Anaerobic Bacteria in Freshwater Aquariums?

[sostoudt]

heres a interesting article about sulfur denitrators(use a different type of bacteria that turns sulfur into sulfate not to be confused with hydrogen sulfide)

http://www.fishchannel.com/media/saltwater-aquariums/aquarium-care/sulfur-reactor.aspx.pdf

 

[Toby_H]

While I’m not challenging any of the information you offered thus far…

In this thread I’m simply asking for user input as to if Bio Media such as Matrix actually works at housing Anaerobic Bacteria in typical filters…

I’m trying to find out if they work… not what else would work…

I just know some product manufacturers suggest that Biological Filtration will remove nitrates… and in my experience this is not true at all. Before I concluded they were being misleading, I wanted to hear the experience from others on this specific topic…

 

[sostoudt]

check out this page then, go to the matrix and denitrate section(even has a denitrate review)
http://home-and-tanked.com/nitrates3.html


even if you read seachems matrix faq page it seems like you can infer, matrix kinda works but there are much better nitrate removal methods.

 

[dwilder]

i know that inside are tanks anaerobic activity can happen such as in gravel or sand beds that are not stirred up or aerated in some way if the oxygen can be low enough inside are tanks underneath something like gravel to cause this then i guess in some small amount it could be possible inside matrix but not enough to make much difference imo but enough to say that it does

 

[gaz025]

if you have a very porus media then regardless of flow it will have the potential to hold aneaerobic bacteria as the flow on the outer part of the media may be high but after traveling through many microscopic pores it certainly isnt

depending on the types of media you use some porus media can have 10 times the surface area of some other medeas . if just one small part of this area hosts anearobic bacteria then it can easily be beneifical

i read along time ago that in waste plants they use carbon as it has a HUGE surface area compared to most other things and being so porus can easily host anearobic bacteria within . ( yes i know what carbon is traditionaly used for but in this case its used purley for its surface area )

i think this is basically the same claim of some porus medias but as someone else said im not sure they are any better than other very porus . hi surface area products such as scintered glass types etc.

 

[Toby_H]

if you have a very porus media then regardless of flow it will have the potential to hold aneaerobic bacteria as the flow on the outer part of the media may be high but after traveling through many microscopic pores it certainly isnt

Just because the flow at the center of a nugget is slow, doesn’t mean the water slowly flowing through it is devoid of dissolved oxygen.

I think it is a gross exaggeration to suggest that the bacteria on the outer surfaces of the nugget should be expected to use all of the DO in the water moving through that nugget…

Therrefore I disagree with ‘regardless of flow it will have the potential to hold anaerobic bacteria’… but I agree that the flow at the center of a dense nugget will be slow…

i read along time ago that in waste plants they use carbon as it has a HUGE surface area compared to most other things and being so porus can easily host anearobic bacteria within . ( yes i know what carbon is traditionaly used for but in this case its used purley for its surface area )

I agree / understand carbon and bio media has a large interior surface area… but as has been mentioned by a few people previously, anything with a fairly solid surface can host anaerobic bacteria, in the right environment…

It’s the medias that claim they can turn a DO saturated environment into a DO depleted environment within the confines of a nugget that I do not accept… If this were true I would suspect that the water coming out of the filter would have very little DO, which is not the case…

 

[dwilder]

i think the main thing to keep in mind is they say the media will let the bacteria grow and that it will remove nitrate they never say how much nitrate it will remove in a regular filter system which even if its very small amount they still are telling the truth kind of like when a store has one item on sale they can still advertise some great sale i would still like to know what data seachem has on this statement

 

[Danger_Chicken]

please correct me if i am wrong, but isn't having the necessary pockets to develop anaerobic bacteria detrimental to your tank and can lead to pockets of hydrogen sulfide?

only if disturbed. Deep sand beds are used all the time in SW as denitafication zones.

Thanks for that. I figured H2S wasn't a major component of the gas, since its odor is detectable at very minute concentrations.

interstingly, at levels dangerous to humans we can no longer smell it.

i think matrix makes a decent bb media i see that they claim its from the pour size and structure that in the same filter it can support anaerobic bacteria i dont really see how, it may be able to in very small amounts enough to say it does but probably not enough to make a difference im sure they must have some data to support this has anyone asked yet

It's the same principle as live rock in SW, but how effective it is I can't say, however in theory it's possible and probable, whether at levels noticable in aquaria or not.

I have never noticed a difference on my oscar tank I run seachem matrix in a fluval 405. No measurable difference in Nitrates..... yet its been about 2 1/2 months.

It will probably take considerably longer for anaeobic zones to estiablish in the media in a filter not designed to deplete O2 for the purpose of denitratifcation.

Just because the flow at the center of a nugget is slow, doesn’t mean the water slowly flowing through it is devoid of dissolved oxygen.

It’s the medias that claim they can turn a DO saturated environment into a DO depleted environment within the confines of a nugget that I do not accept… If this were true I would suspect that the water coming out of the filter would have very little DO, which is not the case…

Again this is the same priciple as live rock and coil denitrators. It can work but I would think you'd only see results in under stock tanks, unless you had A LOT of media. There is only a small amount of water entering and leaving these areas so the overall effect of DO is minute and corrected by the emmensily larger volume of oxygenated water.

 

[12 Volt Man]

interstingly, at levels dangerous to humans we can no longer smell it.

yes, thats why people can die in confined spaces, espcially those involving wastewater. at high levels of concentration (in the hundreds of PPM) H2S numbs the sense of smell.

you can't smell it but your breathing it and your done..

thank god for modern air monitoring equipment...

 

[JAFRIAS]

i have not this but it is said to work in ponds http://www.mankysanke.co.uk/html/anoxic_filtration.html