Biohome vs Nitrate

[StanChung]

Of course you do, for the times when the plants are not 100%.
When you first planted, after trimming or rescape.
The filter is not just for nitrogen cycle IMO. It decomposes a lot of things we hobbyists don't understand or are able to analyse.

[dnsfpl]

another week has pass, not sure if my eyes is playing trick
i notice a slight drop in NO3 reading, will have to wait another week before confirming

[dnsfpl]

any difference?



experiment failed but what when wrong?
biohome cannot reduce NO3?
anaerobic bacteria requires longer time to develop?
any clue?

cheers

[eeeeemo]

nitrate is removed by anaerobic bacteria as you have already known.
but these bacteria exists in deep soil.. more than 4cm deep.

it is quite impossible to achieve such conditions in a tub IMO.
the further bubbling of the tub creates an even more aerobic condition...

[Shadow]

Experiment isn't fail, it just the result is not as you expected.

Nitrate is remove either by anaerobic bacteria or plants. So now you can sue Biohome because of misleadings advertisement ... :LOL:

anaerobic mean environment where no oxygen, so the bacteria break up NO3 to obtain oxygen and release Nitrogen gas.

[StanChung]

Maybe you didn't use enough Biohomme.

I think Powersand is much better at breaking down NO3 to N2.
My tank soil is always 'farting'.

[Navanod]

besides providing an anaerobic environment, there must be enough flow through the "aerobic" areas of the biohome for the nitrate to be able to reach the anaerobic zones (how nitrate can reach those zones without any oxygen following it is beyond me though)
My guess is that canisters and power heads may provide that kind of pressure and flowrates but an airpump may lack that kind of force

[Shadow]

actually I doubth that it will be any anaerobic bacteria colonize biohome in the first place. Biohome is porous material where water can go through easily. How is it possible that an area which lack of oxygen being form in the porous material where oxygen rich water can pass through?

[bossteck]

Experiment isn't fail, it just the result is not as you expected.

That's the spirit of a true researcher, Robert!

[Fuzzy]

actually I doubth that it will be any anaerobic bacteria colonize biohome in the first place. Biohome is porous material where water can go through easily. How is it possible that an area which lack of oxygen being form in the porous material where oxygen rich water can pass through?

I'll have to agree with this, they tout how porous the product is but at the same time claim that it can house denitrifying bacteria which we all know to require an anaerobic environment.

These are mutually exclusive goals, material porous enough to carry water and the requirement of a low / no oxygen environment for denitrifying bacteria to colonize.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denitrifying_bacteria

I for one did not buy biohome / biohome plus for its purported nitrate reducing abilities, so not much of a disappointment for me, heh.

Even the much denser live rock that marine aquarists use for biological filtration in their tanks cannot sustain denitrification processes, they still rely on external denitrification reactors, vodka / sugar dosing or water changes to remove nitrates from their systems.

besides providing an anaerobic environment, there must be enough flow through the "aerobic" areas of the biohome for the nitrate to be able to reach the anaerobic zones (how nitrate can reach those zones without any oxygen following it is beyond me though)
My guess is that canisters and power heads may provide that kind of pressure and flowrates but an airpump may lack that kind of force

Yes this is one of the most major problems, even with a deep substrate where denitrification can occur, the nitrates still need to find some way to infiltrate the substrate in the absence of oxygen. Thus I think the only really efficient way this can be acheived is in a wet/dry style canister or a denitrifying reactor.


On a side note, I think an interesting follow up experiment would be to see how quickly Biohome converts Ammonia to Nitrates.
I think this is the main reason most of us use biohome in the first place?

[stormhawk]

Maybe you didn't use enough Biohomme.

I think Powersand is much better at breaking down NO3 to N2.
My tank soil is always 'farting'.

Isn't that "farting" caused by methane gas bubbles escaping the substrate?

So much for an expensive filter media though.

[eeeeemo]

its not expensive.... if you want to talk bt expensive media you should look at powerhouse.

biohome does a great job in maintaining nitrite and ammonia at 0ppm.

just not nitrate. that part of the cycle can only be completed in the soil or taken in by plants.
unless you talk about expensive equipment....
like reactors, trickle filters.

[stormhawk]

its not expensive.... if you want to talk bt expensive media you should look at powerhouse.

I see this as an optional item as filter media. Not a must buy, and definitely not for the budget conscious, or skeptics like myself and Fuzzy, that do not believe 100% in this product's ability to do what it is supposed to do. I hope you understand that.

Oh and by the way, Biohome in itself, does not do the job of keeping nitrites and ammonia at 0 ppm. The bacteria living within it, is doing the job. Unless of course, Biohome has the same ability like zeolite, in removing ammonia and it's by-products.

[Navanod]

If I'm really out to remove nitrate, a cheaper and easier way would be to throw in hornworts and then removing large clumps of it from time to time...
Biohome is purely to enhance the ammonia and nitrite breakdown....but I'm more of a substrat pro believer nowadays

[Shadow]

Oh and by the way, Biohome in itself, does not do the job of keeping nitrites and ammonia at 0 ppm. The bacteria living within it, is doing the job. Unless of course, Biohome has the same ability like zeolite, in removing ammonia and it's by-products.

What biohome did was just to provide as much as survace area. They claim they have the largest surface area compare to their competitor.

Anyway, as long as your plants is healthy, it will help take in the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

[stormhawk]

Yes I understand, but my response was directed more towards the claims of this product being ultimately superior to any other filter media out there. Understandably, it is touted as such and such by their sellers, but to me, it's just a selling gimmick to get people to buy.

I was never sold on their claims, and therefore still remain a skeptic as to Biohome's abilities.

Oh and that photograph on the site showing Biohome absorbing a dark liquid.. heck I think a good quality sponge could do just the same.

[Shadow]

misleading marketing, report it to CASE ...

[Fuzzy]

Heh, actually I'm hedging my bets with a mix of Zeolite, Eheim Substrat Pro and Biohome / Biohome plus in my various setups.

It does seem to complete cycling (colonize BB) faster than generic ceramic rings though.

[Shadow]

I don't think it will make cycling faster. It is just like ceramic ring, only have bigger surface area due to its porosity.

[vinz]

Old thread, but it came up when I Googled about Biohome removing Nitrates after reading about it in another filtration search result.

Quote for Biohome website:
"With the massive surface area in BIOHOME, you can say goodbye to huge and chunky biomats, bioballs, etc. This high surface area allows us to effectively treat large amounts of aquarium water with 1 kg of BIOHOME. All you need is a very small compartment for biological filtration! As a guide, 1kg of BIOHOME = approx. 1.25 Litres in volume.

For the reduction of Nitrate, BIOHOME promotes denitrifying (anaerobic) bacteria to grow within it’s unique structure. It is this bacteria that reduces Nitrates. To achieve Nitrate reduction we recommend 1kg of BIOHOME per 100 litres of water. Amazing results have been seen in the reduction of Nitrates within 4-6 months of using BIOHOME in a filter."

This pretty much shows why the experiment failed, but NO3 reduction was observed in the live tank.

Not promoting Biohome, just sharing info found. I think whether NO3 filtration is ever achieved with Biohome is iffy, depending on the setup of the filtration and many other factors.