I do have a scientific background, and I will say your research was well done. This is the most complete video on the Nitrogen cycle I have ever seen, in the realm of aquarium videos. I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen Fixation or Denitrification discussed in such a video. Well done. The only error I found was during your discussion on Denitrification, and it’s one few will catch or care about: An area of very little oxygen is known as Anoxic, not Anaerobic. Anoxic conditions are actually where the bulk of Denitrification takes place, where facultative anaerobic bacteria (in non-scientific terms) breath oxygen containing compounds like Nitrate. Conceptually, they need the oxygen in the compound to use as an electron acceptor or in another biopathway, since there is a very low concentration of dissolved O2. It gets more complex, but that is how the oxygen is removed from the nitrate or nitrite, leaving N2 gas. An anoxic condition is something measurable, usually between +50 & -50 on an OPR probe. Once you get below -50, you then have 0 free oxygen and start seeing fermentation or other true anaerobic processes. In our aquariums, Anoxic conditions can be fantastic additions; assuming you can create them, without creating full anaerobic zones (I try to incorporate an Anoxic zone in my Sump). And to contrast, we rarely want large areas of true anaerobic zones in our aquariums. You will get things like sulfides or methanol’s under those conditions, and may start leaching the phosphate from the sediment... An acceptable processes in nature, but not acceptable in a small enclosed system like an aquarium. This really was a Great video, anoxic zones are just a nuance rarely discussed outside of textbooks or research efforts. Anoxic applications are mostly used in places like professional waste treatment, but the underlying theory can be adapted to create benefits in aquariums under certain conditions. As they are a very beneficial process found in both natural fresh and marine biomes. For the few hobbyists who peruses a deep sand bed: They should attempt to research this further. Deep beds should maintain anoxic conditions, and not become anaerobic. A tough line to walk. For everyone else, your video really covered all the bases.
Thanks heaps @Dusk194 for the detailed response! Agree, few people outside of the hard-core research world would have seen the nuance, but it was generous of you to share your knowledge on this…and now I know what anoxic is and how it relates :) And for Matthew - if this is the only scientific critique you got when you started with “please provide corrections in the comments”, and it’s at this level - then you have clearly excelled in providing an accurate summary of some really tough science, and as always, in an entertaining and engaging way. I loved that you even slipped in the liquid nitrogen clip when talking about N2 ;)
@Dusk194 Thank you for the response. Since you are from a scientific background, may I request you to kindly share the exact details like we have in the Krebs or TCA cycle. I have been unable to find details on aquarium based Nitrogen cycle. Requesting your help.
You came off confused about the orders of Nitro bacteria and Nitroso monas. But overall you corrected it. I've experienced others make this mistake before.
Matthew I am a plonker that was far too complicated for this Brit you will have to make it far simpler .I had 10 minutes 48 seconds of words other than that all okay. Thank you
@bulkreefsuply thanks for the video, however the DENITRIFICATION stage… all that was mentioned was a deep sand bed or deep in a reef… can you please EXPOUND on that? I am trying to figure out how to lower the nitrates in my new tank.
There's a freshwater tank I've had in my living room that I kind of neglected for a very long time because of personal issues, only topping off water and feeding every few days. It's a planted tank with a deep soil substrate, and I wanted to redo the aquascape and add more livestock. I didn't realize how much dirt I would kick up while doing it. I was worried that with all the years of not touching the substrate, no water changes, and more livestock, the tank would crash and kill all the fish. After I redid the aquascape, added some new ro/di water, and waited two days for the dirt to settle, I checked the water parameters, and they were perfect. No ammonia or nitrites and an undetectable level of nitrates, even though I kicked up all that ancient substrate and basically doubled the livestock. To this day, all the fish are still looking healthy. I guess the tank's been established for so long that it's become self-sustaining and bulletproof.
So I'm cycling and new fowlr system. I used Dr tims and live rock I have zero ammonia and I use saliferts test and have 0.2 have to use the low rage for no2 clear looking down but just barely has color thew the side and 10 no3 , my real question is will a cycled tank always have some no2 in it as its part of the cycle ammonia to no2 to no3 to water export any help is greatly appreciated
so I plan on doing Dr. Tim's cycle. In terms of adding phytoplankton and copepods to the system, am I OK to add both of them once the cycle is complete, or wait until the tank's first ugly stage? Should i wait until I have fish in my system and when my refugium is setup t start adding them, or I can add the pods without having my refugium setup?
