Seachem matrix Bio media

[tcarswell]

Seachem claims their bio media has unique pores that can remove nitrates. Would this be possible in a submerged media application ? I think it might work minimally at best. Its my understanding removing nitrates takes very slow flow over the media.
Any thoughts ladies and gentleman ??

Thanks ,
Tcarswell


http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Matrix.html

 

[brianp]

First, I suspect that this material is actually pumice granules. I use this stuff for my orchids and it is available at most nurseries for pennies. With regard to " nitrates", per se, they appear to be claiming that the pore structure allows for the colonization of anaerobic bacteria...which would then convert nitrate to N2 gas. Generally, any pore which was deeper or longer than about 3-4 mm might be able to harbor bacteria which could escape the efficient diffusion of oxygen. The problem though, is that these bacteria would also escape the efficient diffusion of nitrate and other required metabolites...I guess. To me, the pivotal question is...if oxygen is not capable of diffusing to these pockets of bacteria, how is the nitrate able to reach them? I would ask Seachem. My sense is that deep, isolated pores are a double-edged sword which defeats much of their intended function and useable surface area. On the other hand, I have never used Matrix in a filter, so I don't have any actual experience or practical knowledge with/of this product. I tend just to rely on the wcs, since I have to do these anyway.

 

[tcarswell]

First, I suspect that this material is actually pumice granules. I use this stuff for my orchids and it is available at most nurseries for pennies. With regard to " nitrates", per se, they appear to be claiming that the pore structure allows for the colonization of anaerobic bacteria...which would then convert nitrate to N2 gas. Generally, any pore which was deeper or longer than about 3-4 mm might be able to harbor bacteria which could escape the efficient diffusion of oxygen. The problem though, is that these bacteria would also escape the efficient diffusion of nitrate and other required metabolites...I guess. To me, the pivotal question is...if oxygen is not capable of diffusing to these pockets of bacteria, how is the nitrate able to reach them? I would ask Seachem. My sense is that deep, isolated pores are a double-edged sword which defeats much of their intended function and useable surface area. On the other hand, I have never used Matrix in a filter, so I don't have any actual experience or practical knowledge with/of this product. I tend just to rely on the wcs, since I have to do these anyway.

Great point. Id love to get a good answer from seachem. But our attempts in the past it was like pulling finger nails when I asked them about the extra prime from dosing the whole water column every water change of 50% Oh well ill have to try and see they have not left anything to desire for me yet with any product and this is one of the few I have not used.

 

[hillbilly]

I never believe hype claimed by SeaChem or anybody else trying to sell a product. Having said that, Matrix is a great bio media that holds large amounts of bacteria. I've used Pond Matrix (which is just larger rocks of Matrix) for years in my sump filters. It is hard to beat. I doubt most people buy it to remove nitrates anyway.

 

[tcarswell]

I never believe hype claimed by SeaChem or anybody else trying to sell a product. Having said that, Matrix is a great bio media that holds large amounts of bacteria. I've used Pond Matrix (which is just larger rocks of Matrix) for years in my sump filters. It is hard to beat. I doubt most people buy it to remove nitrates anyway.

Seachem IMO is really far on the cutting edge of aquarium product quality. Light years ahead of tetra and so on. Purigen , Prime , Their test kits , And one of my favorites their matrix carbon. All the best for the buck IME.

 

[ewurm]

Matrix is a great product. As far as removing nitrates, that is what water changes are for. I doubt it.

 

[Mr Pleco]

Sea chem matrix is a great product ( I use the pond version in a plant basket in every sump) ...Nitrate removal???

Salt water tanks use deep sand beds in their sumps to achieve nitrate breakdown.Nitrates are processed through anaerobic digestion which is a series of processes in which bacteria break down materials in the absence of oxygen. I guess if the "matrix" bed was deep enough , with reduced water flow, you could create nitrate breakdown.. However why bother change water.

 

[tcarswell]

Sea chem matrix is a great product ( I use the pond version in a plant basket in every sump) ...Nitrate removal???

Salt water tanks use deep sand beds in their sumps to achieve nitrate breakdown.Nitrates are processed through anaerobic digestion which is a series of processes in which bacteria break down materials in the absence of oxygen. I guess if the "matrix" bed was deep enough , with reduced water flow, you could create nitrate breakdown.. However why bother change water.

I am always looking for a way to cut down my nitrates as the tap water has a nitrate reading of 20-30 ppm its been this way since I moved here almost a year ago. I am gonna build a denitrifier but I thought id ask and see if anyone had it work for them. Ill stick with my purigen but ill keep the matrix around I got a bottle but I got all the bio media in and matured in all my filters so I wont be changing it out

Thanks guys

 

[brianp]

I was thinking about this some more and I guess this could work if the length of the pores was long enough. Let's say that you had a pore 4 mm in length. For the sake of discussion, let's imagine that the first 2 mm immediately downstream of the particle surface is populated with aerobic nitrifying bacteria which capture the oxygen and ammonia diffusing in from the water between the particles. These aerobic bacteria will then deplete the water moving further into the pore of oxygen (establish anaerobic conditions) and also discharge nitrate into the pore. We could then imagine that the remaining 2 mm of pore length could be populated with anaerobic bacteria, which could consume the nitrate. My feeling is that this would require a rather large bed to make a detectable difference in nitrate level. It might be fun to go to the local nursery and buy a 10 lb. bag of pumice, fill an extra canister filter and see what happens.

 

[KaiserSousay]

It might be fun to go to the local nursery and buy a 10 lb. bag of pumice, fill an extra canister filter and see what happens.

Let us know how that works out for you