{"id":68786,"date":"2025-06-28T10:29:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T08:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/denitrification-under-control-sander-bv-on-filter-innovation"},"modified":"2025-06-28T10:29:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T08:29:06","slug":"denitrification-under-control-sander-bv-on-filter-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/denitrification-under-control-sander-bv-on-filter-innovation","title":{"rendered":"Denitrification under control; SANDER BV on filter innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<header> <\/header>\n<section>\n<h2>&#8220;Nitrat is meistens der Endstoff&#8221; &#8211; but not always<\/h2>\n<p>During Interzoo 2024, I spoke with an employee of SANDER BV about an innovative filter system that enables biological denitrification.<br \/>\nDenitrification &#8211; the process by which nitrate (NO\u2083-) is converted to nitrogen gas (N\u2082) &#8211; is usually the final part of the nitrogen cycle.<br \/>\nBut in many aquatic systems, such as aquariums and also koi ponds, nitrate often remains as the end product. Esther: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Nitrat is usually the end station. That&#8217;s not necessarily a bad thing, but if it builds up, eventually you have to get it out of the system.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8221;<br \/>\nThat&#8217;s where this filtration system comes in.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"interview Sander\" width=\"788\" height=\"443\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lwekgJcXVVI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Closed system for targeted denitrification<\/h2>\n<p>The system SANDER developed uses a closed, low-oxygen compartment in which denitrifying bacteria are active.<br \/>\nThese bacteria get their needed oxygen not from the air or water, but from the nitrate molecule itself.<br \/>\nThis creates nitrogen gas that leaves the system via diffusion.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The key is that no oxygen is blown into this part of the filter. This allows the right bacteria to do their job,&#8221; Esther explains.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This also requires a carbon source &#8211; acetic acid, for example &#8211; which serves as a food for the bacteria.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Benefits of controlled denitrification<\/h2>\n<p>Esther emphasizes that spontaneous denitrification can also occur in biofilms of open filters, but it is unpredictable:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;In a biofilm, sometimes an oxygen-poor layer can form where denitrification takes place, but that is never targeted or controllable.&#8221;<br \/>\nWith this system, we can work very precisely via redox measurements and <abbr class='c2c-text-hover' title='zuurtegraad'>pH<\/abbr> control.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8221;<br \/>\nThus, the system offers advantages for plants where stability is essential &#8211; such as large aquariums, research setups or animal systems where water quality needs to be closely monitored.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Is this relevant to koi ponds?<\/h2>\n<p>Although the system is not specifically designed for koi ponds, Esther says it does offer possibilities:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Whether you need it is another question. In koi ponds you often have algae, especially in the spring, but no plants that absorb nitrogen.<br \/>\nThen in theory this could help, if properly tuned.&#8221; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>She notes that in the koi scene, drum filters and sand filters are common, with protein skimmers as an additional option. Denitrification as a separate filter step she still rarely sees applied in ponds. <\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-68395\" src=\"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander.jpeg 1600w, https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander-500x375.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander-700x525.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander-150x113.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander-450x338.jpeg 450w, https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander-1200x900.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/denitrificatie-Sander-200x150.jpeg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Scalability and application<\/h2>\n<p>The unit shown at Interzoo is currently the smallest SANDER supplies. It is a new development, still in full development. Esther:  <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;We are open to further development &#8211; also toward specific applications. This system runs stably, is modular and can be scaled up as needed.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<h2>Lock<\/h2>\n<p>The interview with Esther made it clear that SANDER focuses on high-quality, controllable water treatment. Denitrification is not an accident in this, but a planned process.<br \/>\nFor Koi hobbyists, this can be an interesting direction &#8211; especially where nitrogen accumulation, algae blooms or limited water changes are a factor. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Location:<\/strong> Interzoo 2024, Nuremberg<br \/>\n<strong>Report:<\/strong> <abbr class='c2c-text-hover' title='Initiator en auteur KoiQuestion'>Tiebo Jacobs<\/abbr>, <abbr class='c2c-text-hover' title='Beating Heart of the Nishikigoi Community'>KoiQuestion<\/abbr><br \/>\n<strong>Interview partner:<\/strong> SANDER BV<br \/>\n<strong>Topic:<\/strong> Biological denitrification and closed filtration systems for aquatic applications<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Nitrat is meistens der Endstoff&#8221; &#8211; but not always During Interzoo 2024, I spoke with an employee of SANDER BV about an innovative filter system that enables biological denitrification. Denitrification &#8211; the process by which nitrate (NO\u2083-) is converted to nitrogen gas (N\u2082) &#8211; is usually the final part of the nitrogen cycle. But in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":68397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6395,6388],"tags":[7833,7832,7834],"series":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-68786","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hardware","8":"category-watermanagement","9":"tag-anaerobic","10":"tag-denitrification","11":"tag-sander"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68786"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koiquestion.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=68786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}