Are bioballs being used as some form of scapegoat?.
- Thread starter mandarinman
- Start date
Glen, why don't you have a pee in the tank... Hence raising your ammonia which will breakdown to nitrites & Nitrates
Cos I wont fit in the tank???? Haha
Im a tomcat so it would burn the fishes gills
If you need more bio balls or ceramic rings contact me, I've got 40l containers filled with them.
Thanks. I would really like some more bioballs
Saturday nights Quiet
so for you to read GlenIn a stable system( filters, live rock ( experienced hobiest ect ) and the hobbiest doesn't overfeed and regular water changes are done, it takes about two - three months. (It may vary , but point is no action done today can push up nitrate in a week or two to a noticeable level if keeping a healthy ecosystem because of the length of time for the nitrogen cycle to complete its self ).
For nitrates to rise from a " fresh start " because if there were no nitrates to start with and we are careful not to spike ammonia , the conversion of ammonia is a constant 0.05 - 0.1ppm and takes about a week to convert into nitrite and that same PPM value then gets converted into nitrate , , but there are some anaerobic bacteria in deeper layers of gravel that (will eventually ) take out a little and your water changes take out a little , as well as macro algae and nuisance algae that are constantly " eating and thinning the nitrate level -
The only way to increase nitrate in a short period of time ( Im not advising at all , just theorizing ) is to have a excellent aerobic filter and slightly overfeed several times a day .
the constant ammonia and with a high bacteria count will quickly convert ammonia through the nitrogen cycle and stop at nitrate.
P.S this will push up the phosphate reading as well as there's phosphate in all foods.
So in closing you cant add different filter media and expect the nitrate to rise - It all comes from the food and bio load you put into the tank, not the bio media or its ability to perform the nitrogen cycle.
Something else to think about:
Even though there is a redfeild ratio for nitrate and phosphate reduction - there is no ratio for the build up because ammonia is breathed out through the fishes gill as part of respiration , but not phosphate , and all foods fed to our fish have phosphate in it , but at different concentrations -EG Frozens Vs dry foods and in the dry foods Good qlty Vs poor.
So if you are left with Phosphate and no nitrates , maybe you are introducing too much phosphate , so changing the diet or adding phosphate absorbers would be better than aiming to increase nitrate to correct a ratio in hopes it all comes down " Naturally "
The food waist or any bioload decomposing organics, doesn't just go through the nitrogen cycle , it plays against p.h by allowing organics to bind to hydroxils and separate them from hydroniums which increase acidity thus dropping p.h as well
I Hope spelled hydroxills and hydroniums close enough ( Phonetically they right
) Google doesn't spell check them... and there was allot of red underlined wordes before I posted lol.Chat later
D
Last edited by a moderator:
Saterday nights Quiet
In a stable system( filters, live rock ( experienced hobiest ect ) and the hobbiest doesn't overfeed and regular water changes are done, it takes about two - three months. (It may vary , but point is no action done today can push up nitrate in a week or two to a noticeable level if keeping a healthy ecosystem because of the length of time for the nitrogen cycle to complete its self ).
For nitrates to rize from a " fresh start " because if there were no nitrates to start with and we are carefull not to spike ammonia , the conversion of ammonia is a constant 0.05 - 0.1ppm and takes about a week to convert into nitrite and that same PPM value then gets converted into nitrate , , but there are some anaerobic bacteria in deeper layers of gravel that (will eventually ) take out a little and your water changes take out a little , as well as macro algaes and nuisance algae that are constantly " eating and thinning the nitrate level -
The only way to increase nitrate in a short period of time ( Im not advising at all , just theorizing ) is to have a excellent aerobic filter and slightly overfeed several times a day .
the constant ammonia and with a high bacteria count will quickly convert ammonia through the nitrogen cycle and stop at nitrate.
P.S this will push up the phosphate reading as well as there's phosphate in all foods.
So in closing you cant add different filter media and expect the nitrate to rise - It all comes from the food and bio load you put into the tank, not the bio media or its ability to perform the nitrogen cycle.
Something else to think about:
Even though there is a redfeild ratio for nitrate and phosphate reduction - there is no ratio for the build up because ammonia is breathed out through the fishes gill as part of respiration , but not phosphate , and all foods fed to our fish have phosphate in it , but at different concentrations -EG Frozens Vs dry foods and in the dry foods Good qlty Vs poor.
