Fish Tank Experiments - BioHome BioGravel (Going for Zero Nitrate) Video 1
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- čas přidán 14. 08. 2020
- This video is showing the history and beginning phases of an experiment in fish tank filtration to be able to denitrify the tank water through bio media use. I am using BioHome BioGravel media.
While I am not sponsored by BioHome or Great Wave Engineering, they did supply the materials for free for me to test on the condition that I report my findings in video.
I'll gladly link to their website here for you to look at their products. I do not make any form of commission on sales of their products.
greatwaveeng.com/
biogravel is the best i think out of all the biohomes
🚨 Now this is a great approach 🚨
Just perfect
❤️ Love Scotland ❤️
Hi Matt. Thanks for sharing the video. Starting the aquarium hobby ourselves with my 12 yo son and wife. The whole nitrogen cycle is keeping us busy as well. We have two 50 liter (12 gallon) tanks. Appreciate all the good info. Found Richards channel a few months and started modifying our filter and pumps as well. Looking forward to the follow up video. Kind regards from the Netherlands. Bill & family.
I know your comment was a year ago Bill, but I’ll take the chance you might see this reply. I saw you mentioned starting the hobby with your son. I know he’s probably 13 years old now, but creating cool & fun tanks & picking out & homing interesting & cool fish was something I did with my son when he was little. I had no idea at the time, but it instilled a life long passion in the hobby in my son. He’s 25 now & has so many cool tanks at his house! I involved him in all the aspects of creating & caring for the tanks & fish & on his own he’s done a ton of his own researching on his own. So what started as a fun hobby turned into a really educational experience & a lifelong passion for him. I hope you & your son are still creating tanks together!
Been using Biohome products for many years and it is simply fantastic as for nitrates you must leave it for along time also pre treat dechlorinate before adding to the tank leave 15 minutes also only feed the tank ammonia solution not food as food has other elements such as ash or in live food pathogens
I love my Bio-gravel, I'll be buying it to use as a substrate with an under gravel filter in all my tanks. I went and got 12KGs after watching your video. now a month later, the tank with bio-gravel is Super stable. Using water from a different tank that had numbers off the chart( 50% of the water was replaced), the Biogravel tank was able to get those numbers down to 0 in 3 days, even when the tests were showing the numbers at their highest at day 1.
Matt, Well done. Your videos are much better produced than mine. I was happy to see you were able to get results similar to my testing with the Delta 60 I upgraded using BioGravel recently. I'm curious, how much of which type of food did you feed the tank to get it to cycle.
My test tank was only 4 gallon and I started testing with 5 grams of crushed koi food. I quickly realized that this was too much. Nitrites went through the roof. I didn't feed for several days and did some water changes to try to get things under control and then started feeding 0.5 grams per day until I got the filter cycled. I then gradually increased the feeding until I started to see nitrite.
It took a surprising amount of feed to bring out the nitrite. Like you I was pleasantly surprised to see the nitrates weren't that bad. I'm anxious to see your results to see how low you can get the nitrates with your livestock in the tank and how long it takes. Keep up the good work. Stay safe, and...
Happy Fish Keeping,
Don
Sorry for the major delay in response. youtue was not telling me there was activity and I didnt come check it. this video has actually been getting a lot of views!
the tank ended up stable at 5PPM nitrate no matter how much i fed. I was overfeeding (just not to the point of causing bloat) and it was still maintaining 5PPM nitrate. I have had to tear down the tanks in preparation for selling my house and moving. the biogravl is in the fluval 406 running my 54 gallon right now to keep it alive. I will set up the test tank again once we successfully move.
Going to be upgrading my new Biorb s filter system as the Pond Guru shows on his CZcams video. I’m using Biogravel as my substrate. I plan to plant this Biorb heavily. I’m anxious to get started.
I have been using bio home for a couple years now. I use the bio home ultimate in my filter, and I also mix bio gravel in with my existing substrate which is just plain 6mm gravel & the bio gravel blends in perfectly.
