Coiled Denitrator DIY - Page 6

JohnO · 09-01-2004, 08:42 PM

Well a guys over here used that diagram, without the bio wheel, for his return water and all his circulation.

John

sgnestor · 09-02-2004, 10:27 PM

hi, i'm new here and immediately got curious with this DIY. I have a few questions though:
1. I thought the end result when bacteria breaks down Nitrates would be some gasses (Nitrogen i think), then if the whole thing is sealed, where would the gas escape?
2. I read somewhere that commercial denitrators needs to be fed, would this version need to do that too? If so, then do I open the whole thing to put food for the bacteria?

Hope somebody could clarifiy so I could get started with one.
Cheers!

JohnO · 09-02-2004, 11:25 PM

Hi sgnestor :-)

The gas comes out with the water in the discharge tube, it's catually part of the water and not as a gas as such

JOhn

sgnestor · 09-02-2004, 11:28 PM

thanks johno for the quick reply. so how about the thing about feeding? would the nutrients in the water be enough to feed the aerobic and anaerobic bacteria inside?

Birdlady · 09-03-2004, 02:11 AM

Hehe, I asked the same exact question before I made this...

There is a link at the begining of this thread that gives a bit more info on the whole process...but no, it does not need to be fed from what everyone tells me. I guess the level of bacteria that grows just naturally increases as nitrates increase and vice versa

dx7fd2 · 09-03-2004, 03:19 AM

The CD is part of the natural cycling process. And you are right BL, the bacteria amount will dip and rise with the demand on the system just as when you add a fish to your tank the whole cycle adapts to the additional bio-load.

Very nice job Birdlady..I should be done with mine in a couple of weeks, same idea just looks different. I have been busy getting my display tank up and dialed in. I will be using the same fittings that you used to hook up the CD, and I think I am going to hook it up to the output of my skimmer pump with a selfpiercing tap like you use on a water line. That will make a very strong, leakproof input for the CD. I will be using 1/4" drip line hose for the interior coils.

[move][glow=blue,2,300]Good Job BirdLady!!![/glow][/move]

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crutkas · 09-03-2004, 03:32 AM

for my 125, I decided to get a mag 3 to power my CD, my calc reactor, phosphate remover and an 18 watt UV

the pump will be right after the skimmer

dx7fd2 · 09-03-2004, 02:38 PM

Here's a couple of pics of the coil (100 feet) in the tube...I am going to run a couple of beads of silicone up the inside of the coil to keep it from unwinding and then top it off with 2 pieces of acrylic with a gasket in between in case I need to open it up.

The top will have a piece of hard tube glued through it with the same couplings you are using Birdlady on each side for the input. The output is a threaded elbow of the same type and I will use a nylon washer on the inside to keep it snug and seal it with silicone.
I am hoping my skimmer pump will have enough oooomph to keep the CD and the skimmer running, if not then another smaller pump in the sump.

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Thanks for the inspiration Birdlady!!! BTW what quantity of Bio Balls did you use Birdlady?

somethingfishy · 09-03-2004, 02:48 PM

Oh my how many feet of tubing is that? Is there a reason that standard 3/16"air line wouldn't work. It is alot easier to get fittings for that than the 1/4." All this talk about it I'm thinking of building one. It is a pretty cheap project and there is a great benefit to it.

crutkas · 09-03-2004, 02:55 PM

I think you have an issue dx7fd2. The tube shouldn't be clear from what I've read. The darkness along with the lack of oxygen is what helps populate CD into a DSB in a tube. While the tubing will block light I doubt it will block it 100%.

I'd fill the tube up with as many bioballs as possible. More space for the bacteria.