# Aquafx and Aquaripure Nitrate Filter



## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

Anyobdy have any ideas on these 2 items? would like to get them if they are any good...

http://www.aquafx.co.uk/epages/es108851.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es108851_shop

http://www.aquaripure.com/canada/


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## JohnyBGood (May 27, 2011)

I just got an Aquaripure since our dollar is currently worth slightly more than the USD (Visa charged me "on par"). It came with a Mini-Jet 606. I can't really comment on its effectiveness because it only just arrived and I only have a few minnows in my tank. Also, my old AC filters (300 & 70) are still working (instructions say to gradually toss bio media from old filters). Quality seems good sturdy and the dude you see on YouTube responds to all of my e-mails, personally. Hopefully it works out.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

I just came upon this video on youtube:






What do you guys think of the science behind this? One problem I can foresee is, how to clean the media if it gets clogged by solid waste particles? Or should it even be cleaned?


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## JohnyBGood (May 27, 2011)

I bought the Small version and set the drip rate to 2 drops per second. I don't know if the suction of the pump is enough to intake solid waste at that point, but I don't worry about it at all.

I do not have any copepods like in this video:




, but everything is running smoothly (although I am going to have to look into how to flush the bacteria out for storage, to avoid odour, because I'm tearing down my tank for a few months). The only complaint I have about it is that the bacterial blooms from the vodka cloud the water for a couple of days...but that just tells me its working, so I feed weekly around Wed-Thurs so that tank is clear by the weekend.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

JohnyBGood said:


> I bought the Small version and set the drip rate to 2 drops per second. I don't know if the suction of the pump is enough to intake solid waste at that point, but I don't worry about it at all.
> 
> I do not have any copepods like in this video:
> 
> ...


So you get a bacterial bloom every week? How well does it work for nitrate reduction?


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

This isn't new technology and there are DIY ways of doing this. It appears that the media is just reticulated foam in the top part and fine foam in the bottom. It shouldn't be hard to clean for storage. Starting up would mean acquisition of a new bacteria culture. Similar results can be achieved by using a plenum beneath the gravel, at far less cost and less effort.


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## JohnyBGood (May 27, 2011)

Yeah, weekly blooms make the water look cloudy/dirty. It works perfectly, though...never had detectable nitrates w/ very infrequent partial water changes. VERY little sludge build up in my AquaClears...something is definitely different. My water has never looked this crystal clear (when there are no blooms), which is not necessarily supposed to be the case...it's supposed to look more natural w/ live debris (like in a pond). I may have to retire one of my HOB filters.

@BillD
Yeah, you can turn anything into a DIY project with effort and time. I like my nutrient injector port, though and knowing I'm not going to poison my tank w/ vodka. Good luck on the project, though...I'm sure you can pull off something you're happy with if you follow online blue-prints!



solarz said:


> So you get a bacterial bloom every week? How well does it work for nitrate reduction?


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## Tino (Sep 10, 2012)

I'm going to dig this up again (except there's an updated link for Aquaripure http://www.aquaripure.com/intl/)

So for those of you who have had it for a year now, thoughts?
Have you really stopped doing water changes?


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I'd like to know how they've done too.I read about them quite awhile ago, but they were too expensive.. but if they work as well as they are claimed to work, certainly would save me some maintenance effort and lately, that would be really helpful.


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## Tino (Sep 10, 2012)

It looks like prices have come down a bit since then...
I agree it would cut down tank maintenance by at least half, but I'm skeptical about the "never need to water change" claim.
I mean, what about physical waste? You'll have to suck that up at some point, no?


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

If I've understood the articles on Aquaripure's site, they don't actually say it eliminates the need for mechanical filtration. It says you need some mechanical filtration, I'd expect mainly for the largest particles, as the product is supposed to break down fine organic matter entirely. 

They say it uses anaerobic bacteria, denitrifying bacteria, to eliminate all nitrites/nitrates and virtually all organic matter that goes through the filter. So not ALL the organics, just the majority of them. They also say circulation is necessary. 

It's fairly simple on the face of it - if there are no nitrates in your water, you have little need to do WCs. I know some ads make it sound like you'd never have to do another WC, but if you read the Aquaripure site, they mostly emphasize that you'd save a ton of money using the product. 

They postulate having hard tap water that's unsuitable for aquaria, thus having to buy RO water or install an RO system, which is a lot more costly than tap water, plus the additional cost of treatments or conditioners for the water. They make it sound as though you can save a fortune and in some cases I'm sure that's probably not far off the truth.

But they also say you do need circulation and some mechanical filtration, not none. About other brands of this type of filter, I can't comment, I've never really looked at them.

Be ideal for those who tend to overstock, since fish waste is the primary source of ammonia and it's byproducts. Plants can't use all the nitrates if there are too many fish or there aren't enough plants to use it all. 

I know I had quite a hard time understanding this at first, but in the bio media we see in most common types of filters, there is no denitrification going on. Salt water refugiums with sand beds often have denitrifying bacteria in the oxygen free environment at the base of the sand bed, but in FW tanks, this is rare. Most FW filters have bacteria in them that first convert ammonia into nitrite, and then other bacteria that convert the nitrite into nitrate. Plants can use some nitrate, and it is less toxic than the first two, but is still fish and invert toxic if there's too much. So having none is ideal for fish and other creatures, perhaps not quite ideal for plants. 

On the other hand, denitrification, only possible if oxygen is not present, means no ammonia, no nitrites, thus, no nitrates, plus they say it breaks down all the fine particulate organics into nitrogen gas.. thus no residues to be cleaned out.. so the only other filtration needed is mechanical and probably for the heavier particles. You'd replace the bio media in your HOB, for example, with totally mechanical media and probably not have to clean it as often as you otherwise would. 

If the product works as claimed, then there would be very little to no need for WCs, unless some other problem arose, such as an outbreak where you had to use medications, for example. Then you'd have to do some WCS to get rid of your meds, maybe turn off the dentritrifying filter to avoid killing off the bacteria with meds.

So, likely you'd mainly be having to do top ups, not changes. I think if you could skip most of the usual WCs, you'd certainly end up saving some money, both on water and on the conditioning products you would have to use for that water. The unit would pay for itself eventually with those savings, but how fast would depend on exactly what you were doing before you started using it. If you were buying all RO water for your tanks, might be quite a savings. Only bummer is if you have more than one tank, you need one of these for each one.. but then, if you have a lot of tanks, you're already doing a fair amount of work, so how much is your time worth ?

I certainly would like to be able to afford one or two one day.. if only for the main tanks.


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