It can take several months to see the FULL cycle establish, and at that, you need to run alot of bio home to achieve it. I didn't even start to notice any nitrate reduction until I put the bio gravel in my substrate, prior to this I was just running the ultimate in the filter.
Several months on, I don't have lower nitrates but I have noticed my nitrate levels remain "maintained" & no longer creep up to excessive levels, it hangs around 50ppm and stays there and I have noticed a massive increase in my fishes overall health, not a single health problem for 2 years, I can't remember the last time I saw a fish flash/flick/scratch in my tank.
you mean when you stared usiing bio gravel it helped you to reduce the nitrate? if yes then at what number it reduced ?
@@rahulpawartube yes I believe because the bio gravel is mixed with your substrate, the low oxygen environment is good for the nitrate reducing bacteria. My tanks nitrate never dropped lower, but instead is maintained at the same number as it no longer rising, it stays at 50ppm
@@UncalBertExcretes ohh thanks
TBH, 6 weeks is a good indicator of where it should be, but you really need another 4 weeks to know where it really will end up in terms of nitrates and its removal. Looking forward to the follow up video. Also, in your description, you should list how much you added daily to the tank and what were the levels of all three as the days accumulated.
It did end up doing a Nitrate reduction. with overfeeding and no waterchanges it stayed at 5PPM all the time. i began doing water changes once a month. I now have the tank torn down for a move and will set it back up once we sell the house and move in to the next.
really liked your style of video. Looking forward to an update video!
Thanks. I've gotten 1 tank set up at the new house, and will be working to get testing going again soon.
How do you feel about prime effecting the filter bacteria? From what I have read that is as controversial as the nitrate/full cycle claim
I stopped using prime so I would not mess with the results of the test. I'm not a biochemist, so I would have to lean on someone that is.
I've heard it's not an issue but switching to API to test for myself.
DID IT WORK ?? if 3 times the media doesnot do the trick..
I actually DID see a massive reduction in nitrates, but now have to start over once I move to the new house. I've torn down all the tanks other than my 54 gallon right now. Sorry for the major delay in response, youtube NEVER told me I had any comments.
@@mattadulting please upload the follow up video..
@@FireGate_13 I need to get another test tank. The 10 didn't survive the move.
I'm thinking I'll do a larger one...use a dosing pump to add ammonia regularly once cycled, and have it as a split tank (make it 2 separate tanks in 1), 1 traditional filter, 1 biohome filter. Let them go head to head in matching conditions.
@@mattadulting nice idea..
Did you ever up date your test on the bio gravel, i used biohome ultimate in 2 large eheim 2217's and did not reduce my nitrates, i switched to seachem pond matix and saw a difference, not a lot but better results then the biohome, which i paqid a lot of money for.
I didnt do a follow-up because I had to take the tank down getting ready for a move. I was seeing nitrate reduction. I put the media in my filter for my 54 and have seen a reduction there, but i dont have enough for a deep reduction.
If you use API stress coat, it works. if you use Prime it doesnt. something in one conditioner vs another makes a big difference.
It increase the PH or any water chemistry? I have discus established tank, now i want to use this Bio-Gravel as a full tank gravel.
It might cause a temporary slight increase in pH if you add a large amount all at once. If you replace 1/4 of your existing biomedia every couple of weeks with Biohome (it needs time to become seeded with bacteria) you shouldn't notice much of a shift in pH.
I've used the maximum amount of Biohome Ultimate in all if my canisters (even running 2 canisters to add additional media). After trying about every media on the market, the tanks with Biohome are by far the most stable. I have softwater tanks with SA cichlids. My nitrates do get to about 40 ppm after 12 days with large fish, heavy bioloads and two feedings a day. With Biohome I never have extreme pH shifts nor excessive nitrates. While I haven't achieved super low nitrate levels yet (most of my tanks have been running on Biohome for at least 3 years) I am guilty of using Prime to remove chloramines. To see if I can get to full denitrification with Biohome, I'm switching to API dechlorinator and buying more bacterial beads. I don't expect any change for at least 6 months as its a slow process to achieve a full cycle.
The pond guru already spent your money, so no, you can't have it back!
Do you have an update? I'm currently testing biohome in three 70 gallon tanks using different water conditioners (API Stress Coat being one). Any success?
Keep me posted!
I’ve got an FX6 & and an Eheim 2217 running on a 55 gallon full sized turtle tank. Fluval bio in the FX6 and Eheim Pro in the 2217.
I’m thinking about moving towards Biohome, so any luck?
@@dad3562 it’s a hard thing to answer. My API Stress Coat tank consistently has fewer nitrates than my other two tanks. One also has a BCB canister going but I haven’t seen any difference with that in my second tank.
So far tanks get 50% water changes weekly and the first one mentioned gets about 10 ppm less nitrates than the others. That’s it for now.
When on lockdown (my tanks are in my classroom) I would go in every three weeks for a 50% water change. All three tanks would rarely get into the red zone (40 ppm or more) so that’s positive. However the feeding amount was also reduced so that is a factor.
I’ll let you know in a couple more months if you’re interested. Just reply so I know. Good luck!
@@chriscaragiannis6783 way cool! Way cool, I’ll definitely hit you up. Be safe
I actually DID see a massive reduction in nitrates, but now have to start over once I move to the new house. I've torn down all the tanks other than my 54 gallon right now. Sorry for the major delay in response, youtube NEVER told me I had any comments.
@@mattadulting thanks for sharing. I’ve only seen a consistent lower nitrate level in the tank I’m testing with the API stress coat. The ones with Prime and API 52D water conditioner consistently get higher nitrate levels. I’ll give it a few more months before any data is dependable as it takes upwards of 6 months for the bacteria to build up in bio home from what I’ve read.
Can’t wait for the follow up video to see what you will observe. Thanks for sharing!
No follow up video ??
this test doens't say anything.
my guess is that the gravel layer is acting as the denitifyer layer and not bio home.
to verify this you should have a test with the bio home filter material removed.
i would expect that you see similar results.
Need a filter for Aquael Hexa 60 Aquarium
There is no way in a month and a half the denitrifying bacteria established the bio media in a month and a half. The bacteria that convert nitrate to nitrogen are very slow growing. In prime conditions they only split every 8 hours. To do a good test don't change anything once your test has started. In my experience no biomedia that claims to truly complete the nitrogen cycle works. They're is simply to much oxygen available. It's a sales gimmick. Pond guru is full of it. There is a way to setup media in a filter that will complete the nitrogen cycle. For my experience with the aquarium hobby and media I have 17 aquariums and several totes with a total of around a 1000 African Cichlids. I've tried many media. The best biomedia for nitrifying bacteria is sponge. 30 ppi is the best. It's better than any ceramic or cinter. Using what I've learned on completing the nitrogen cycle I've reduced my nitrate dramatically. A 110 gallon aquarium with 45 Cichlids in it used to get to 80ppm nitrate by water change day. Now that my denitrifying media established this tank only gets to 20ppm and with time or if I removed some fish it would drop even more. Matrix doesn't work either.
I had to tear down the test tank to prepare to move, then the tank broke in the move. I've been working on my wife's CZcams videos with her, fixing a very messed up house, and working my real job. At some point I may get another test tank up for this. The media got moved into my 54 gallon tank cannister. I have seen some reduction in Nitrate from how that tank traditionally did run, but we also are now on a different water source, some fish didn't survive the move, etc. so it is inconclusive.
well I have to agree I've used all kinds of biomedia Matrix biohome Marine Pure ran each one for months and my Overstock African cichlid tank 75 gallon two large canister filters trying to find out what really work and not one ever reduced nitrates. to reduce nitrates is a very complicated situation in an aquarium. and I ran them for several months over my 27 years of being in a hobby I come to find the truth they do not work for removing nitrates. but they do work for removing ammonia and nitrites. I go to aquarium science for the real deal info.