I'm currently cycling first ever tank, Nitrate sky high, Nitrite sky High. Ammonia was 0, so I added more (lots) and it was still 0?? do I just leave it or add more Ammonia?? 🤔
I'm currently on week 2 of my fishless cycling. however my nitrites has been stuck at 5ppm( deep purple) I had 0 ammonia reading + high amount of nitrates reading (orange or red). I did some water changes it dropped the nitrites to light purple (2ppm I'm assuming) but it bounces back to deep purple the next day.what should i do?
@@2DeathCards awe…I bet you’re a total loser who’d never talk shit to someone’s face. My comment was made with respect. Your’s sounds like that of a person who likes to talk shit on the internet. Sorry about your life and lack of real world confidence.
@@2DeathCards no need to be rude man. We all learn at different levels and he's right, many of us have found the nitrogen cycle online already, this video didnt provide much advice as to how we can improve the cycle or really how long we should wait for a cycle to be complete. While I'm not a complete beginner, I find theres always something to learn, this video was the exception in my case but I'm sure someone else found it useful.
Guess you missed the entire practical episode Matthew did before this one - I’m an internationally recognised biomedical scientist and cognitive scientist, with extensive research on how people learn, and I was extremely impressed with how Matthew tackled this topic - in 2 parts, practical first, then the theoretical underpinning. If the science in this video is too much for you, just watch the previous one… of course if anything goes wrong with your nitrogen cycling, you’ll be at the mercy of the sales person at your local fish store - I hope they’re good…
I do have a scientific background, and I will say your research was well done.
This is the most complete video on the Nitrogen cycle I have ever seen, in the realm of aquarium videos.
I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen Fixation or Denitrification discussed in such a video. Well done.
The only error I found was during your discussion on Denitrification, and it’s one few will catch or care about:
An area of very little oxygen is known as Anoxic, not Anaerobic. Anoxic conditions are actually where the bulk of Denitrification takes place, where facultative anaerobic bacteria (in non-scientific terms) breath oxygen containing compounds like Nitrate. Conceptually, they need the oxygen in the compound to use as an electron acceptor or in another biopathway, since there is a very low concentration of dissolved O2. It gets more complex, but that is how the oxygen is removed from the nitrate or nitrite, leaving N2 gas.
An anoxic condition is something measurable, usually between +50 & -50 on an OPR probe.
Once you get below -50, you then have 0 free oxygen and start seeing fermentation or other true anaerobic processes.
In our aquariums, Anoxic conditions can be fantastic additions; assuming you can create them, without creating full anaerobic zones (I try to incorporate an Anoxic zone in my Sump).
And to contrast, we rarely want large areas of true anaerobic zones in our aquariums. You will get things like sulfides or methanol’s under those conditions, and may start leaching the phosphate from the sediment... An acceptable processes in nature, but not acceptable in a small enclosed system like an aquarium.
This really was a Great video, anoxic zones are just a nuance rarely discussed outside of textbooks or research efforts. Anoxic applications are mostly used in places like professional waste treatment, but the underlying theory can be adapted to create benefits in aquariums under certain conditions. As they are a very beneficial process found in both natural fresh and marine biomes.
For the few hobbyists who peruses a deep sand bed: They should attempt to research this further. Deep beds should maintain anoxic conditions, and not become anaerobic. A tough line to walk.
For everyone else, your video really covered all the bases.
Thanks heaps @Dusk194 for the detailed response! Agree, few people outside of the hard-core research world would have seen the nuance, but it was generous of you to share your knowledge on this…and now I know what anoxic is and how it relates :)
And for Matthew - if this is the only scientific critique you got when you started with “please provide corrections in the comments”, and it’s at this level - then you have clearly excelled in providing an accurate summary of some really tough science, and as always, in an entertaining and engaging way. I loved that you even slipped in the liquid nitrogen clip when talking about N2 ;)
Thank you. I learnt a ton just from this comment.
@Dusk194 Thank you for the response. Since you are from a scientific background, may I request you to kindly share the exact details like we have in the Krebs or TCA cycle. I have been unable to find details on aquarium based Nitrogen cycle. Requesting your help.
LOL! I literally JUST commented on your last video about you having the heart of a teacher. No wonder you're so good! You are a teacher!
Great video!!! You explained the cycle very well. Subbed
Thanks for the video!
