Coral chips

[Raymondteo]

Can coral chips bring down nitrate?

[gws]

Can coral chips bring down nitrate?

I don't think so. In most instances , coral chips only support colonies of aerobic bacteria which can only breakdown ammonia(NH4) into nitrite(N02) and convert nitrite(N02) into nitrate(N03) as the coral chips would be in an oxygen rich environment . To achieve denitrification and bring down nitrates ,one may want to use a deep sand bed(dsb) consisting of fine sand to cultivate denitrifying bacteria which convert nitrate into nitrogen gas. Alternatively , you may bring down nitrate through cultivating macroalgae in refugiums or frequent water changes.Hope you would find these information useful.