@@aquariumhacksbymarcus5653 if you want to remove nitrate look into anoxic filtration. It works.
I concur!!
How did the Biohome experiment go long term?
I had to tear down the test tank to prepare to move, then the tank broke in the move. I've been working on my wife's CZcams videos with her, fixing a very messed up house, and working my real job. At some point I may get another test tank up for this. The media got moved into my 54 gallon tank cannister. I have seen some reduction in Nitrate from how that tank traditionally did run, but we also are now on a different water source, some fish didn't survive the move, etc. so it is inconclusive.
You never made part 2! How did it go?
I actually DID see a massive reduction in nitrates, but now have to start over once I move to the new house. I've torn down all the tanks other than my 54 gallon right now. Sorry for the major delay in response, youtube NEVER told me I had any comments.
@@mattadulting I was hoping you would reply, interested to see what the verdict was. I bought 2kg of it but didnt use it in the end
@@lostmangos That tank was actually hovering at 5PPM nitrate all the time. I would feed every day and was overfeeding the fish that was living in it. no matter what, 5 PPM nitrate. I did do a few water changes just to refresh minerals and such, but it was stable.
@@mattadulting what about your kh and ph? How did you stop those sliding without regular water changes?
@@lostmangos ph stayed right at 7. I never was testing kh but will be at the next house. I do plan to eventually set up auto water change. I'm not doing this to avoid water changes, but to make it more stable overall.
Have you tried an anoxic BCB filter
I have not but I do plan to once I set up the new tanks at my new house.
@@mattadulting I did a small one on a 3.5 nano tank and I’m running zeros across the board but I have to dose fertilizer every other day
Been thinking about making bcb basket for cannister been watching dr Novak sounds like it is kitty litter and laterite .biohome really never did anything cannister filters push to much water thru .any feed back on bcb
@@jlmm3968 with the bcb basket you don’t want to push the water through the baskets I think you just need to let the water flow around it in the filter
@@tantaros420 been watching this guy dr Novak and he show how to set up a cannister filter and just like u said let water flow around it in filter, Tried all the hype on matrix biohome etc etc , nothing really worked to reduce nitrates,I have an overstocked cichlid tank I do 70 percent water changes weekly , not that I really care about nitrates but when your in the hobby for awhile and u here all these magic potions that get rid of nitrates it makes u want to try it .I’ll give this bcb media a shot.
Did the nitrite level never change?
I actually DID see a massive reduction in nitrates, but now have to start over once I move to the new house.
Is there a follow up?
Wow, youtube was hiding comments from me an I didnt realize I had any!!
There is not a followup video right now because we are working on packing to move and I had to take the tank down. I actually DID see a massive reduction in nitrates, but now have to start over once I move to the new house.
Update please. Very keen to see your results
I actually DID see a massive reduction in nitrates, but now have to start over once I move to the new house. I've torn down all the tanks other than my 54 gallon right now. Sorry for the major delay in response, youtube NEVER told me I had any comments.
Good to hear you had progress. Im doing a test on 2 tanks. Stopped using prime, and have 2kg of matrix in one tank vs 2 kg of biohome in another. Only been 4 months so time will tell. Very small load on one tank and overstocked on the other. I will let you know. Overstock has the biohome. Every week up from 5 to 20ppm and 50% water change weekly. Understocked was virtually up 5 ppm per week.
i would hope it did something, i mean, you had 3 times the recommended amount, lol
It did, but with the shutdown of tanks to pack and move I had to stop the testing. I hope to start up testing again soon.
Yeah, right!
I thought the Biohome debate had been settled and it had a limited time period that it worked due to clogging of external pores.