How can bio-balls become a nitrate "factory"?

[AquaVaj]

How is their use any different from say ceramic rings or those Marine Pure cubes/blocks? Isn't it the point to have as much surface area for the beneficial bacteria to grow?

 

If they're trapping detritus then couldn't you have them after sponges and filter floss to eliminate the detritus from reaching them?

[reeferx2]

poor husbandry is the reason why. These should be rinsed every so often with a water change, 

[Five.five-six]

Because bioballs grow aerobic bacteria; marine pure rocks and live rock grow anaerobic bacteria which eat nitrate. 

[Clown79]

Unless they are cleaned regularly they just collect detritus.

 

 

[AquaVaj]

2 hours ago, Five.five-six said:

Because bioballs grow aerobic bacteria; marine pure rocks and live rock grow anaerobic bacteria which eat nitrate. 

Is that because bioballs are made of plastic or because they're generally not fully submerged? If the latter, what happens if you fully submerge them?

[Aurortpa]

12 minutes ago, AquaVaj said:

Is that because bioballs are made of plastic or because they're generally not fully submerged? If the latter, what happens if you fully submerge them?

Then you get wet balls that need their dirtiness cleansed regularly ??‍♂️

[FISHnChix]

True... nobody like dirty balls

[seabass]

19 hours ago, Five.five-six said:

Because bioballs grow aerobic bacteria; marine pure rocks and live rock grow anaerobic bacteria which eat nitrate. 

I also used to say that live rock can process nitrate, but I don't believe it to be true anymore.  The reason being is that I've kept some dry rock curing in saltwater for several years.  I'm not using it and it doesn't take much to top off the Brute cans they are in.  If they contained anaerobic bacteria, I shouldn't be able to detect nitrate; but they contain a significant amount of nitrate.  There is even a 50 lb rock in one of the cans.  They can process ammonia, but not nitrate.

 

I can't comment on MarinePure blocks (which claim nitrate reduction).  However, a DSB or RDSB can support anaerobic bacteria and break down nitrate.  I suspect that nitrate factory applies to decomposing organics that has built up on the bio-media.  So yeah, keep it clean.

 

[Kdrof]

1 hour ago, seabass said:

I also used to say that live rock can process nitrate, but I don't believe it to be true anymore.  The reason being is that I've kept some dry rock curing in saltwater for several years.  I'm not using it and it doesn't take much to top off the Brute cans they are in.  If they contained anaerobic bacteria, I shouldn't be able to detect nitrate; but they contain a significant amount of nitrate.  There is even a 50 lb rock in one of the cans.  They can process ammonia, but not nitrate.

 

I can't comment on MarinePure blocks (which claim nitrate reduction).  However, a DSB or RDSB can support anaerobic bacteria and break down nitrate.  I suspect that nitrate factory applies to decomposing organics that has built up on the bio-media.  So yeah, keep it clean.

 

Seabass, could it contain nitrate because the bacteria that has colonized has nothing to feed on and some dies and then other remaining living bacteria feed off of the ammonia/nitrite that causes and continually cycles? Just a thought... I just swear I read when cycling, the bacteria required a food source to colonize and after it’s cycled it will continually need a food source (poop, fish food, ammonia, etc. etc.) I would agree to get nitrates down I have had to do water changes. So I am not disagreeing with you 🙂 just thinking...

apparently people not doing water change method have ways of limiting nitrates but I don’t know much about that. 

[seabass]

I think it's more likely that the nitrifying bacteria go dormant, than die off.  Denitrifying bacteria are actually a different species that need nitrate and a hypoxic environment.  There is plenty of nitrate for denitrfying bacteria, but I don't believe the live rock supports the necessary oxygen deprived zones.

 

Nitrate reduction can come from a RDSB, uptake from algae, carbon dosing, etc.  I'm guessing that MarinePure blocks potentially support hypoxic regions for denitrifying bacteria.