Biohome vs Nitrate

[vinz]

Oh... one more thing. The bacteria that converts nitrites to nitrate requires anaerobic environments, right? So theoretically, it will be hard to grow them in a moderate to high growth planted tank as our water is highly oxygenated for most of the day.

[tetrakid]

Old thread...

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

... 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.

@vinz

Do you think you can elaborate on this? Please do, as it is interesting to know your views.

[vinz]

This is just my conjecture, so please take with a good pinch of critical thinking.

1. The quote from Biohome manufacturer states that it takes 4 to 6 months to establish the bacteria that consumes nitrate. The experiment was significant shorter than that.
2. From the comments, it seems that the Biohome was "fresh" and not from an established tank, so no bacteria colony yet.
3. The shrimp tank was 3 months old, close enough to the period required to establish the Nitrate chomping bacteria. It might have been Biohome, it might simply be the moss consuming enough. Not enough information about the tank to really confirm.
4. I think its iffy because I feel it depends alot on bio load, water flow, oxygenation levels.

Technically, if you have enough of similar type of media, you could establish the same Nitrate chomping bacteria. I looked up MarinePure's website and they made the same claim, albiet less assured for one of their block shaped product. The idea is that you need to have media that is thick enough that as water travels through the media, at some point enough O2 is consumed by previous 2 usual types of bacteria that it creates the anaerobic conditions required for the third type of bacteria to start growing. You also need enough so that the first two bacteria hasn't colonised every nanometer of surface and no space is left for the latter.

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[tetrakid]

@vinz

Thank you for the comments. I do agree with you.

I feel that although that media has better overall surface area when new, it will be only a matter of time when the micro pores on the media become clogged, thus preventing effective water flow through them to be of any good.

[Dscheng]

Is it true that Marine Pure media is best for adsorbing water? The media has the open-flow porosity. MP is quite popular too. Hmm.

[vinz]

I use MarinePure because a friend had tried different brands and found this to be most effective.

How well water flows through the media is dependent on how big the gaps are between them. Water will take the path of least resistance and will try to flow around the media through the big gaps. Just occurred to me, I made the mistake of buying the MP balls instead of blocks. The balls are about an inch and a half in diameter, and there are big of gaps between them. :-(

Thay said, if what MP claims (better porosity) is true, then compared to other media, when everything else is equal, water should flow (not absorb) through MP better.

Looks I need to spend money again...

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[limz_777]

there is a old discussion i read before that biohome need to be in a dark environment to be optimum , feel threadstarter should use a proper establish filter of pure biohome to treat a pail of high nitrate water, to see if it works

[Dscheng]

I use MarinePure because a friend had tried different brands and found this to be most effective.

How well water flows through the media is dependent on how big the gaps are between them. Water will take the path of least resistance and will try to flow around the media through the big gaps. Just occurred to me, I made the mistake of buying the MP balls instead of blocks. The balls are about an inch and a half in diameter, and there are big of gaps between them. :-(

Thay said, if what MP claims (better porosity) is true, then compared to other media, when everything else is equal, water should flow (not absorb) through MP better.

Looks I need to spend money again...

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Yes it should be optimal water flow better than other brand. I use mixture of Bio hom plus and MP. Can't find any different. So long my nitrate fall below 5 or so i am happy haha. Sorry that i poison you :P

[vinz]

Haha, was already poisoned. Just had that realisation that my setup is sub-optimal. Anyway, it's just about time to replace some of my media.

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[vinz]

More info from MarinePure:

For removal of Nitrates (Denitrification)

Initial rinse of media with water to remove surface particulate created during shipping.
If tap water is used, perform second rinse with tank water to remove chlorine. Locate media in a passive location such as in a sump, under gravel bed, or as part of a reef structure. NOTE: If desired, the product can be easily shaped using a hand saw or coarse sand paper. Make sure to rinse off particulate before placing in tank.Wear a a dust mask to avoid breathing in particulate.

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