Totally Aerobic Nitrogen Cycle

Before I start, I like to make clear I did not invent, discover or the owner of this new nitrogen cycle discuss here. I only conducted the test to validate the mfg’s claim on the product whether it works or not. After almost a year of field testing I am now confident to say this Aerobic Nitrogen Cycle does work and the result can be duplicated time after time again, as long as a strict protocol are followed.

Before we begin, we must first understand how a nitrogen cycle works.

The normal nitrogen cycle starts this way:

You have NH3(Ammonia), NH4OH (Ammonium Hydroxide) and NH4+ (Ammonium Ion) this is know as Total Ammonia (TA). During the first stage of nitrogen cycle TA is break down and converted to NO2 (Nitrite), this process is an Anaerobic Process which required oxygen.

Nitrite is then further break down to NO3 (Nitrate) then finally converted to N2 (Nitrogen Gas), this process is an Anaerobic Process which required little or no oxygen.
This cycle produces Hydrogen Sulfate, Carbonic Acid, Sulpher Dioxide and Carbon Dioxide. This process usually takes about 27 to 29 days to complete, sometimes even longer.

Now the New Nitrogen Cycle:

You have the Total Ammonia, the TA is rapidly converted to NO3 (Nitrate) by the bacteria. At the same time Nitrite and Nitrate are converting back and fourth depending on how the compound is moved, the byproduct of this process is Nitrogen Gas and Carbon Dioxide. This entire process is Aerobic, anaerobic plays no parts in the process. There for, anaerobic condition does not apply here.

One important element required to have a totally aerobic nitrogen cycle is the bacteria. The bacteria used here are the Right Now Bacteria (RN). The RN only works in an aerobic condition NOT anaerobic.

Because of this rapid transformation perform by the RN bacteria a true 24hours cycling through all nitrogen compounds including Nitrates is achieved. The RN bacteria also perform the following:

Aerobic reduction of Nitrates, Phosphates and potash.
Reduction of Sludge
Reduction of Oil normally on the surface of the aquarium.

The second element required to complete the Aerobic Nitrogen Cycle is the carbon.

The carbon used here is called Tri-base carbon. Unlike other carbon we normally use for aquarium, the tri-base carbon was developed specifically for the RN bacteria for use as a bio bed. As we all know biological filtration is all about available surface, the tri-base carbon has the largest available surface then any other carbon, silica sand, live rock and bio ball; plus a available carbon source.

The third element is the pH Rock. The pH Adjustment Rock has 28 trace elements (not strontium) and has plenty of CaCO3 and MgCO3 for all corals.

The pH rock is an optional setup, for fresh water application there is no need to use the pH rock. For saltwater or reef application, you can use the pH rock to buffer the pH and calcium.

During this process the RN bacteria produce Carbonic Acid, Nitrous Acid and Nitric Acid, which is strong enough to react with the pH rock and dissolve the rock overtime to provide a continues supply of Calcium with other trace elements and elevate the Alkalinity at the same time, thus the problem associate with high Calcium and low Alkalinity does not occur here; the pH rock will raise Calcium level to over 450ppm.

If you choose not to use pH rock, then the pH and Calcium will need to be maintaining through conventional means.

By using the Totally Aerobic Nitrogen Cycle system, much equipment we now use to maintain a stable aquarium is eliminated. You will notice on the sample spec. there is no skimmer, no calcium reactor. The protein is taken out by the RN bacteria and converts to Nitrate then to Nitrogen Gas in a very short amount of time. We can now buffer the Calcium with a simple use of pH Rock instead of expensive Calcium reactor.

The last element required is to have a proper flow rate. A flow rate is how many time the water turns over from the tank through the filter and back to the tank. The proper flow rate for this system is 10 times the total water volume, the bare minimum you need to have is 6 times the total water volume. Example: if you have a 75 gallon tank, your flow rate should be between 450 gph to 750gph, with 750 gph be the optimum number.
The discharge where the water is pump back to the tank should be place above the water line not below. (see pic.) The reason is simple, remember one of the by product of this system is CO2. What would happen is too much CO2 is in the water? By place the return above the water line, the returning water will splash the surface thus drives off the CO2 and the space left by the CO2 in the water will be replace by fresh oxygen. We recommend for both the drain and return pipe should be a minimum of 1”PVC for tank from 30 to 100 gallons. 101 gallon or above should use 2” pipe for both drain and return. The bigger the pipe the faster the water drains and less pressure are put on the return pump.

