Considering Media change

fshfanatic said:

Now, correct me if I am wrong, but in a canister one would not get the Anaerobic bacteria as it requires more of a trickle or wet dry application to grow. Correct?

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Not true. They're explaining the same process that happens deep within SW live rock or SW deep sand bed filtration. My reef tank has nothing more than 10lb live rock and a powerhead for flow and maintains 0pmm nitrates (I still do a WC every few weeks to build calcium and stabilize the other parameters). Anaerobic bacteria doesn't rely on oxygen the way aerobic does. Trickle filters aerate, thus enhancing aerobic performance. Aerobics are only second to last in the biofiltration process, anaerobics and plants are last. A lot of people don't realize how much nitrate is being precipitated from their system by anaerobics until they run a SW tank where the process is full bore.

If you ever watch a FW tank and see bubbles billowing from the substrate, that's nitrogen gas coming from anaerobic bacteria deep within the substrate. This is also the cause of black stains in the bottom of a sand substrate and why people recommend stirring sand every so often. You can crack open a chunk of live rock and find large black stains. That's what happens when the nitrogen fails to escape.

That said, you don't need anaerobics consuming nitrates in a planted tank if you intend it to go to the plants. And you'll still have them in your system without the help of a special product, especially if you have a deep sub packed with nitrogenous compounds or have wood and rocks as a hardscape. This is the same process people are seeing when their hardscape bleeds bubbles after the tank matures.

I've noticed a trend in Seachem's product descriptions as far as targeting goes, and this one is obviously targeted at SW folks who are concerned with anaerobics, and it will certainly help those who over stock their tanks beyond what their live rock, water changes and normal filtration can handle, or those who use crushed coral as a substrate (< doesn't promote anaerobic production).