denitrator

[halostalker]

well i just been reading about these and wonder does anyone use them b/c they sound great for our nitrate problems? it costs 200 dollars for the cheapest one and it can treat all our nanos, is it used for reefz or is it more important if u have a heavy load on the tank by having alot of fish or something=P i still rather get a refugium just wondering if someone can give me some info=P

 

[paintballer768]

I dont know much about these as this is the first time Ive heard of such a thing. Normal weekly water changes for me!

 

[halostalker]

I sent u the link to it, look and read and plz post what u think this would do for a reef tank?

 

[paintballer768]

Yea Im reading their description now.
"It uses beneficial bacteria to break down invisible organic matter and nitrates completely into Nitrogen gas which then escapes into the atmosphere."
They say that this thing has a large internal surface area for bacteria to grow on. It seems like a cool little invention but honestly I will stick to my water changes. They say it removes nitrates, but they recommended in another section for the users to perform frequent partial water changes to replace trace minerals. So you could pretty much eliminate the need for this product by just doing the water changes.
For everyone else, the brand is Aquaripure. This is just my opinion, other people can google it and post what they think as well.

 

[mfp1016]

My experience tells me that the absolute best denitrator has been consistent water changes. Seriously though, nanos pretty much require a weekly water change, if you're not willing to do it, you should consider a bigger tank with a huge skimmer.

 

[halostalker]

well im not serious about buying one right now not intill i buy my reef tank in the first place lmao(money limited and bad time right now=(...), well i was just curious to see what everyone else had in mind b/c i never seen anything like this on these forums.
Now that i think about it we try to have alot of LR and a Deep Sand layer to do what this thing does and i know water changes are the best thing(in fact u can never have enough and should never stop), but when u have a big bio load on a system this has to help as much as a refugium does right????

 

[halostalker]

Now that i think about this hobby in a Scientific Way we all break the rule to keeping fish i kno people say 1 inch per 10 gallons, but in real life(Ocean) there r prob millions of gallons per inch of fish, so my point are that there environment is alot more stable with trace minerals to food and other stuff that keep a fish healthy, so i was wondering whats the water chemistry to a reef.......
do fish have any nitrates present around them???? b/c there is alot of sand to one fish and the sand is enough to denitrate it fast and our tanks really don't do it that fast compared to the surface area of our tanks and such.......
So All in All something that does something for our tank as good as this has to be considered, but i can't wait for the day where keeping reefs is as simple and cheap as having a toaster, a toaster the size of a big size room and can swim in=P............i can dream can't i
P.S. my first swimming pool will be a SW tank i will do it hehehe

 

[er..md]

Denitrators were popular when the original mini reef systems came out in the mid eighties. It is simply an isolated chameber (not exposed to air) that has water flow through it very slowly, allowing the oxygne level to remain low and anaerobic bacteria convert the no3 to n2. Some systems use various solutions to speed the reaction....I found them to be a pain to use and not that effective....not to mention the smell.
I reality the same thing occurs in the center portions of any good size pieces of live rock...If you ever break a big piece smell the inside...that's anaerobic bacteria converting n03

 

[mfp1016]

My point is that technology must mature, and this technology has already matured and is not considered the best. I would pick a refugium over any other de-nitration technique. Its unarguable. De-nitration beds, DSB or Reactor-style, are not as good as the time tested biology of mother earth. The ocean, and tailored to our topic, reefs, rely on macroalgal growth, vast mangrove swamps, and the like for its nutrient export. Also, the water chemistry is quite varigated in local areas of ocean, in fact that is how Vasco De Gama realized he had transitioned around Africa from the Atlantic to the Indian Oceans. Point is, many fish live in very nutrient-rich water with many other reef animals that in fact thrive on a large magnitutde of nutrients in the water. I believe you can reference a past of issue of Coral magazine for further discussion (I will look up issue later for you). Anyways, we are able to keep reef aquariums stable in a balance of trade-offs. Fish and corals are able to live in the wild in nitrate high water because they are much more at ease. At ease because, there are many more sources of food, more "hiding places" and other quite literally creature comforts to subdue the effects of nutrients in the water. In regards to corals, many of their endemic strains of zooxanthellae take in large amounts of nitrate. Notably, Sarcophyton corals do very well in aquariums with 20+ ppm of Nitrates.
Back on topic, fluidized bed filters, sand filters, de-nitrating beds, DSBs, are all very effective in eliminating nitrates, but they all require meticulous maintenence. For example, I commonly encounter a vexation in pondering the functionality of DSBs. I know that the do have a saturation point (conservational physics tells us this) and as such they must be cleaned of some of the pollutant before the saturation point is reached, otherwise the nitrates in this case will be released into the water again. But at the same time, its not good to disturb the DSB otherwise you can release nitrates into the water or kill the bacteria, so then how do you maintain your DSB properly? I'm not arguing the effectiveness of the DSB, but just exemplifying one of the many issues encountered with de-nitrators conceived of humans. Refugiums are just as easy to operate and have been in use for a good 40 to 50 years now. DSBs, de-nitrators, etc. fluctuate in popularity in this hobby, so, research it first before venturing into the de-nitrating filters. I made the mistake when I tried out a DSB. Just my .50

 

[lbaskball]

I think it is the water quality that is important. In the oceans, the water quality around reefs is pretty much perfect. It rains, gets filtered. In our tanks, its a closed system. So its like putting a bunch of gabage the first day into a bucket. It may not smell that bad, but let it stay in there for a week, it will smell horrible. Whereas, if you were to put one piece of small trash in the garbage, it may take a week or two to smell really bad.
No matter how much filtration, I think water changes are necessary to refreshen that fresh water that gets dirty in quality and anything else. Oh by the way, in the ocean, fish has unlimited amount of swimming space compared to a tank with tons of fish stuffed in it.

 

[halostalker]

wow thanx so much for ur wonderful opinions, i enjoyed them. I had No idea that this was such a faulty product, yea i guess i read it and believed it which i should of realized it was to good to be true. I kno water changes are the best thing u can do=P but im looking at all ways to keep the chemistry of Saltwater perfect, im more interested in the way this hobby is evolving. thanx for ur input=P. One day reef keeping will be as easy as having a toaster(u kno its in the kitchen rarely u tend to it). we might have to advance this hobby alot more due to us humans messing up the earth(hopfully not to badly).
Yea i realize having a big refugium is great doing a big % of water change each week is the best thing u can do =P

 

[peef]

I have a nitrate sponge in one of my back chambers. Cheap and since I put it in my nitrates have been 0 or as close to as possible as I can't even get a test reading for them. I change 1/2 the medium every 3-4 months (I still do 20% a week water change) and whammo same effect as the denitrifier but a TON less money.

 

[halostalker]

yea Peef that soundz better lol=P i think i will do the same one day heheh

 

[mfp1016]

Also, before pursuing a denitration system, you might consider possible sources of excess nitrates. Overfeeding? Source water? You should be able to keep nitrates at 0 sans use of more sophisticated systems.