Below is the basic spec. of tank setup with the Aerobic Nitrogen Cycle, and a 220 gallon coral tank at 5 weeks old using this system.





This conclude the introduction of the Totally Aerobic Nitrogen Cycle.

 

Typo error:

During the first stage of nitrogen cycle TA is break down and converted to NO2 (Nitrite), this process is an Anaerobic Process which required oxygen.

It should be Aerobic not Anaerobic. Sorry about the typo.

 

nice more info please.

 

Interesting. couple of ??
what is PH rock
would this type of system be able to support any type of algea, such as macro in a refugium?

 

After sitting here for 5 minutes the only thing that comes to mind is that you are going to be tied to the manufacturer of the bacteria for replacement?? Is it a self sustaining colony? Will the regular process of the Nitrogen cycle be affected? Once the tank is well established can the addition of the bacteria stop?
The special carbon... Too many questions right now

Jim

 

In addition to the other questions, can you speak more about your personal experience testing this? As it is now, this reads like a promo. I'd be curious to hear how long you tested this setup and your personal observations.

 

What were your testing methods to validate this cycle?

 

Let's of questions, let's start with Nugio first.

"what is PH rock? Would this type of system be able to support any type of algae, such as macro in a refugium?"

pH rock is a rock that happened to have a lots nature trace element that is used in this system to buffer the pH and calcium. On the surface it's just a rock, nothing really special about it.
pH Rock

This type of system is not a good choice for growing any type of algae. The nutrient is very low in this system algae will have difficult time to grow, you can still use refugium for housing small coral or injure fish not for macro algae.

Diver_1298
"After sitting here for 5 minutes the only thing that comes to mind is that you are going to be tied to the manufacturer of the bacteria for replacement?? Is it a self sustaining colony? Will the regular process of the Nitrogen cycle be affected? Once the tank is well established can the addition of the bacteria stop?

The Right Now Bacteria is a self sustaining colony after its introduce to the tank, about every six month or so you can add just a pinch to the tank. The only time you need to restart the colony is that you completely remove all the carbon from the filter and replace with new one, and that only need to be done about every 2-5 years. The regular process of the Nitrogen cycle does not occur if you use this system; if you add the RN bacteria to a tank that has gone through the regular nitrogen cycle, the RN will take over the existing bacteria in a very short time period. Once the tank is establish the bacteria will continue to multiply as long as filter is kept clean.

Matt

"In addition to the other questions, can you speak more about your personal experience testing this? As it is now, this reads like a promo. I'd be curious to hear how long you tested this setup and your personal observations."

It's great to hear from you Matt, my personal experience well lets see..
I been setting up tank with this method for about a year now, the current tank is a 220 gallons reef a part of the 5 tank system I building for my coral wholesale business. So far I am very please with the result, it save me a lots time and money. I was able to eliminate most the equipments I would otherwise need with the regular setup, what impress me is how simple it is to setup and maintain. The growth rate of the corals were incredibly fast even with a regular fluorescent light that I am using. Take a look the photo below, this brown carpet was added last Friday, it was only about the size of baseball.

This photo was taken yesterday afternoon, look at the size of anemone just a few short day.

It also drop the fish death rate from 40% a week to less then 1% a week soon as I turn on the new system. It's like magic, all of sudden the fish quit dying. I mean I was kicking myself in the head for not find out about this earler, it would have save me tone of money I loss for all those dead fish. It's really too bad that most people don't believe this works.

"What were your testing methods to validate this cycle?"

Well Raven, the only way to validate the claim is to setup a tank and put it to the test. I setup one tank follow the protocol and antoher tank with the regular cycle. Test the water on both tank every day, compare the nubmers. The tank with the Aerobic Nitrogen cycle have fish in it the same day, the one with the regular cycle didn't have fish until almost 3 weeks. Then you break the tank down and start it again to see if you can duplicated the result.

I hope I answer everyone's questions.

 

So just where do you get the bacteria and carbon?

BTW, 40% mortality rate on fish? Doesn't that seem a little high?

 

40% is high and that's with 2 skimmers, UV, bio ball, you can see why I have to find a solution to solve the problem.

In case you are wonder, no I did not make a mistake on the design of the original system. I did exactly as other retail store and wholesaler were doing.