I was thinking about the nitrate eating bacteria that require water with little oxygen, and then i happened to see another thread about cleaning sand and i began to wonder....Wouldn't a sand bed allow such a low flow of water and limit enough oxygen that if undesturbed it should allow these bacteria to colonize? This is just a shot in the dark, but it seems to me that it might have a slight chance of actually working....
Sand Nitrate remover?
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Wolf3101;1433012; said:
i'm not talking as in making a filter for it, i'm talking inside of a tank as substrate...i know waterchanges are by far the best way but i was just wondering if sand substrate would have any nitrate removing abilities...i suppose changing a tank from gravel to sand with the same stocking and testing schedual would give the answer to it...but i was just wondering the possibility first.
Sand also has a reputation (only read this not experienced it) of creating anerobic pockets devoid of oxygen. I think you might get some of what you are after, but really you won't get much unless the sand is moved a bit to stop anerobic pockets ( I know I read this somewhere- I can't for the life of me remember where- if I could I would direct you to it asap). But it would be cool if I could be a low grade fbf. I also think if you go ahead and try lets see the results always interested in reading first hand accounts!
You're talking DSB like in saltwater right?
Big problem is that in SW you have cleaners that can keep your sand turned over.
I'm not sure whether a deep sand bed would even work in FW since FW carries higher oxygen levels so you would probably need a VERY deep bed. I haven't ever gotten a straight answer as to whether a deep sand bed will work in FW, just that it would have to be much much deeper than in SW.
IF you chose to try such a thing I would only try it in a sump and I would put plenty of polishing media for the water to go through before it reaches the sand. Otherwise you will only have severe detritus buildup in your sand bed, which combined with the low oxygen enviroment will only cause long term problems.
Perhaps someone more knowledgeable could give you a better explanation, but that's the jist of it from what I understand.
Big problem is that in SW you have cleaners that can keep your sand turned over.
I'm not sure whether a deep sand bed would even work in FW since FW carries higher oxygen levels so you would probably need a VERY deep bed. I haven't ever gotten a straight answer as to whether a deep sand bed will work in FW, just that it would have to be much much deeper than in SW.
IF you chose to try such a thing I would only try it in a sump and I would put plenty of polishing media for the water to go through before it reaches the sand. Otherwise you will only have severe detritus buildup in your sand bed, which combined with the low oxygen enviroment will only cause long term problems.
Perhaps someone more knowledgeable could give you a better explanation, but that's the jist of it from what I understand.
deep bed sand filters are common in wastewater treatment,,,,,,,,they need to be fed bio available carbon....methanol...etc to remove nitrates.....