Nitrate Reduction Setup!

[Miles]

Keep in mind,

While Plants help consume Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate in different stages of the Nitrogen Cycle.. They DO NOT remove Dissolved Organics!

So, no matter how powerful the de-nitrator, nothing replaces the need for water changes.

(PS ~ Don't say Carbon removes dissolved organics, because then I will just say.. without water changes over a period of time your nitrifying bacteria will consume the minerals that make up your alkalinity and your pH will become unstable.)

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

I was never planning to replace water changes by any means. Just hoping to improve the quality of life in my tank and maybe in the best case scenario be able to use my well water for water changes. (already has a higher nitrate level then desired from the tap)

Thank you though for the input

 

[mrgrackle]

Keep in mind,

While Plants help consume Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate in different stages of the Nitrogen Cycle.. They DO NOT remove Dissolved Organics!

So, no matter how powerful the de-nitrator, nothing replaces the need for water changes.

(PS ~ Don't say Carbon removes dissolved organics, because then I will just say.. without water changes over a period of time your nitrifying bacteria will consume the minerals that make up your alkalinity and your pH will become unstable.)

Miles,

From my understanding water changes are not necessary if you have the right growing medium and plants in the system. Commercial aquaponics systems stock fish at densities of 1lb per 2 gallons of water (to 4 gallons of grow medium...1/2/4) In these systems water change is not done, you just top off the tank.

What sort of dissolved organics are you worried about? I'm not saying you're wrong, it's just the first I've heard of this. I've seen pictures/video of huge aquaponic systems (thousands of liters) and I don't believe any of them do water changes because that would take away plant nutrients. I'm going to run this by the aquaponics forum I vist and see what they have to say. I like things I don't know about

Fish eat fish,

I'll snap some photos of my outdoor aquaponics system soon. It's a 300 gallon stock tank with 150 gallons of gravel growing beds acting as a biofilter

 

[Miles]

mrgrackle,

Commercial sized systems would probably be fine.. main reasons is they would use plants for nitrate breakdown, carbon for dissolved organics removal, and top-off for nutrient replenishment.. This is fine, for a commercial sized system. The top-off nutrient replacement, when losing hundreds of gallons of water each day from evaporation, is more than enough to constitute keeping the alkalinity up in the water..

In a small home-based domestic aquarium, not so much the case. 2-3 gallons of top-off water is simply not enough to replenish the needs of a well-stocked home aquarium.

The dissolved organics I am worried about, are dissolved organic compounds.. (DOCs) The waste product of fish that can not be broken down by the nitrogen cycle, and can only be removed through resins and water changes.

Also, the large hydroponics system you might be talking about doesn't necessarily 'change' water, not most commercial sized systems do.. They would have a 'flow-through' or 'drip' system to replenish nutrients and keep the water stable.. a bit differing from home aquaria. With a drip system, they would have to inject Co2 and Nitrates however..


My 1750g system at work never 'changes' water, but constantly has fresh water flowing into it.. and I stock about 6000-8000 units on that fish wall, no de-nitrator either. But Nitrates never get above 20ppm..

You might ask them.. If they only 'top off' and don't have a 'flow through system'.. then what controls Dissolved Organic Compounds? The Plants? Also, ask them how they keep their alkalinity up.. is it from simply topping off?..

One scenario I could see is that, if you rely solely on planted aquaria to keep your water quality pristine, you will have less nitrifying bacteria in the system.. and Nitrifying Bacteria is the primary consumer of the minerals that make up your alkalinity. So, if you rely on plants, your alkalinity should diminish less rapidly than if you relied on biological filtration.

I have heard of alot of 'self-sustaining' systems before.. It seems the larger the system, the more self-sustaining it can be.. I know that the large aquaria in Nevada's casinos does not do water changes, but only replaces lost evaporation water. However, their tanks are filled with sickly looking fish, very high nitrates, and the longevity of the fish in their care is shortened compared to large scale aquaria that performed water changes. Hole in the Head and Lateral Line Erosion is a very common disease in these large public aquariums that don't change water frequently.. lack of minerals.

Maybe some more information can be provided so we can continue this topic?

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

well although I would love to never do another water change I still plan to as I would imagine the amount of plants I will have in my system will not be enough to keep the nitrates in constant check. Im just hoping for some improved nitrate levels.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

I would aslo think that these large systems would run on a drip system, although they may not export any water from the tank because I would imagine the exposed surface area to water ratio would be much more extreme and in the favor of evaporation on the large ponds.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

My system is really coming together now! I just built my return pump filter box and the overflow is drying. My wet/dry is also drying in a stage of assembly. All I have to do now is finish the wet/dry, mount it, add the few plants I have laying around, and then start circulating!

Ill post pics soon

 

[Dan F]

You could increase plant growth considerably by using Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium lighting. A 175 watt MH bulb gives off several times more light than 175 watts of flourescents.

Just a thought, it would be an easy upgrade down the line.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

Yea ive looked into those for my reef but man are they pricey. That would be ideal but I think several grow lights will do the trick and not break the bank as well.

 

[cichlid savage]

interesting idea let us know how it works.