The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread

What are "denitrators"? I use algae removal from the refugium, I think. Does the skimmer remove nitrates? I know they get metabolized into plants. I never have seen significant (or even barely detectable) levels in my tanks unless something bad happens.

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Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

What are "denitrators"? I use algae removal from the refugium, I think. Does the skimmer remove nitrates? I know they get metabolized into plants. I never have seen significant (or even barely detectable) levels in my tanks unless something bad happens.

Skimmers won't do it.
The jury is still out on refugiums but if if it contains live rock in it, I would argue it functions as a denitrator to some degree.

A denitrator needs no light, very low oxygen and extremely slow water flow.
You can have it contain rocks or it can contain any type of media that has nooks and crannies for the bacteria to form. It is a different type of bacteria than what thrives in your typical tank filters.
Not too many companies make them.
I experimented with the one pictured below in black, on the left side of the photo.
After a year of it functioning, the nitrate levels were quite low in this system, which is not typical in a fish only tank that needs water changes to lower the nitrates manually.
About a year after doing this installation and a couple of others, I got out of the business due to having to travel so much for my primary job and frankly I have not stayed up with the technology but I can tell you this one worked well.
I also built my own one time using large PVC with end caps. I filled it with media, ceramic type cylinders, and ran water through it slowly. I worked well until it ended up getting clogged.
What I do for mine is I have many bags of media, stuffed tight, sitting in my wet dry, right below the bio balls. Since the media is packed so tight, water flow is quite slow through it. Since it is in a dark enclosure (furniture), seems to help me quite a bit but then again, I have not tested my nitrates in 5 yrs.

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