Bacteria questions.

[jredouard25]

I got a good deal on some dry rock. But there a lot of it and i was wondering if I could put in my filter. Will it filter out ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate -> (w.e this is). Will it filter out all of those? Or possibly phosphates idk.

 

[JasonK84]

Sure! Dry rock will eventually be live rock and with enough live rock it's the only filtration you would need. Still recommend other filtration but it could be done with enough live rock. The denitrifying bacteria will take longer to establish in the rock but will eventually process the nitrate into hydrogen gas that rises to the surface and into the air.

 

[stAlphonzo]

The only issue I could see is that all the detritus that gets sucked into you filter will get trapped in the rock. You would probably need to wash it frequently like you would a sponge or filter sock.

 

[jredouard25]

The only issue I could see is that all the detritus that gets sucked into you filter will get trapped in the rock. You would probably need to wash it frequently like you would a sponge or filter sock.

What if I put mechanical filtration before it?

 

[stAlphonzo]

That would certainly take care of that problem, yes

 

[Ron Reefman]

I've always kept extra live rock in my sump or refugium. And filter socks where the water enters the filtration system will help a lot. I never cleaned live rock from my sump or refugium as it just kills most of the bacteria you want to keep.

Just have extra filter socks so you can replace them with clean every time they get close to overflowing. I keep a big flip top plastic box in the garage and keep dirty socks until I have enough to do a load in the washing machine (like 10 or 20 at one time).

Your live rock will process ammonia to nitrite and on to nitrate. If you have enough and the system is mature, you may even get it from nitrate to nitrogen gas, not hydrogen (I know that's what Jason meant to say). Unless you have a macro algae (which will also uptake nitrate) the live rock won't help with phosphate. You'll need macro algae, or water changes, or a reactor for some kind of phosphate reduction.

I hope that helps?

 

[JasonK84]

I've always kept extra live rock in my sump or refugium. And filter socks where the water enters the filtration system will help a lot. I never cleaned live rock from my sump or refugium as it just kills most of the bacteria you want to keep.

Just have extra filter socks so you can replace them with clean every time they get close to overflowing. I keep a big flip top plastic box in the garage and keep dirty socks until I have enough to do a load in the washing machine (like 10 or 20 at one time).

Your live rock will process ammonia to nitrite and on to nitrate. If you have enough and the system is mature, you may even get it from nitrate to nitrogen gas (not hydrogen). Unless you have a macro algae (which will also uptake nitrate) the live rock won't help with phosphate. You'll need macro algae, or water changes, or a reactor for some kind of phosphate reduction.

I hope that helps?

Thank you for correcting my. Nitrogen was what I meant.