Creating Anaerobic Bacteria with Pond Matrix

[Terrance]

I recently put 20L of pond Matrix in a 20g long. This 20g will become my sump for my FW tank. I have not hooked it up to my main tank yet. I'm cycling with Ace Hardware Ammonia. Its been 3 weeks so far.

Here is a picture: http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/3358/dscn3106.jpg

I have an Aquaclear 70 (no media inside, using only to push water) on one end of the tank and a Koralia circulation pump at the other end. ~10g of water, 1000gph running through the tank, all 20L matrix inside the egg crate panel. There is a heater set at 79F degree.

Question:
1. Does these Pond Matrix buffer the water or alter pH reading?
2. How long does it take to establish anaerobic bacteria and start seeing my nitrAtes drop? After 3 weeks into cycling, I have 40-80ppm nitrAtes.

[Tech Support EH]

Hello Terrance,

Thank you for using Pond Matrix and also for your questions regarding the product. Pond Matrix will not have any effect whatsoever on pH, so it will not serve as a buffer in the water.

Because your nitrates are quite high at this point, it may take a little bit of time to begin seeing them drop off. There are a couple of things that you can do to help expedite the nitrate decrease:

1) Add Stability: adding Stability daily for about 7 days directly onto the media will place many colonies of denitrifying bacteria on the media. They will immediately begin colonizing the Matrix, therefore being able to consume the nitrates present. You can read about Stability here:

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Stability.html

2) Perform a series of water changes to bring the nitrate level below 20ppm. At this point, the denitrifying bacteria already present on Matrix will have a mush easier time lowering the nitrates further. Take a look at these questions from our FAQ; the first is about de*nitrate, though it also applies to Matrix/Pond Matrix:

Q: How much nitrate will de*nitrate™remove?

A: It is recommended that if nitrate levels are very high that they be brought down to at least 20 ppm through water changes before using de*nitrate. At that point de*nitrate will bring the nitrate levels down to 4 – 5 ppm after several days of use. Since de*nitrate™, Matrix™,and Pond Matrix™are all biological support media, they do not actually ever exhaust, but they can grown less efficient with use by pore clogging. Prefiltering the water before it passes through these products will extend its useful life.

Q: How long does it take for Matrix to grow the necessary anaerobic bacteria to remove nitrate?

A: This all depends on the stage of biological establishment of your tank, placement of Matrix and flow rate. Generally you will start to see improvement in a couple of weeks but every situation varies.

Q: I’m using Matrix™, but my nitrates are not coming down, it’s been at the same level for awhile now, what’s wrong?

A: Nothing’s wrong. The product is working just as it should. The removal of nitrates essentially comes down to one parameter: rate. The rate at which your tank is producing nitrates and the rate at which it can remove them. If you fill a bathtub with the spigot wide open and try to keep it from overflowing by draining it out of a straw, it won’t be long until it overflows. However, if you drain it at the same rate it fills, the level will always stay the same. Or, if it nearly fills up and then you drain it at a rate faster than it is filling, the level will drop. The same applies to nitrate removal. To lower nitrates you must equip your tank with the capacity to remove them at a rate greater than or equal to the rate of formation. So, if your nitrates are holding steady and you want them to come down, increase the amount of Matrix™you are using or use de*Nitrate™in addition to the Matrix™(de*Nitrate™will more efficiently remove nitrates per volume of product assuming a flow rate of not more than ~50 gallons/hour). If you need to use a higher flow rate, than stick with Matrix™or try Pond Matrix™, both of which support anaerobic denitrification at higher flow rates.

Please let us know if you have additional questions and have a nice day!

[Terrance]

[QUOTE=Tech Support EH;10139]
A: It is recommended that if nitrate levels are very high that they be brought down to at least 20 ppm through water changes before using de*nitrate. At that point de*nitrate will bring the nitrate levels down to 4 – 5 ppm after several days of use. Since de*nitrate™, Matrix™,and Pond Matrix™are all biological support media, they do not actually ever exhaust, but they can grown less efficient with use by pore clogging. Prefiltering the water before it passes through these products will extend its useful life.[/QUOTE]

Is there anyway to clean the matrix and unclog the pores?

From your post, it doesn't seem like high nitrAtes will harm the anaerobic bacteria. I'm waiting on purpose for the nitrAtes to go down on its own to see if this product really works. No Stability or water changes for me. I'll put in a few drops of Ace's Ammonia every other day to keep the all my bacteria alive. This should help keep the rate of nitrAte lower than than the rate of anaerobic bacteria converting nitrAte into gas. I'll wait 2-3 months if necessary to see this happen.

Let me know if I'm not understanding something.

[Tech Support EH]

Good morning, Terrance.

We do recommend rinsing Matrix every few months or so in some tank water or RO water. This will help to clear any debris, slime, or build up from the media, thereby allowing the media to continue functioning properly.

You are correct; high nitrates will not harm the anaerobic bacteria. In situations of high nitrates, it will take longer for the anaerobic bacteria to decrease the levels, but they will ultimately come down.

Let us know if you have other questions.

[Terrance]

No questions yet. Just updating.

I completed my cycle earlier this month. NitrAtes are still in the red zone (40-80ppm). I'll continue to wait patiently. Water is buffered with crushed coral.

[Tech Support AN]

Thanks for the update, Terrance!

We are glad that you were able to cycle your aquarium successfully! Now we need to focus on those nitrates! :-)

[Terrance]

1.5 months after the cycle. I still see nitrAtes indicating red with the API test kit. I also finished my sump today, so the trial is over. Pond matrix went inside the sump. I will never know if Matrix works or not. All I can do now is listen to the sales pitch and hope it works.

[Tech Support EH]

It will really help to try and get your nitrates below 20ppm via water changes. Doing so will allow the bacteria that have colonized Matrix to lower them further. They will, in time, be able to work away at the nitrates, but lowering them initially with water changes will make it much easier for the denitrifying bacteria to get them under control.

Hang in there, it will happen!