DIY Denitrator

[Tongue33]

ahs this affected your Nitrates? bfore and after readings?

 

[X24]

update?

 

[ar0wan]

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?

The hose coil was a biotch to get in place, i gave it a soak in a hot water bath on the outside of the tube to help it prepare for it's shape. Once cooled it went in pretty easily.

No latch system, no maintainance. I have no plans to feed the system again, and will not take it apart until it starts to leak, or is completely clogged (hopefully in 3-4 years).

Thank you for the questions!

 

[myles]

do you HAVE to feed it initially? or can you just make it, slap it on your tank and it will seed over the coarse ofthe next few months naturaly?

 

[ar0wan]

Physics and Biology says it WILL start to work all by itself without feeding it, opinions vary on wether or not to do it. I find that as with everything in this hobby, consistancy is far more important that the decision itself. If introduced to tank water alone, it will take longer to get started but will probably be far more balanced once the colony has established itself.

It was my hope when I started this thread that more people had tried this, or had store bought models. Since this was my first attempt, I was looking for others results.. If you have tried this method or are thinking about making one, please post what you tried and how long it took to get started up!

 

[johnptc]

Physics and Biology says it WILL start to work all by itself without feeding it, opinions vary on wether or not to do it. I find that as with everything in this hobby, consistancy is far more important that the decision itself. If introduced to tank water alone, it will take longer to get started but will probably be far more balanced once the colony has established itself.

It was my hope when I started this thread that more people had tried this, or had store bought models. Since this was my first attempt, I was looking for others results.. If you have tried this method or are thinking about making one, please post what you tried and how long it took to get started up!

since you arent feeding.....what do the anoxic bacteria eat to break up the nitrates ???

 

[soggysandwich]

so this system does not remove the need to do water changes? from what im understanding this is suppose to remove nitrates but then thats what water changes are for. so if you still have to do water changes then whats the point of this thing?

 

[johnptc]

so this system does not remove the need to do water changes? from what im understanding this is suppose to remove nitrates but then thats what water changes are for. so if you still have to do water changes then whats the point of this thing?

should reduce the need for water changes greatly

 

[L.BelcherII]

I have one on my tank. I didn't "feed" it to get it started. Mine works purely on a gravity feed, and then dumps into the top of my sump. Only time I gravel vac is to clear up debris. Nitrates never get higher than 10 ppm MAX.

The hardest part of maintaining a Denitrator is flow adjustment. If your flow is too fast, Oxygen isn't propperly depleted, and the filter won't work. If you go too slow, the water in the filter will stagnate, and the possibility that hydrogen sulfides might be produced. You’ll know when this happens as the odor of the water leaving the reactor will smell like rotten eggs.

 

[soggysandwich]

should reduce the need for water changes greatly

ok so like once a couple of months instead of every week? if thats true i just might have to do this for when i go to college