it with Denitrate tonight and let it run to see if it works.You could try using Seachem De*Nitrate to help breakdown nitrate further... not sure how well it works but it can be worth a try. Note that for the De*Nitrate media to work, the flow rate has to be less than 200 liter per hour(l/ph), so you'll need to either regulate the flow of your existing filter lower, or install a 2nd filter with a slower flow to process the nitrates.
At slow flow rates (less than 200 l/ph), the De*Nitrate media will function as both an aerobic filter and an anaerobic denitrifying filter.
Here is some product info on it: http://www.seachem.com/Products/prod...denitrate.html
If you manage to try it out, do update if it works.
If you turn off the filter for too long, any BB in there that requires oxygen in the water flow will die. Should this filter be suddenly turned on, you are literally pumping out dead bacteria into the tank, which can have severe consequences if your tank is rather small and your main filter unit is inadequate. Removing nitrates is fairly easy with just the use of floating plants or Hornwort for that matter. Even water wisteria can be an excellent nitrate "sucker". I use floating plants and basically just remove a third of them once a week.
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Hi all, I've tried Seachem De*Nitrate for one month and I would say it did helped to maintain the nitrate level in my tank at 10ppm.
I took the lazy way by using Eheim 2211 instead of DIY, you can find many 'Nitrate Reactor' diy projects online. Using a canister filter will ensure the water passes through the media, which is much more efficient than just using a HOF. The Eheim 2211 filter came with a piece of sponge and wool filter pad, I filled the middle part with Seachem De*Nitrate. It took up about 500ml (half of the 1L bottle) of seachem denitrate. Next I fixed a valve at the outlet of the eheim 2211 to control the flow rate to be under 200l/h.
I used this setup to treat a normal 2ft tank. On a side note, I do have some hornworts in the tank as well. I'm guessing that maybe the nitrate level will reduce further once the media gets more matured. Will monitor and update again.
Hope these information are useful to anyone having trouble maintaining nitrate level.
Hi all, need advice on reducing nitrates.
I am cycling my 2 weeks old tank with ADA Amozania with plants. T5HO with co2 solenoid on for 8hrs daily. Did water test today. Both Amona and nitrites are very low but nitrates at 200ppm! It's pink and topping the color chart of test kit.
Is this normal as part of the nitrogen cycle? Do I need to do anything to bring down the nitrates?
Any kind advice is greatly appreciated.
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