In addition to being able to put Seachem De Nitrate into a media basket or compartment in your filter, you can also add the product as a substrate in your aquarium.
To find out how to do so, you can take a look at this tutorial at Aquarium Blueprints.
Can you use Seachem De Nitrate as substrate?
Seachem De Nitrate is used for biological filtration. The product provides surface area for beneficial bacteria colonies to grow. When established, these microscopic organisms will keep the water in your fish tank healthy by reducing ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
The beneficial bacteria colonies can grow on not only in your filter, but also on all the surface areas in your tank.
Therefore, De Nitrate won’t lose its effectiveness when you use it as a substrate.
Should you bury Seachem De Nitrate under another substrate?
De Nitrate requires regular rinsing. Otherwise, the pores will get clogged up, starving and eventually killing the beneficial bacteria. If you aren’t diligent, then the biological filtration in your tank will be disrupted, causing spikes in ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
Since you need to rinse De Nitrate often, we don’t recommend burying it underneath another substrate. Otherwise, you will need to remove the other substrate first before being able to remove De Nitrate, making the rinsing process a lot harder than it needs to be.
How to add Seachem De Nitrate as substrate in your aquarium
In order to properly add Seachem De Nitrate as a substrate in your fish tank, you can take the following steps:
1. Before you start, we recommend using a filter bag to hold the De Nitrate stones. This will make it easier to remove them for maintenance.
If you are looking for a compatible product, then we recommend picking up the Aquatic Experts Aquarium Mesh Media Filter Bags, which you can find on Amazon with this link. (#CommissionsEarned)
To begin, we recommend taking out De Nitrate out of its package and into a bucket or container.
2. Next, we recommend adding water to the bucket or container.
If you are using tap water, we suggest using a dechlorinator like Seachem Prime so that you can avoid putting chlorine and chloramine in your aquarium as both of these will harm the beneficial bacteria in your biological filtration.
3. Move the stones around in the bucket or container to know off any dust and dirt particles.
4. After thoroughly rising the De Nitrate media, remove as much as the water from the bucket or container as possible.
5. Next, you need to put the stones into a filter bag or multiple bags.
6. Finally, you can put the filter bag(s) into your fish tank.
How to maintain the effectiveness of Seachem De Nitrate as a substrate
To maintain the effectiveness of De Nitrate, we recommend rising the media every time you do a water change.
In order to properly rinse, you can do the following:
1. Remove the filter bag(s) containing De Nitrate and then put it in a bucket or container.
2. Add water you are removing in your tank to the bucket or container.
You can also use tap water as long as you add a dechlorinator beforehand to remove the harmful chlorine and chloramine.
3. Move the filter bag’s around in the water of your tank to unclog the pores and remove any detritus that are covering the stones.
4. If the water gets dirty, then we recommend removing the bag(s) from the bucket or container and then dump the dirty water.
You can then put the De Nitrate back into your bucket or container and then add more tank water (or tap water with dechlorinator). You can then resume rinsing the stones.
5. Once you are done with the rinsing, you can put De Nitrate back into your aquarium as a substrate.
