I got me large aquaripure nitrate filter on jan this year... i wanted to get it cus i thought it would be really good...The filter is made with good quality parts and its easy to maintain..but it really didn't work with my set up...it never cycled. It takes around 6-8 weeks to cycle according to the manual... i even email the guy from aquaripure a few times... i learned the following.

The filter is meant to be one the the primary sources of biological filtration, which means that if you have too much bio filtration you should remove it so that it can work at its best...it can be used with bio filtration but for it to work at its best it needs to be one of the primary bio filters and not have other filters with a lot of bio media. For an oscar tank, you want as much bio filtration as you can get and the aquaripure wont cut it being primary, especially since it has a VERY low flow rate..it drips the water back into the tank...

The filter is also interrupted by meds...meds affect the bacteria inside it, which im sure will make go thru a mini cycle.

Seems like it works best with tanks that require little bio filtration so it can be used as a one primary bio filters.

my conclusion is that it really doesn't cut it for tanks with large predatory fish that require good bio filtration and require frequent water changes. I do 40% water changes every week..so i really didn't need it...i just got the filter out of pure ignorance...

hope this information helps all those that are interested in it...im sure its great but for us OFLers it really isn't, that is if you really care about keeping your fish in pristine fresh water

So im gona sell it! anybody interested? hehe

Nice info, we've been discussing the subject for very long now.
thanx for sharing your conclusions.

I did consider buying one myself at one point, glad i never, I cant see how it can work as a bio filter cos as you say the very low flow rate, thats got me puzzled. can you remind me what size tank you have?

did you feed enough alcohol each and everyday?
did you adjust the flow rate correctly?
what was the nitrate level at start, when you 1st got the filter?

I know these nitrate reactors can and do work very well, to a point that it can remove all nitrate from the tank. they do however need the user to totally understand HOW/and WHY they work. also they need to be maintained in a certain way to make them work. as you say adding meds to the tank is a not good, also you need to make certain the filter you have can maintain the tank, sufficient nitrate and vodka to keep it alive. are you still using it? I still think or should i say, I am confident with a little help you can get it to work.

yup i did keep up with its maintenance...my tank is 150g with two fx5. nitrates have always been at 10...my tap has 10 nitrates...the manual even stated to speed up the process you can feed it every 4 days or so, and i did...the aquaripure guy told me to test the water coming out of the effluent directly and when nitrates where 0 it was cycled...didn't happen, i adjusted the flow and everything as the manual stated. I'm also puzzled about it having to be a primary bio filter...i'm sure it works, but like i said i bought it out of pure ignorance and also just impulse...cus i figured now i don't really need it cus i like to do WC every week. Im not sure if i'll sell it, i might just keep it. I'm going to think about it

I can't see how you can feed it every 4 days. acohol reactors need feeding everyday. the bactira is living and will not stay alive without food. maybe they have a slow feed system or somethime. a reactor for a 150g tank should be getting around 5ml of vodka everyday and have a flow rate of 3-5 drips per sec once cycled. without the food it dies off. once cycled you need to balnce flow and vodka to maintain trace nitrate.

with a nitrate level of 10pph i wouldn't bother. as even with a reactor you should get a reading of 0-5pph once it has cycled. i currently have a nitrate reading of 10pph but am still doing wkly water changes of 30%. you just can't do without a water change no matter what you do. lowing nitrates are not the only reason to W/C. shame it hasn't worked for you.

yea but its i dont mind that it didn't work for me...i wanted to be lazy on the W/C but i repented, heheh...i just made it w/c easier, got me a 60gal plastic barrel and a pond pump and an extra heater. the night b4 i do a water change i fill up the barrel, declor the water,drop the heater in and the next day its ready and at the same temp as the tank water i can do a water change in 30 min maybe less now that i went bare bottom :)thanks for your concern Marcus ^_^

how much