So if you are left with Phosphate and no nitrates , maybe you are introducing too much phosphate , so changing the diet or adding phosphate absorbers would be better than aiming to increase nitrate to correct a ratio in hopes it all comes down " Naturally "
The food waist or any bioload decomposing organics, doesn't just go through the nitrogen cycle , it plays against p.h by allowing organics to bind to hydroxils and seperate them from hydroniums which increase acidity thus dropping p.h as well
I Hope spelled hydroxills and hydroniums close enough ( Phonetically they right
Chart later
D
Good info thanks. How does daily bacteria dosing and carbon dosing affect this
My fingers are sore from typing and that's a vague question to allot of different points above...
( that's my scapegote not to answer in too much detail )
Normal bacteria dosing wont change anything , but make the nitrogen cycle work optimally - im no Fundy on Carbon dosing , but thats where the redfield ratio comes in , and you seem to be clued up on that.
( that's my scapegote not to answer in too much detail )
Normal bacteria dosing wont change anything , but make the nitrogen cycle work optimally - im no Fundy on Carbon dosing , but thats where the redfield ratio comes in , and you seem to be clued up on that.
Having all the correct bacteria
Having all the correct bacteria available in abundance and carbon to feed the heterotrophic bacteria shortens the cycle period. With filtermedia including socks or wool that are being changed regularly it seems that not enough nitrate can be produced to have the redfield ratio get rid of all phosphates in a regular tank. This has given rise to the question how can I increase nitrstes
The other option is to use phosphate media to remove inorganic phosphates and a kickass skimmer to remove organic phosphates and not worry about raising nitrates
Hey Glen , your making me feel stupid
i don't really know how to explain it other than what ive said earlier - closest answer is high lighter.But yes run the kick ass skimmer and Phoss remover and youll be running your tank like i run my sps tank
In a stable system( filters, live rock ( experienced hobiest ect ) and the hobbiest doesn't overfeed and regular water changes are done, it takes about two - three months. (It may vary , but point is no action done today can push up nitrate in a week or two to a noticeable level if keeping a healthy ecosystem because of the length of time for the nitrogen cycle to complete its self ).
For nitrates to rise from a " fresh start " because if there were no nitrates to start with and we are carefull not to spike ammonia , the conversion of ammonia is a constant 0.05 - 0.1ppm and takes about a week to convert into nitrite and that same PPM value then gets converted into nitrate , , but there are some anaerobic bacteria in deeper layers of gravel that (will eventually ) take out a little and your water changes take out a little , as well as macro algaes and nuisance algae that are constantly " eating and thinning the nitrate level -
The only way to increase nitrate in a short period of time ( Im not advising at all , just theorizing ) is to have a excellent aerobic filter and slightly overfeed several times a day .
the constant ammonia and with a high bacteria count will quickly convert ammonia through the nitrogen cycle and stop at nitrate.
P.S this will push up the phosphate reading as well as there's phosphate in all foods.
So in closing you cant add different filter media and expect the nitrate to rise - It all comes from the food and bio load you put into the tank, not the bio media or its ability to perform the nitrogen cycle.
Something else to think about:
Even though there is a redfeild ratio for nitrate and phosphate reduction - there is no ratio for the build up because ammonia is breathed out through the fishes gill as part of respiration , but not phosphate , and all foods fed to our fish have phosphate in it , but at different concentrations -EG Frozens Vs dry foods and in the dry foods Good qlty Vs poor.
So if you are left with Phosphate and no nitrates , maybe you are introducing too much phosphate , so changing the diet or adding phosphate absorbers would be better than aiming to increase nitrate to correct a ratio in hopes it all comes down " Naturally "
The food waist or any bioload decomposing organics, doesnt just go through the nitrogen cycle , it plays against p.h by allowing organics to bind to hydroxils and seperate them from hydroniums which increase acidity thus dropping p.h as well
I Hope i remember that words are correctly ( Phonetically they right
)Chart later
D
Normal bacteria dosing wont change anything , but make the nitrogen cycle work optimally - im no Fundy on Carbon dosing , but thats where the redfield ratio comes in , and you seem to be clued up on that.
@perkydave dosing bacteria and dosing carbon. Does this affect the speed of the cycle. Imo opinion yes.
But what you are saying really makes sense cos whatever u feed it brings phos with it. See smarty pants its got the answer Im looking for from you thanks. Opinions mean nothing without logic. You gave logic
Last edited: