From the above picture, we already know that a cycled aquarium in converting solids to gas is what the cycle does, other wise there is no complete cycle at all. Evaporation helps to carry these gases away (not just n2) ask yourself why your aquarium water has a certain odor to it.
Pure water has no odor.
Nitrite (NO2)- is a nonvolatile anion (like chloride or nitrate) and cannot be lost by evaporation. However, NO2- can be converted into volatile nitrous oxide (N2O) or nitrogen (N2) gas by denitrifying bacteria (if they are present) and lost through gaseous exchange with air. Nitrite can also be oxidized to nitrate-N, and depending on the detection method used, appear to be lost from a solution such as seawater.
Hope this answers your question!
I don't mind if you quote me. You should mention that dissolved oxygen concentration, or redox state, in seawater will determine whether or not nitrite is denitrified (converted to N2O or N2) or oxidized (converted to nitrate).
Also note that ammonia (formed from decay of organic matter) is converted to nitrite by nitrifying bacteria. Both nitrite and ammonia can be assimilated as a nutrient for algae. It gets complicated fairly quickly, but if you consider the "redox" conditions (oxidizing or reducing) then the primary mechanisms for nitrogen conversion are fairly straight-forward.
There is a good description and illustration of the marine nitrogen cycle at <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Marine_nitrogen_cycle> . It might be helpful to point your reef forum to this article.
It might be helpful to point your reef forum to this article.
I think your reef forum has been trying to tell you all of this, all along.
Your link doesn't work quite right. It's a good article - here's a link that works right for future readers that stumble across this thread:
Marine nitrogen cycle - Encyclopedia of Earth
It's not like we're on some mission anyways... this thread kind of got off topic...