Biobrick over effective?

[prcardinal91]

I have a 4x8x8 Marine Pure brick in my sump along with some 2x2 cubes. I struggle to keep nitrates above zero with all my filtration running -Socks, Skimmer 20 hrs a day, Fuge, biobricks, carbon -

Has anyone found these to be over-effective? I am considering removing them. My tank is 5 months old started with live rock from previous tank.

 

[glency]

Maybe I’m ignorant, but wouldn’t an abundance of bacteria in this blocks make more nitrate?

 

[Luna Lagoona]

This is actually a really interesting question and I am curious to hear what other people say.

My gut reaction is that this wouldn't be a thing but we will see.

 

[atoll]

My understand is that most of these block type things do a number of things. They break ammonia down to nitrate on the outer surfaces but then also reduce nitrate in the anoxic areas deeper within. Both via bacterial consumption. Most of these block have recommendations on how many to use loosely (very loosely in fact) based on the number of gallons in your system.