You came off confused about the orders of Nitro bacteria and Nitroso monas. But overall you corrected it. I've experienced others make this mistake before.
Excellent video 👍🏾
Matthew I am a plonker that was far too complicated for this Brit you will have to make it far simpler .I had 10 minutes 48 seconds of words other than that all okay. Thank you
Great Video, I Just would complement that No3 is a good thing on our reef tanks and we must have something aroung 1-5ppm.
It's interesting how something só simple people make it só complicated, tanks for yr explications.
Wow. mind blowing but very educating ❤️
@bulkreefsuply thanks for the video, however the DENITRIFICATION stage… all that was mentioned was a deep sand bed or deep in a reef… can you please EXPOUND on that? I am trying to figure out how to lower the nitrates in my new tank.
There's a freshwater tank I've had in my living room that I kind of neglected for a very long time because of personal issues, only topping off water and feeding every few days.
It's a planted tank with a deep soil substrate, and I wanted to redo the aquascape and add more livestock. I didn't realize how much dirt I would kick up while doing it. I was worried that with all the years of not touching the substrate, no water changes, and more livestock, the tank would crash and kill all the fish.
After I redid the aquascape, added some new ro/di water, and waited two days for the dirt to settle, I checked the water parameters, and they were perfect. No ammonia or nitrites and an undetectable level of nitrates, even though I kicked up all that ancient substrate and basically doubled the livestock.
To this day, all the fish are still looking healthy. I guess the tank's been established for so long that it's become self-sustaining and bulletproof.
So I'm cycling and new fowlr system. I used Dr tims and live rock I have zero ammonia and I use saliferts test and have 0.2 have to use the low rage for no2 clear looking down but just barely has color thew the side and 10 no3 , my real question is will a cycled tank always have some no2 in it as its part of the cycle ammonia to no2 to no3 to water export any help is greatly appreciated
I think I over dose on dr Tim’s ammonia chloride . It’s been 3 weeks and my ammonia level is still reading 8.0 ppm++. . What should I be doing?
so I plan on doing Dr. Tim's cycle. In terms of adding phytoplankton and copepods to the system, am I OK to add both of them once the cycle is complete, or wait until the tank's first ugly stage? Should i wait until I have fish in my system and when my refugium is setup t start adding them, or I can add the pods without having my refugium setup?
Assuming it's live phyto and pods, adding them right after the cycle can be beneficial as they both can act as a form of clean up crew.
I'm currently cycling first ever tank, Nitrate sky high, Nitrite sky High. Ammonia was 0, so I added more (lots) and it was still 0??
do I just leave it or add more Ammonia?? 🤔
I'm currently on week 2 of my fishless cycling.
however my nitrites has been stuck at 5ppm( deep purple) I had 0 ammonia reading + high amount of nitrates reading (orange or red).
I did some water changes it dropped the nitrites to light purple (2ppm I'm assuming)
but it bounces back to deep purple the next day.what should i do?
Probably worked out by now but have you continued to add the bacteria to the tank as you progressed thru the cycle?
Good information! (Thanks for sharing your Catholic background).
No more video s ? When week 19 comes ?
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam
With all due respect. Simplification would be more effective. This reminded me of why I don’t ask questions in Facebook groups.
How much more simple can it get. He explained it at the level a child could understand. You must be an idiot.
I agree with Brent. He explained it but offered no practical information or advice at all. The first 7 minutes was useless.
@@2DeathCards awe…I bet you’re a total loser who’d never talk shit to someone’s face. My comment was made with respect. Your’s sounds like that of a person who likes to talk shit on the internet. Sorry about your life and lack of real world confidence.
@@2DeathCards no need to be rude man. We all learn at different levels and he's right, many of us have found the nitrogen cycle online already, this video didnt provide much advice as to how we can improve the cycle or really how long we should wait for a cycle to be complete. While I'm not a complete beginner, I find theres always something to learn, this video was the exception in my case but I'm sure someone else found it useful.
Guess you missed the entire practical episode Matthew did before this one - I’m an internationally recognised biomedical scientist and cognitive scientist, with extensive research on how people learn, and I was extremely impressed with how Matthew tackled this topic - in 2 parts, practical first, then the theoretical underpinning. If the science in this video is too much for you, just watch the previous one… of course if anything goes wrong with your nitrogen cycling, you’ll be at the mercy of the sales person at your local fish store - I hope they’re good…
Thanks for the video!