That you need to do water changes to keep fish and corals alive and thriving.
What do you feel is the most generally MISUNDERSTOOD part of maintaining a Reef?
- Thread starter ZoWhat
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In think people misunderstand where the most value comes from in reefkeeping. A lot of money is spent chasing microcontrollers fancy power heads and fancy leds that would have been much better as spent on sourcing clean aquaculture livestock. Most folks don’t realize that they are one bad frag/fish away from disaster when they buy from the LFS store unless they are really good at qt and inspections
chaoticreefer
Active Member
One size fits all.
There's misunderstandings from posters even within this thread.
There's misunderstandings from posters even within this thread.
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
The idea that if something works or doesn't work for someone with a given setup or given size setup, then it must be true for all setups. This is the leading cause of quarrel on forums, the second cause being the erroneous assumption that there is a universally "best" way to do something.
Spare time
10K Club member
That you need a several hundred dollar protein skimmer. Many don't need a big one, or a protein skimmer at all to have a successful and easy to maintain reef. That is one piece of equipment that it seems everyone thinks they need, yet many don't.
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
The term "biofiltration". Yes, I know its the universally accepted term, but technically biofilters don't filter anything, they just host nitrifying bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrates. The term causes some people to erroneously assume that their live rock should actually be removing things like nitrates and phosphates from the water.
MaxTremors
2500 Club Member
Mmm, but good live rock does remove (or consume, i guess) some phosphates and nitrates (moreso nitrates). If you have some anoxic/cryptic areas deep in your rock, even without carbon dosing, the bacteria that grow there will consume some NO3 and PO4. Now, without carbon dosing it’s not going to remove enough to the point you won’t need other methods of nutrient export, but it’ll consume some.
Anthony Scholfield
Valuable Member
This is off topic but.....something ive been curious about lately is bacteria in cryptic zones. Specifically because most all my "live" rock for my frag tank is in the sump which gets no light. I often wonder if this is a super benifit to my biofiltration. i dunno, seems like an untapped resource we dont explore.
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Even if it does absorb nitrates and phosphates, it would get saturated eventually and start releasing it at the same rate it absorbs it. If you are getting live rock from the ocean, its likely already saturated.
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
Nitrifying bacteria does not require light.
Anthony Scholfield
Valuable Member
lol yes this i know thank you ;P
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
No need to be a smart as*. If you were referring to some other form of bacteria, you should be more concise with your language and not so "cryptic". If you research biofiltration (somewhere other than a forum or blog where people are using terms loosely), you will find that Nitrifying bacteria is what most people are talking about.
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MaxTremors
2500 Club Member
It doesn’t absorb nitrates and phosphates, it creates an anoxic or oxygen poor environment that allows bacteria to grow that use nitrate in place of oxygen to consume carbon, which then releases nitrogen gas as a byproduct (which then gases off the surface of the water). Marine Pure blocks do the same thing. For this to be a viable method of nutrient export/denitrification you need a carbon source, but even without carbon dosing there is still some denitrification. No matter is created or destroyed, it is converted into something that can leave the tank.
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
OK, I see that as feasible, but we are basically talking about ammonium nitrate when taking about nitrates in the aquarium. So then what happens to the Ammonia? Gaseous ammonia is toxic. Is it reabsorbed and converted back into ammonium nitrate. Seems self defeating. Also, where does the phosphorus go from the phosphates?
This could be unrelated, but when I started carbon dosing in my freshwater tank with rock as biofiltration, I actually ended up with a nitrate spike. A bad one out of nowhere in a well established tank
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ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
OK. I did some research. De-nitrification beds are an industrial process that require quite a bit of sand in the high flow region (what you are calling the "cryptic" zone) and constant carbon dosing to be effective to any measurable degree. You would have to have a lot of live rock, more than practical and regularly dose your tank with vodka for this to work. I'm willing to bet the corals growing on the rock absorb more nitrates than the rock itself. Now for the phosphate removal part. I couldn't find anything on that. Help me out here.
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
Wait what? Oops. Can I use reef salt in my pool?
ClownWrangler
Well-Known Member
I'll assume that you are asking about de-nitrification as the benefit you are asking about. The answer is no, because it requires an anoxic process, which would be difficult to achieve in an aquarium while still getting the required flow and nitrates to the bacteria. Then you would need a constant source of carbon to feed it, which wouldn't be difficult, but would require dosing and careful monitoring. Even then, it would likely not be worth the effort for what results you may get. Your rock is still beneficial for many other reasons though that I'm sure your aware of (I don't want to get snapped at again for being captain obvious here)
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