To use or not to use. That is the question.

Angela2016 · Mar 8, 2016

I am starting over basically new to sw since it's been more than 15 years. My question may be a silly one but I want to know if I should use de*nitrate when cycling a new aquarium that also has a vrey small amount of chaeto in the fuge?

redfishbluefish · Mar 8, 2016

On a new tank, nitrates aren't an issue.....you actually want to monitor to make sure ammonia goes to zero, and nitrates show up. So the answer is no. Once you start your cycle, start to test for ammonia and eventually nitrate. I personally wouldn't bother with nitrite, unless you wish to watch it do the entire cycle from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate.

saltyphish · Mar 8, 2016

Being that it is just a media used to promote nitrate eating bacteria I don't see why you could not use it now. But I would probably wait until you have reached the nitrate stage of your cycle. I used something similar to this in a mesh bag. It works just make sure to pull it out when doing a water change and rinse it out to remove any debris build up in it.

Diesel · Mar 8, 2016

redfishbluefish said:
On a new tank, nitrates aren't an issue.....you actually want to monitor to make sure ammonia goes to zero, and nitrates show up. So the answer is no. Once you start your cycle, start to test for ammonia and eventually nitrate. I personally wouldn't bother with nitrite, unless you wish to watch it do the entire cycle from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate.

I couldn't said it any better.
Test and monitor on the new tank is the key.

mcarroll · Mar 8, 2016

Think of that Denitrate - in essence - as a jar of dry live rock.

That means first that you may not need it. (Already got live rock?) Maybe sell or donate it to another reefer if that's the case.

But if you want to keep it, you should cycle it with the rest of the tank to establish nitrifying (and hopefully denitrifying) bacterial colonies on and in it. That will take time since it's completely dry, dead, inert media - so no sense in waiting.

Most people - even for fish-only tanks - use live rock these days instead of bio-media.

But since you already spent the money on this stuff, there's no reason you can't run some of this stuff instead of, or in addition to, actual live rock, depending on your needs. It would technically reduce your need for live rock by some amount, which would free up extra space in the display tank. Something to consider.

$0.02

Angela2016 · Mar 13, 2016

mcll said:
Think of that Denitrate - in essence - as a jar of dry live rock.

That means first that you may not need it. (Already got live rock?) Maybe sell or donate it to another reefer if that's the case.

But if you want to keep it, you should cycle it with the rest of the tank to establish nitrifying (and hopefully denitrifying) bacterial colonies on and in it. That will take time since it's completely dry, dead, inert media - so no sense in waiting.

Most people - even for fish-only tanks - use live rock these days instead of bio-media.

But since you already spent the money on this stuff, there's no reason you can't run some of this stuff instead of, or in addition to, actual live rock, depending on your needs. It would technically reduce your need for live rock by some amount, which would free up extra space in the display tank. Something to consider.

$0.02

So I just tested my parameters and it appears my tank is cycled. Zero on ammonia and nitrites and 20 on my nitrates. In your opinion would adding it in now cause a huge ammonia spike? I know I need to do a water change to bring down the nitrates but I'm just wondering if I add the denitrate now will I need to let it go through another small cycle before I add anything live?