DIY coil denitrator.

[terror]

Hi,

anybody here tried a DIY denitrator?
i'm planning to try 1...
planning to use an old fluidized bed filter..
can this be used??
but even with this i'm still planning to make regular water changes. just want the nitrate to be less :)

[Ozark Joe]

Try posting your DIY questions in the DIY forum. You'll get much better response.

Moderator? Ohhh....MOD-ER-ATOR.......??? Move this guy, will ya?

[RTR]

Nitrate alone is not that toxic, it is just a convenient indicator of the build-up of metabolic and other pollutants in the tank. So, when you remove the nitrate specifically, you are left with all the rest of the pollution and you have lost the easiest measure of it.

If you want to play with DIY coil denitrification, fine, more power to you - I run experiments all the time.

But if you want better water conditions, increase the water changes and forget denitrification. Water changes are non-specific, they remove all dissolved pollutants in direct proportion to the percent changed.

HTH

[terror]

Originally posted by RTR
Nitrate alone is not that toxic, it is just a convenient indicator of the build-up of metabolic and other pollutants in the tank. So, when you remove the nitrate specifically, you are left with all the rest of the pollution and you have lost the easiest measure of it.

If you want to play with DIY coil denitrification, fine, more power to you - I run experiments all the time.

But if you want better water conditions, increase the water changes and forget denitrification. Water changes are non-specific, they remove all dissolved pollutants in direct proportion to the percent changed.

HTH


thanks!
i do partial water changes weekly:)
i guess i'll still do the same thing even with the denitrator..
its just a plus:)

[roliva]

I would assume this would work if you can fit about 50 feet of airline tubing in it. From what I read, that is the length to have at a drip rate minimum 60 per minute to establish an anaerobic environment.

[terror]

Originally posted by roliva
I would assume this would work if you can fit about 50 feet of airline tubing in it. From what I read, that is the length to have at a drip rate minimum 60 per minute to establish an anaerobic environment.


50 ft... ? that means i can't used my old fbd... :( since its not really that big.

[roliva]

Yeah, the cheapest alternative is to get a 24 inch length of 4" diameter pvc pipe and go from there. A drip rate of 60 a minute gives approximately 1 gallon of denitrated H20 per 24 hours.

Here are some links:

http://www.aloha.net/~hqf/indexdondenitrator.htm

http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fnucalf.physics.fsu.e du%2Fpfohl%2FFish%2FDiy%2Fdenitrators

[terror]

Originally posted by roliva
Yeah, the cheapest alternative is to get a 24 inch length of 4" diameter pvc pipe and go from there. A drip rate of 60 a minute gives approximately 1 gallon of denitrated H20 per 24 hours.

Here are some links:

http://www.aloha.net/~hqf/indexdondenitrator.htm

http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fnucalf.physics.fsu.e du%2Fpfohl%2FFish%2FDiy%2Fdenitrators


thanks!
i'l try this:)

[stephenray75]

i made one that! I used it on 200 gallon salt tank but i have discontinued its use and probably will sell it on ebay.. they work great once they get going but dont forget it may take a month or more to actually start working....

[terror]

Originally posted by stephenray75
i made one that! I used it on 200 gallon salt tank but i have discontinued its use and probably will sell it on ebay.. they work great once they get going but dont forget it may take a month or more to actually start working....


wish i was there i'd buy your denitrator..
i'mk not really good at diys.

btw why did you discontinue its use?
will it work with freshwater tanks?

will frequent water change affect its performance?

[got_nailed]

I do have a DIY denitrator set up on a 125 tank. We are using a sump witch helps with the part of getting the water back into the main tank.

Go to an online pet shop and look at what they are. Most of them are just a canister about 4” round and 14 to 25” high. It’s filled with a material that has a lot of places to let the bacteria form on. BioBalls will work (but will tack about 2 months to get the bacteria growing on it). They do sell Deniballs that are 24 balls for $35, and the Denimar tablets that are 60 for $10.99. (I’m looking at the PetSolutions catalog, April 2004.)

I use a 20” peace of 4” PVC with 2 end caps. It’s filed with a mix of BioBalls and Deniballs. The intake is at the top (a metal hose filling), and the outtake is coming out the side on the bottom (a metal hose fitting). I drilled a hole in the overflow box to feed the denitrator and I have a fine adjustment vale to limit the flow of water. The water coming out of the denitrator goes back into the sump where it circulates back into the tank.


I have seen it done with a long peace of air tubing curled in to a peace of PVC to hold it but a film can be produced closing off the tubing.
They will be fine with frequent water changes as long as you don’t change to much water.
They do work in fresh water tanks.
The only down side to it is sometimes it can get clogged and when it restarts all of the good bacteria that you had is now bad bacteria and now it has to start all over growing new metabolic bacteria.


If you’re using a working fluidized bed filter on the tank I would keep using it. Removing it could cycle your tank. Your going to be doing the same water changes on the tank with or with out the denitrator.