How is this different from a canister, hang on back filter or sump?

Our system performs both nitrification and denitrifcation in the same chamber. This gets rid of ammonia and then most of the nitrates that are produced. Since the water sits in the main chamber for hours at a time (in contrast to a regular biofilter - where it passes several times a minute), we can take more aggressive (but still purely biological and natural) approaches to water treatment.

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How can you enable nitrification and denitrification in the same chamber? Won't you kill off the beneficial bacteria?

Nitrification and denitrification seems like two contrasting processes that need their own separate environments. This is true if they are not monitored around the clock. However, by carefully monitoring markers in pH, ORP, dissolved O2, temp among a few other measurements, we can in fact conduct both sequentially in the same reactor. The relationships between these measurements and identifying where along the nitrification/denitrification process we are is not straightforward. In fact it is highly nonlinear and that is where we use machine learning to identify these patterns.

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Is this even possible? 

Certainly! If you are interested in learning more about simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in the waster water treatment industry, a quick google search for "Sequential Batch Reactors (SBR)" will satisfy your appetite. You can think of this device as an automated SBR, although there are some key differences.

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What about replenishing trace elements? 

It is true, especially in saltwater tanks, reef tanks, and planted tanks that a water change is much more than simply nutrient export. It also serves the purpose of replenishing trace elements. Automated trace element dosing is pretty mature now, and certainly a feature we would not hesitate to add. An advantage of doing it this way is that you need not worry about undesirable trace elements like copper and chlorines/chloramines entering your system as would with tap water during a conventional water change.

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What about oxygenation?

One vital feature of sumps and other biofilters is that they oxygenate water through flow and surface agitation. A system like our certainly does not oxygenate tank water nearly as effectively as a traditional biofilter. Since water sits it our device for hours at a time, it is not comparable to a traditional biofilter nor does it take its place. It is simply an add-on to an existing biofilter and can be thought of as a water-treatment device.

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How is this different from a sump with bio-balls and an in-line UV sterilizer?

Although sumps are great - they do not do a great job with nitrate export. For this purpose, we usually turn to denitrification methods like refugiums and sulfur/methanol denitrators. Everyone on our team runs a methanol based denitrification device on our tanks and can attest to their success even though they are considered unconventional in the community. The problem with these devices, however, is that they require careful monitoring and dosing of - in the case of methanol - carbon based compounds. We have found that with our method, we can eradicate the need for external carbon sources by carefully controlling our device's internal environment. Now by "completing the loop" in the nitrogen cycle, we can efficiently get rid of our nitrates and cut down the need for water changes

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What happens to the resulting nitrogen gas that is produced?

Most of our atmosphere's air is made up of oxygen and so releasing it back into our homes is safe, especially at the quantities produced with aquarium waste. It is true with larger sources of waste (compost, manure, etc) these gasses can produce dangerous levels of methane or CO2. In fact there are ways to reuse this "biogas" to use as liquid fertilizers or even fuel for energy. If you are curious look up "biogas from anaerobic digestors" production and use. Although in its infancy, it is an interesting way to reuse waste products.

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