Are my Cnodes even being utilized?

[40B Knasty]

I have a FLUVAL C4 HOB.
The 1st stage is a mechanical media sponge. Water passes through the back of the filter box.
The 2nd stage is through fine particle part of the sponge of the mechanical media.
The 3rd stage is the chemical media basket which I decided to put a plate of Marine Pure in to beef up my biological filtration.
The 4th stage is when it trickles out onto a filter pad above the Cnodes in the wet/dry filter section.
The 5th is the Cnodes.

Since the Marine Pure plate is doing all the denitrification. Braking down the ammonia to nitrites, nitrites to nitrates, and if there is any anaerobic bacteria processing it into a gas form.
My question is. What is the Cnodes doing since it is passive filtration in a wet/dry section of the filter box if the only thing left for it to process is nitrates?
It will be basically covered with nitrates to process nothing.
I want to figure out if there is anything beneficial to the Cnodes at this point of stages since.
If I have thought about this the wrong way. Fill me in with what you think. - Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The Marine Pure may not be doing any denitrification. It doesn't claim to and many people find it does not. Just nitrification, unless it is in a very low flow area.

I also have never actually heard of a reefer using Cnodes, and I don't see specific claims for it relating to denitrification in their simple description, so I can't be sure how effective it is either.

 

[40B Knasty]

The Marine Pure may not be doing any denitrification. It doesn't claim to and many people find it does not. Just nitrification, unless it is in a very low flow area.

I also have never actually heard of a reefer using Cnodes, and I don't see specific claims for it relating to denitrification in their simple description, so I can't be sure how effective it is either.

Thanks Randy, I may not have used the correct analogies to describe what I was trying to figure out.
So the ammonia is at least being broken down to nitrates by the Marine Pure through the 3rd stage from nitrification.
Let's agree that the Cnodes are not able to do denitrification of nitrates. So it is basically water trickling on some Cnodes doing close to nothing. Keeping a couple pineapple sponges moist to grow.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks Randy, I may not have used the correct analogies to describe what I was trying to figure out.
So the ammonia is at least being broken down to nitrates by the Marine Pure through the 3rd stage from nitrification.
Let's agree that the Cnodes are not able to do denitrification of nitrates. So it is basically water trickling on some Cnodes doing close to nothing. Keeping a couple pineapple sponges moist to grow.

That may be correct.

 

[40B Knasty]

@Randy Holmes-Farley What would you suggest putting in that wet dry area?
Would putting a small plate or a thicker square block in that compartment "maybe" give me a chance of denitrification in there and would the amount of it be worth it?
I am not to familiar how a wet dry works. I am at a loss what to think of. Or should I just leave it as a small pineapple sponge farm to help seed some to grow in the tank for my dwarf flame angel.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy Holmes-Farley What would you suggest putting in that wet dry area?
Would putting a small plate or a thicker square block in that compartment "maybe" give me a chance of denitrification in there and would the amount of it be worth it?
I am not to familiar how a wet dry works. I am at a loss what to think of. Or should I just leave it as a small pineapple sponge farm to help seed some to grow in the tank for my dwarf flame angel.

The only media I'd put in such a device until I determined a need or not is GAC.

 

[40B Knasty]

I will leave it as is. "If it ain't broken. Don't try to fix it." Maybe it is breaking down something. My nitrates are always around 0ppm-1pppm. Plus I have ROX.08 filtering somewhere else on the tank.