De*nitrate

[4nreefer]

Hi guys,
I just got the seachem de*nitrate. I know it's best used in a reactor but I neither have one nor the space for one. So I have two questions:
1. Can I just put it in a media bag and put it in the sump? Have anyone had any success with this method?
2. Can I just empty it in the section with my bio bricks in the sump without putting it in a bag? I read that it can be used as gravel or sand substrate, so I'm thinking it might be the same concept. Have anyone tried this with success?
Thanks.

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[popsbjd]

Its a biomedia. Totally fine to put in a bag in the sump. If not using a bag, I'd want some way to remove it to clean detritus. So, a tray or something would be beneficial but also no real reason not to use a bag.

 

[jcook54]

Yes to all of your questions. I've used it with alright results, I guess. I've always found that products like this are hard to judge when it comes to effectiveness. When I've had high nitrates, I use it along with reduced feeding and large water changes. The nitrate levels have always come down and it's probably due to a combination of all three.

I would suggest that you put it in a mesh bag. I've got de-nitrate and matrix in mesh bags and a few times a year I'll shake them out in tank water that I've removed because I did a water change. A lot of gunk can get trapped in the bag and if it was applied like a substrate it would be harder to clean out. I could be wrong but I've always thought biomedia functions better when there's water flowing through it. If detritus gets packed in between all of the media, water will just flow around it.

 

[popsbjd]

Just a personal opinion not backed by any science, I don't see how de*nitrate is any better than matrix at removing nitrate, which is to say, not all that effective. I think you would need a deep bed/bag of de*nitate and slow flow through it to achieve denitrification especially given its smaller size. I use matrix in basically all my tanks (sump or AIO) and have a marinepure 4" brick in my sump of my 120. Even the large marinepure brick in a BRS investigation didn't show any significant denitrification ability. So, long story short, I think this is a valuable piece of biological filtration but I don't think this alone will reduce nitrate accumulation in your tank. You should still look to other export methods (water changes, carbon dosing, macro algae).

 

[4nreefer]

Its a biomedia. Totally fine to put in a bag in the sump. If not using a bag, I'd want some way to remove it to clean detritus. So, a tray or something would be beneficial but also no real reason not to use a bag.

Thanks for the response, I'll use the bag, in the sump method.

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[4nreefer]

Yes to all of your questions. I've used it with alright results, I guess. I've always found that products like this are hard to judge when it comes to effectiveness. When I've had high nitrates, I use it along with reduced feeding and large water changes. The nitrate levels have always come down and it's probably due to a combination of all three.

I would suggest that you put it in a mesh bag. I've got de-nitrate and matrix in mesh bags and a few times a year I'll shake them out in tank water that I've removed because I did a water change. A lot of gunk can get trapped in the bag and if it was applied like a substrate it would be harder to clean out. I could be wrong but I've always thought biomedia functions better when there's water flowing through it. If detritus gets packed in between all of the media, water will just flow around it.

Thanks. It does make sense, it'll be harder to clean if used as a substrate. I'll go ahead and use the bag. I also reduced feeding with more water changes. Last week my nitrate went down to 26ppm from 36ppm but now it's gone back up. I probably. So I reduced the food some more but I still feed heavy. I could try mixing it with matrix, but I'll look up on it cos I'm not sure what that is. Thanks again.

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[4nreefer]

Just a personal opinion not backed by any science, I don't see how de*nitrate is any better than matrix at removing nitrate, which is to say, not all that effective. I think you would need a deep bed/bag of de*nitate and slow flow through it to achieve denitrification especially given its smaller size. I use matrix in basically all my tanks (sump or AIO) and have a marinepure 4" brick in my sump of my 120. Even the large marinepure brick in a BRS investigation didn't show any significant denitrification ability. So, long story short, I think this is a valuable piece of biological filtration but I don't think this alone will reduce nitrate accumulation in your tank. You should still look to other export methods (water changes, carbon dosing, macro algae).

Thanks for your response. I do water changes, all you said above, except for macroalgae. I'm starting that again. I've never been successful in keeping macros. My refugium has become a turf scrubber.. I'm going to use the bag method, hopefully that mixed with every other method should help set things straight.

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[jcook54]

Just a personal opinion not backed by any science, I don't see how de*nitrate is any better than matrix at removing nitrate, which is to say, not all that effective. I think you would need a deep bed/bag of de*nitate and slow flow through it to achieve denitrification especially given its smaller size. I use matrix in basically all my tanks (sump or AIO) and have a marinepure 4" brick in my sump of my 120. Even the large marinepure brick in a BRS investigation didn't show any significant denitrification ability. So, long story short, I think this is a valuable piece of biological filtration but I don't think this alone will reduce nitrate accumulation in your tank. You should still look to other export methods (water changes, carbon dosing, macro algae).

I agree. Whenever I think about it I always end up thinking "at the very least it'll function as live rock" and let it be. I totally forgot to mention carbon dosing. I've had good results with Red Sea's NOPOX. When I was dealing with high nitrates I added some matrix, upped my water changes and fed a bit less and it's always worked.

 

[civics14]

Just a personal opinion not backed by any science, I don't see how de*nitrate is any better than matrix at removing nitrate, which is to say, not all that effective. I think you would need a deep bed/bag of de*nitate and slow flow through it to achieve denitrification especially given its smaller size. I use matrix in basically all my tanks (sump or AIO) and have a marinepure 4" brick in my sump of my 120. Even the large marinepure brick in a BRS investigation didn't show any significant denitrification ability. So, long story short, I think this is a valuable piece of biological filtration but I don't think this alone will reduce nitrate accumulation in your tank. You should still look to other export methods (water changes, carbon dosing, macro algae).

My personal experience as well. I have 4 marine pure blocks and 8L of matrix that doesn't really impact nitrates alone. However, you combine matrix with a low flow reaction chamber, low flow area of the sump for the marine pure blocks, add vodka dosing, with a powerful skimmer, your nitrates will bottom out if you're not too careful.

So, bio media alone isn't going to cut your nitrates without some type of carbon source and your ability to create a low flow area for denitrification to occur. Hope that helps any.