nitrate factory

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benthic creature
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Dear friends


can anyone inform me why canister filters or bio balls are nitrate factory? …

if you keep them clean .. happens the same ?

Thank you:)
 
Dear friends


can anyone inform me why canister filters or bio balls are nitrate factory? …

if you keep them clean .. happens the same ?

Thank you:)


Simple put, oxygen. There is no oxgen free zones to remove nitrates.

Don
 
Maintain them on a regular basis to prevent debris buildup and you will be o.k. I am quite lazy and that would be to much for me to keep up with!

So can it be done...yes...with A LOT of work.

good luck
 
Maintain them on a regular basis to prevent debris buildup and you will be o.k. I am quite lazy and that would be to much for me to keep up with!

So can it be done...yes...with A LOT of work.

good luck

Maintenance has nothing to do with it. They create nitrates because thats what they are designed to do.

Don
 
Anywhere water is flowing will be dominated by aerobic bacteria because the water is oxygenated. A wet/dry filter is extremely effective at turning ammonia to nitrite to nitrate because it is exposed to the air.

Nitrate is pretty much nontoxic to most organisms at low levels, for the nitrates to be reduced into free nitrogen gas (N2), a nearly anaerobic area is required. Deep sand beds and denitrators can accomplish this.

The wet/dry filter does not provide this type of environment needed to grow the necessary bacteria, and this gives another name to this filter "nitrate factory."

nitrate, a nitrogen compound, is readily used by micro algae, sometimes leading to micro algae booms, due to the increased amount of nitrates which act as "fertilizer".
 
thank you for the quick response ..:)

so if I understand well ..

they don’t produce nitrates .. like factory ..

.. but they can't do anything to reduce them ..
 
thank you for the quick response ..:)

so if I understand well ..

they don’t produce nitrates .. like factory ..

.. but they can't do anything to reduce them ..

No they do produce them like a factory. Wet dry filters take the waste and convert it to less toxic nitrates. The nitrates are not as harmfull like ammonia and nitrites.


Don
 
yes.. it can do nitrification
but not denitrification..
 
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yes.. it can do nitrification
but not denitrification..

but the nitrates of aquarium water are the same before and after that filters.. or not ?

NO. The water along with ammonia and nitrites enter the "filter" and then are converted to nitrates, thus increasing the overall nitrates.

Don
 
they are not designed to create nitrates guys. they are designed to break down harmful ammonia and harmful nitrites. the nitrates are a byproduct of this process. but debating this topic is kinda pointless.
 
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maybe creating nitrates is the wrong word. they just don't have the ability to process the nitrates to harmless gas.

Nope not the wrong word at all. They convert nitrites to nitrates thus creating nitrates. This is nothing new or some novel insite its been proven time and time again for many years.

Don
 
It is chemistry.
There is Nitrogen as dissolved gas N
There is Ammonia (NH3)
There are Nitrites (NO2−)
There are Nitrates (NO3−)
Fish give off ammonia as a byproduct of eating food that was once created by plants with bacteria and other microorganisms fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere and making cells.
Ammonia is highly toxic to fish life and must often be closely monitored. To prevent loss of fish, nitrification is vital. During aerobic nitrification, nitobactor bacteria converts the ammonia to Nitrites and other bacteria converts the nitrites to nitrates. The nitrates need to be removed by water change or other methods such as refugium algae growth or similar. There are denitrification methods that use anaerobic bacteria to convert the nitrates back to free nitrogen. During anaerobic (low oxygen) conditions, denitrification by bacteria occurs. This results in nitrates being converted to nitrogen gas and returned to the atmosphere. Deep sand beds and denitrifier canisters can perform this.
Trickle filters are designed to aerobically create nitrates from the fish waste. The nitrates are typically consumed by algae and can bloom if no water is changed or otherwise consumed.

Hope this helps in lieu of adds to the confusion.
 
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No worries.:) It's like continually saying "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die" over and over. Eventually you will...:rolleyes:


Not really it's more like saying. Cigarettes arent going to give me cancer.:) Science has already proved differently.


Don
 
Thank you. Exactly my point. May give you cancer. More likely to get cancer. Increase your chances of getting cancer. But under no circumstances can anyone say with 100% certainty, if you smoke cigarettes you will get cancer. Not a given.
 
Thank you. Exactly my point. May give you cancer. More likely to get cancer. Increase your chances of getting cancer. But under no circumstances can anyone say with 100% certainty, if you smoke cigarettes you will get cancer. Not a given.


Nor is it a given, that a bullet between the eyes will with 100% certainty: kill you. It could be bad for your health and might lead to discomfort.
 
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