Filter Floss & Nitrates?

[dgbnyc]

Hi DR. Ron,

This is my first question to you so thanks in advance.
I know this is not a DSB question or directly in your zone but I suspect you are the man to answer my question.
I have a wet/dry complete with drip plate on my system. I have removed all bio balls and have placed a sheet of filter on the drip plate to stain any large particles from the water. The filter floss is changed weekly by me and is quite thick and brown by that point.
My question is this. Will the filter floss generate Nitrates?
I am trying to locate the source of my elevated Nitrates and am suspicious of the drip plate filter floss.

Thanks again,

David

[in2deep]

I bet if you rinsed the filter material twice a week you would be lots better off. I get so much crap in my filter bag after 4 days that i would not want it rotting back into the water. It only takes a second and having an extra new filter to swap out makes it real easy to rotate them. It seams that after a few days the stuff starts to break down and pollute the tank and the whole idea is to get it out of there. Look at this months tank of the month-he uses filter bags and has a fabulous tank but says he changes the filters often.

[rshimek]

Originally posted by dgbnyc

Hi David,

Will the filter floss generate Nitrates?

A high level of nitrates is a symptom of a problem, but not the problem itself. The problem is insufficient nutrient processing and export. Personally, I think any mechanical filtration to remove particulate material is ridiculous. This filtered material is what your corals and other suspension feeding anmals eat, and removing it, removes a very necessary food source.

If you have sufficient biological filtration elsewhere in the system, such as a deep sand bed and live rock, as well as good nutrient export protocols (see my article in the December [rk]) there should be no readings of elevated nitrates.

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Ron and welcome back,

This post and one like it, Nitrate Factories by Fliiper, lead me to a question I cannot seem to find in any search. That is, what role do nitrogen fixing organisms play in converting dissolved nitrogen to nitrite and nitrate in a reef system?

This would appear to be the only logical mechanism for the claim that nitrate levels are higher in aerobic fixed film filtration systems. I know on land they play a substantial role but less seems to be known about marine systems.

Thanks

[rshimek]

Hi Tom,

As near as I can find, we don't know squat about nitrogen fixation in reef aquaria. It certainly does occur on a real reef, but the extent of its occurence in reef aquaria is unknown (at least to me :D). I think it probably does occur, but to what extent it "balances" or "reduces" the net nitrogen production by the nitrogen-reduction pathways, I haven't a clue.

[WaterKeeper]

Thanks Ron,

Only thing I found was that cyanobacteria may be nitrogen fixing but there was very little detail.