sivinhliu Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 I was doing a bit of reading up last night on nitrogen cycle and I just have one initial question in mind. If nitrification occur in aerobic conditions, does that mean that it would be better if a tank has air pumped through it so that the nitrate has plenty supply of oxygen to finally convert to nitrogen? I did chemistry 4 years ago so my knowledge on this is a bit rusty. The reason i asked this is that I want a system where nitrate can be broken down efficiently. Can one have too much live rock? Is it okay to add more rocks during the cycle process? ??? Mike Link to comment
holyherbiness Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 Wrong. nitrate will be broken down into nitrogen gas in ANAEROBIC conditions. Ammonia and nitrite will be broken down into nitrate in aerobic conditions. Therefore, pumping air through your aquarium would not do much. Plus, it would create all the splashing and salt creep all over the place haha If you add more live rock during the cycle process, and assuming that dieoff on it has occured, your tank will take longer to cycle Link to comment
EtOH_is_good Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 holy is correct. anerobic means no oxygen. Link to comment
MillerLite Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 The only real way to reduce nitrates is by water change or by adding macroalgae to the tank. I had a moderate reading on nitrate on my tank up until the day I added macroalgae. My nitrates fell to zero. My yellow polyps didnt like that to much and all but two polyps on a whole rock died. They made a come back and it helped me realize that they needed just a small amount of nitrates to keep them healthy. Lesson learned! Link to comment
sivinhliu Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 OKay but i'm still a little confused. Isn't live rock meant to keep the level of nitrates down? So basically, if at the end of a cycle, one would just expect a constant level of nitrate? Mike Link to comment
Thunil Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 live rock gets bacteria on ti that breaks down ammonia into nitrite and nitrite into nitrate. the only ways to get rid of nitrate is water changes or a skimmer. but having a skimmer doesn't meen tha you don't have to do water changes Link to comment
EtOH_is_good Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 i'm sorry, but i disagree. althought macroalgae and water changes get a rid of the majority of nitrates, quality lr will contribute. you'll need some fairly large pieces because the bacteria are anerobic and need to be way deep. Link to comment
MillerLite Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 I think that EtOH is correct in that quality lr will contribute to getting rid of nitrate but I think that has been disputed due to the absence of large quantities of rock in nanos with deep anaerobic recesses that allow this type of bacteria to grow here. But you could never go wrong with good liver rock so this is definitely good advice. Deep sand beds have also been discusses as good substrates for anaerbic beds of bacteria but I think the potential risks of such a thing outweigh their usefulness. I think most people would agree that the quickest way would be the water change followed by the macroalgae. Link to comment
coralreefer Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 unlike ugfs and wet/dry filters where the end result is nitrate (which has to be exported through wcs) the beauty of lr is that nitrate is further broken down to nitrogen gas and oxygen gas which dissipates out of the tank. Link to comment
sivinhliu Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 Thanks guys! That clears up everything now!! Mike Link to comment
nalbar Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Originally posted by MillerLite I think that EtOH is correct in that quality lr will contribute to getting rid of nitrate but I think that has been disputed due to the absence of large quantities of rock in nanos with deep anaerobic recesses that allow this type of bacteria to grow here. But you could never go wrong with good liver rock so this is definitely good advice. Deep sand beds have also been discusses as good substrates for anaerbic beds of bacteria but I think the potential risks of such a thing outweigh their usefulness. I think most people would agree that the quickest way would be the water change followed by the macroalgae. have a beer MillerLite, you hit the subject right on the head! it should be a sticky! nalbar Link to comment
sivinhliu Posted September 21, 2004 Author Share Posted September 21, 2004 See if that is the case, would matured live rock do the same job in decreasing levels of nitrate, no matter the size of the rock as long as they have deep tunnels??? Link to comment
nalbar Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 yes, but read what miller said! we dont have enough rock to really do the job. water changes is what removes nitrates. nalbar Link to comment
MillerLite Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Thanks Nalbar! See I have learned a little bit of something after reading these forums for a while Sorry about the spelling errors guys. I was at work when I wrote that and someone was waiting at my door while I finished it up. Oh yeah one other thing about the original post. I would definitely consider adding all of the live rock either prior to or during the cycling process if at all possible. Once the rock has cycled, I have heard that adding additional uncured or even possibly cured rock can reset your cycle and could cause your tank to cycle again. If you already have corals or fish in the tank, this could be very deterimental to the health of the inhabitants. Whats good about a nano-reef is that you dont have to spend too much money on live rock compared to having a much larger tank. Get the best rock you can within your budget up front if possible. Just some suggestions.... Link to comment
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