DIY Denitrator

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
clgkag;1578367; said:
So are you saying this would be more effective with fewer water changes? Or would you just need to "feed it" if you do more water changes? :nilly:
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I will be better prepared to answer this in 5-10 years but to not dodge the question.. you have to do water changes, but with with this unit they will not be required as often. I monitored Nitrates to help me develop my schedule, and they were always too high.

Agressive water changes + feeding the filter = low benefit (Nitrates are already in check)
Neglected water changes + not feeding the filter = poor water quality (you are replenishing minerals, not just removing nitrates)

My WC schedules are not aggressive enough to keep Nitrates in check, and this project has so far worked very effectively. I will find the balance that works for me, and so should you!
 
I have the same issue w/WC. Great looking water and not nitrites, but high nitrates. might give this a try thanks.
 
So how'd you get it started and how long did it take to get moving? Vodka?
 
It was setup originally with nothing but tank water, after about (12) weeks i decieded to seed it with the alcohol. It began producing results (6) weeks later.
 
No, Rubbing alcohol is an antiseptic "As an antiseptic it is good against vegetative bacteria and fair against fungi and viruses" (stolen from Wiki).

It's made with a set % of acetone & methyl isobutyl ketone too.
 
So what is holding the coil to the inside of the canister? Also, how is the lid in place? If I am understanding correctly, water is fed from a pump and down the coil where it is released into the center of the canister where the pressure of the water following it will lead it to the return. Do you have a latch system incase you need to work on it or did you just silicone it in place? Just curious questions from an inquiring mind.

PS. If you did more WC (i.e. lower nitrates), why would you have to feed it? I thought bacterias multiplied and died to suit the available resources. If you had lower nitrates to start, then shouldn't you just have a smaller colony doing the same work in your denitrater?
 
well now after reading up a little more it seems you can also seed it with granulated sugar.

Maybe sometime i'll order in 75 feet of airline and do this.
 
ok here is the deal imo

1) seeding refers to adding anoxic bacteria such as might be in your deep gravel under a rock which is oxygen poor. this will seed the bacteria population just like in an aerobic bio filter.

2) bio carbon source. this is food not seed ( see 1 above)
waste water plants use methanol ( bad for fish ??) you can use ethanol ( vodka ) or a sugar solution. traditional method is to "drip" the food source into the filter. using a ratio of 3:1 up to 6:1 depending on the bio carbon food source. this means that if you are removing 300 grams of nitrate a day ( from about 10 lbs food a day) you would add between 900 and 1800 grams of bio available carbon. micro c g which i am using has 670000mg/liter of doc so if you do the math a liter of micro c g contains 670 grams of carbon food source. this would be added to the nitrate filter over a 24 hour period.

the average retention time in my nitrate filter is at a minimum 1 hour, eg in a 100 gallon filter it has a thru put of 100 gph
 
So take some sand from the bottom of my sand substrate, add occasional sugar and bam nitrate filter? (way over simplyfied i know) :P
 
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