Has anyone tried NITRASTRATE

[MonkeyMonk86]

Maglife Usa AMX70102 250-Pack AMX NitraStrate Polymer Marine Aquarium Filter Substrate Beads, Black:Amazonet Supplies

It says marine in the title but in the description it says it's for both fresh and marine.

I'm doing planted tanks, but I thought I might supplement with this. ( I will always do water changes regardless of nitrate levels. I think they keep fish healthiest. )

Curious how much is used and how well it works???

I did buy 2 bags but haven't set up my real tanks yet. Everything still in holding or Qt.

 

[Ian086]

Am I right in saying this is for absorbing/removing Nitrate???

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

Yes, that's what it's supposed to do. They have marine tank videos on YouTube.

I was going to get my tanks up and established with plants and then gradually add a few over time. They come in all different colors.

I figured that would be less stress on fish over time b/c nitrates would never peak. Water change every week, but nothing to stress them.

I'll edit when I find the video. They sure used a lot of them.

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

Here's a picture of the 250 pack black

 

[dcutl002]

Interesting product. I'll have to investigate further.

 

[Delapool]

Interesting product. I'll have to investigate further.

Plus 1 - will have to see if I can find these and try in a canister or something.

 

[Ian086]

Why do you need these if you are planting the tank???.

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

Idk, good question. In my planted holding tanks, I'm never over 10ppm. I'm compulsive on testing and on changing the water. I guess I thought if my real tanks weren't planted enough that the product would be helpful.

I also kind of thought seasoned beads for lack of a better word would be good when quarantining fish. The same as you would add some seasoned gravel and sponge filter.

Honestly, idk, guess that's why I posted.

 

[Ian086]

Idk, good question. In my planted holding tanks, I'm never over 10ppm. I'm compulsive on testing and on changing the water. I guess I thought if my real tanks weren't planted enough that the product would be helpful.

I also kind of thought seasoned beads for lack of a better word would be good when quarantining fish. The same as you would add some seasoned gravel and sponge filter.

Honestly, idk, guess that's why I posted.

I could be wrong but I don't think seasoning these with the bacteria that consumes the Nitrates is any good for converting Ammonia/Nitrites. Are you using a filter in the quarantine tank. How high are the Nitrates in the quarantine tank??
You definitely DON'T need these for your planted tanks. 10ppm is a good number, even slightly low(but nothing to worry about).

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

I worded that poorly. If one buys a new fish and puts him in QT, then adds seasoned sponge / gravel for ammonia & nitrites. Then, if you had these seasoned balls they would assist with nitrates in the unplanted QT.

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

What's a good nitrate number for planted?

 

[Ian086]

I worded that poorly. If one buys a new fish and puts him in QT, then adds seasoned sponge / gravel for ammonia & nitrites. Then, if you had these seasoned balls they would assist with nitrates in the unplanted QT.

Yeah that would work. If you have purchased this media already, use it but if not and unless the Nitrates in the QT are above 40ppm, I wouldn't bother. WCs will sort the Nitrates, unless you have high nitrates 20+ in your tap.

 

[Ian086]

What's a good nitrate number for planted?

I'm pretty new to plants myself but around 20-30 are fine.

 

[Delapool]

I'm tempted to try anyways, mine go about 40 which isn't too stressful I know but I'm just curious if it can work. Has anyone tried them? I kind of mentioned them and the family just rolled their eyes that there might be another package if I can get them pretty cheap I could replace sinter in the canister ( it's like ceramic shards) and try it.

 

[Ian086]

I'm tempted to try anyways, mine go about 40 which isn't too stressful I know but I'm just curious if it can work. Has anyone tried them? I kind of mentioned them and the family just rolled their eyes that there might be another package if I can get them pretty cheap I could replace sinter in the canister ( it's like ceramic shards) and try it.

