Zero Nitrates

"Add Homonym" wrote in message
...
swarvegorilla wrote:
Sorry mate lost me there
zero ammonia, nitrites and nitrates?
anyway zero nitrates ain't always the best thing in the world
sounds to me like your nitrates are locked up in algae colonys
which is cool
just make sure in your quest for zero nitrates ya don't starve your
filter bacteria hey


Zero nitrates is not at all unusual, and is in fact very desirable for
those who wish to keep SPS corals.
Having a fuge to lock it up in algae is one very popular way of doing
this, but:

It usually is NOT just locked up in algae - usually at least part of the
way it is acheived is by displacing nitrobacter with anaerobics bacteria
that convert the nitrie to N2 rather than to nitrate. Theer is always some
nitrobacter left active to produce nitrate, but the great thing is that
the anaerobic bacteria will convert nitrate to N2 as well (just not as
quickly as they will with nitrite)

Lots of live rock, brisk circulation and a deep sand bed can actually get
nitrates to zero without a fuge.

My tank has no real algae growth excpept for coraline - no fuge, no sump,
yet I have 0/0/0 ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. And I'm not all that
sparsely stocked, either.



sigh
you missread me
I refer to people who starve their tank
which is unhealthy for the bacteria in the system
all to chase the 0ppm

its another case altogether when the system is ballanced enuf to get a
reading like that
while still feeding
just a trend I have noticed that I thought I would comment on
trust me I know how proud you all are of readings like that
I have been in that club myself before
maybe still would be if I could be bothered to test

I'm a member of the regular partial water change club
whose benefits outweigh merely managing nitrate concentrations
to me anyway
but if it works for you keep it up I say

As a sidenote I have been experimenting with a layer of floating pumice in a
sump
I picked up the pumice stone still wet from the ocean
judgeing by the barnacals it had been out to sea for quite some time
the structure of the stone is such that it should hold lots of nitrate
eating bacteria
well thats me theory anyway
I have been a bit lax on the journal for that tank so don't really have any
data to draw conclusions from
But I imagine it 'could' work in pretty much the same way as a deep sand bed
in theory.
Never seen it done before but if anyone has any experience I'd be happy to
absorb it



Oh and as a side note also picked up the coolest tank ornament ever
the old thong (rubber sandel thing for you seppos out there, not undies)
covered in barnacles
been a while since I had one and this one is just as cool as i remember
people always neglect the floaty stuff
under rated all too often
Swarvegorilla