# AEROBIC Nitrification Cycle



## cgjedi (Nov 11, 2013)

Hello, I'm brand new to the forum. I'm just getting back into the hobby after not having tanks for 7 years. A lot has changed in the mean time. I'm doing some research and came across something I didn't think was possible. I found this company which has a patent on an aerobic nitrification cycle - basically bacteria that converts nitrates to N2. This is as opposed to the anaerobic method of converting nitrates.

They also use something called tri base carbon which is essential to the cycle. I'm wondering if anybody has heard of this before? Is using the method? I'm very curious why something which seems would be very popular seems to be unknown still after 10 years.

HDLTD.com


----------



## cgjedi (Nov 11, 2013)

65 views so far and no one has a comment? Or experience with this? I guess I'll be the guinea pig - after 10 years since this has been available.


----------



## smccleme (Aug 20, 2012)

Look into poret foam aswell. I've been using some pieces of it for almost a year. The HDLTD.com site hasn't been updated since 2004. Without really researching it, I would think that isn't a good sign.


----------



## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Well. There's just no need. Tank cycles in a few weeks anyways...by itself without adding anything.

There's also stuff like stability that allows you to add fish instantly. 

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2


----------



## AdobeOtoCat (Dec 10, 2011)

Edit: I meant no need. As in don't try it lol

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2


----------



## mitchb (Apr 27, 2011)

just do a water change, you will breath a bunch while doing it so i guess that is aerobic denitrification 

But seriously, just do a water change and life is good for you and the fish. Nitrate is only an aspect of what a water change removes so shouldnt be the only thing that is of a concern.


----------



## Rockman (May 19, 2013)

Hmmm... well I was thinking I'd reply after a few other people had gone; but I guess now's as a good time as any.

As far as I can tell, it's not significantly different from other stuff on the market. The guy has a patent for his bacteria mix (US Patent #6,025,152, for those interested). He uses a slightly different blend of bacteria from the Bacillus genus (which are apparently a collection of obligate and facilitative anaerobes, not that I'm a biologist or anything... but that doesn't sound particularly aerobic); which somehow combine into some sort of magic serum that will instantly cycle a tank, remove organic sludge and reduce nitrite to nitrogen gas all in one go. It's an interesting claim, anyway.

He's also got it combined with some sort of super-carbon (he does seem to have a lot of revolutionary products for someone we've never heard of doesn't he?). That in and of itself isn't that different either. The idea is along some of the same lines as Seachem Matrix et al; get something with a small enough pore size and you'll end up anoxic conditions in some areas of your media where denitrifying bacteria can work. He's stretching his claims a bit in that it's not an areobic process, but it does take place in a normal filter (as opposed to a reactor of some sort). The problem of course is whether it will actually work well enough in the uncontrolled conditions of you average filter for people to notice the difference.

Personally, I'd probably give it a miss. There's too much hype and not enough substance for my liking. If you do try it be sure to report back though; I'd love to be wrong.

Edit: man I type slow... I was in line to be the first reply. Oh well, C'est la vie I guess.



AdobeOtoCat said:


> There's also stuff like stability that allows you to add fish instantly.


I wouldn't do that with a fish I liked. That's another one of those products with a lot of smoke and no fire, in my opinion. Use it if you want to by all means, but don't rely on it.


----------



## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Can you still buy this product? I mean the footer of the site says 1999-2004...
Has anyone seen this anywhere in any store?


----------



## cgjedi (Nov 11, 2013)

I have not been able to find a local store. The products are still being sold though online. I have read pretty much everything there is about it - including wading through the patent documents. He has a set of 5 videos that goes into a lot more detail. He's not the best in presenting his product but from what I can tell it's not a scam. There are also independent reviews (pretty recent ones) and they are all very happy with the system. What does concern me is that none of contact links work any more. And as has been pointed out, his web site and info hasn't been updated in a long, long time.


----------



## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

If his product can reduce nitrate in a tank as claimed and he started this business in 1999, by now, over 15 years later, it has to be a well known product--even if he is bad at presentation and his marketing is terrible. Word of mouth alone from one hobbyist to another would have sold tens of thousands of these for him; and there will be lots of stores with this product on their shelves if customers demanded it. The distributor list he has consists of 2 companies--one's web site is no longer registered, the other looks also very dated--just like his own web site, with not much else but a few videos promoting his products.
If the prices has not been updated since 1999-2004, and he is still in business, inflation must be something he is not too concern with.


----------



## cgjedi (Nov 11, 2013)

I was trying to email the inventor using the links on his (very old) site. All the links bounced. I was able to track down another email address which he just answered. So, it is still legitimate and the products are still available. His recommendation for planted tanks is to not have any of the tri-base carbon at all - it would scrub out all the nitrates. I will be using Hydroton as my media in my sump since that is a great alternative to the carbon and much better than other traditional media.


----------



## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Carbon can take out all nitrate? This is the first time I have heard of that.
You dont really need to have chemical media once your tank is matured but puigen is a good one to use if you want to remove organic.
Fluval has a few media (e.g. opti-carb) that can help to polish water and remove organic, metal...and there is even one specifically for removing nitrate but I forget what it is called. It comes in a black container and the fonts are green.
You can also use de*nitrate/matrix from seachem which is supposed to help lower nitrate by giving pores for the bacteria to perform aneaerobic reactions. It looks and feels just like a bio media offered by eheim.


----------



## cgjedi (Nov 11, 2013)

carbon in this case is the particular tri-base carbon that is used in the aerobic denitrification system that I originally was posting about. This system is intriguing to me because of the lower level of maintenance that this offers ie. fewer water changes, no special CO2 injection systems, more stable water chemistry.


----------