Before I planted my tank, I spent a LONG time researching how to build a cost effective nitrate filter. I looked into Seachem denitrate. According to their site, Anaerobic bacteria(removes Nitrate) only survives in flows below 50gph(US). Anything above that and it's Aerobic Bacteria(Ammonia/Nitrite removal/conversion) that grows. I came to the conclusion that the best, most cost affective solution would be use an Aquaclear 30, set at it's lowest flow, to work as an Anaerobic Bacteria(Nitrate removing) filter. The best thing about this set-up is, as you can add other media(sponges, floss) to the filter, it will give you more mechanical filtration plus a bit more flow in the tank. If I do indeed to set-up a system to tackle Nitrate in a non-planted tank, this is the way I would go. I'm not saying this media the OP mentioned is not any good or will not work, it's just the set-up I would go with. I'm NOT suggesting my method as a way of reducing or stopping WCs, it's just that I have 20-40ppm in my tap water......
I guess this media could be used in a HOB/Internal/Canister filter but would/may need a flow of less than 50gph, which would rule out most/all canister filters, that I know of......

 

[Delapool]

Before I planted my tank, I spent a LONG time researching how to build a cost effective nitrate filter. I looked into Seachem denitrate. According to their site, Anaerobic bacteria(removes Nitrate) only survives in flows below 50gph(US). Anything above that and it's Aerobic Bacteria(Ammonia/Nitrite removal/conversion) that grows. I came to the conclusion that the best, most cost affective solution would be use an Aquaclear 30, set at it's lowest flow, to work as an Anaerobic Bacteria(Nitrate removing) filter. The best thing about this set-up is, as you can add other media(sponges, floss) to the filter, it will give you more mechanical filtration plus a bit more flow in the tank. If I do indeed to set-up a system to tackle Nitrate in a non-planted tank, this is the way I would go. I'm not saying this media the OP mentioned is not any good or will not work, it's just the set-up I would go with. I'm NOT suggesting my method as a way of reducing or stopping WCs, it's just that I have 20-40ppm in my tap water......
I guess this media could be used in a HOB/Internal/Canister filter but would/may need a flow of less than 50gph, which would rule out most/all canister filters, that I know of......

Yes, know what you mean, I only had a quick look early on and couldn't be bothered trying to deal with flow rates and pwc's were easy as my tap water has 5ppm nitrate. I'm tempted as an experiment and just to see what happens. Worse I figure is it just gets colonised by normal bb but I plan to clean this canister over Easter holidays and see how much I would need / see what the cost would be.

Did you ever work out how much is needed? I hate to try 500grams when I need 50 kilos

 

[Ian086]

Yes, know what you mean, I only had a quick look early on and couldn't be bothered trying to deal with flow rates and pwc's were easy as my tap water has 5ppm nitrate. I'm tempted as an experiment and just to see what happens. Worse I figure is it just gets colonised by normal bb but I plan to clean this canister over Easter holidays and see how much I would need / see what the cost would be.

Did you ever work out how much is needed? I hate to try 500grams when I need 50 kilos

Yeah it's worth a shot. Do you mean how much of Seachems denitrate??

 

[Delapool]

Yeah it's worth a shot. Do you mean how much of Seachems denitrate??

That sounds good - if you may know just to get a rough idea?

 

[Ian086]

That sounds good - if you may know just to get a rough idea?

It says that 500g treats 100-200ltrs. Here is the link with more info......
Sorry OP for going slightly off topic but this info is related to what you want to achieve, reducing Nitrates. Although not particularly about the product you mentioned, it is another option to look into....
Seachem. denitrate

 

[Delapool]

It says that 500g treats 100-200ltrs. Here is the link with more info......
Sorry OP for going slightly off topic but this info is related to what you want to achieve, reducing Nitrates. Although not particularly about the product you mentioned, it is another option to look into....
Seachem. denitrate

Oops, yes - bit sideways on topic. Thanks for the info. I reckon I could do a few kilos but I think I will swap it into the slower canister. Will have to check flow rates when back home to see how different. Can't do it for a bit, will have to be later in year.