Calling all Denitrator users!
- Thread starter UCF Alum
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pickupman66
5000 Club Member
SSSOOOOO.. I use a Home made one made from about 60 feet of black 1/4" tubing. this is inserted into a 4" pvc for holding and I slowly pass water thru it at a steady drip. I have used this simple setup for years in a few tanks (75 gallon, 180 gallon and my current 66). It works because fo the dwell time in the tube that by the end, the water is devoid of oxygen and allows for growth of the anaerobic bacteria to process the nitrates. it is a very simple device. In my tank, with chaeto it keeps mine in check under 10ppm which is where i want it.
OP
OP
UCF Alum
Stick addict
Anyway you can take a picture of this?
pickupman66
5000 Club Member
ill try to remember tonight.
pickupman66
5000 Club Member
Remember, this is just a housing for tubing.
malacoda
Valuable Member
I use Seachem De*Nitrate in a DIY nitrate canister made from a plastic mayo jar.
It's on a 24g and within 5 days of adding it my NO3 went from 15 ppm to 1 ppm where it has remained for the past 18 months.
After almost two years of use, the epoxy I used to bond the 'intake pipe' to the bottom of the jar has broken loose, so I am about to replace it with a a Two Little Fishes 150 reactor. Just going to dump the De*Nitrate from the mayo jar into the TLF 150 and it'll be good to go.
What kind of live rock did you use in your tank?
I went with aquacultured man-made rock. Turned out to be great for ammonia and nitrite processing. But it just isn't porous enough for the anaerobic bacteria that consume/process nitrate to thrive. De*Nitrate was the solution for me.
Something along the lines of Brightwell NO3 bricks/plates/cubes would work as well.
The key to any of the above is ensuring you get the proper amount of flow through them. For example, I first tried the De*Nitrate passively in my sump ... to no effect. The minute I put it into the homemade reactor - fed off my return line, which allowed my to put the recommended 20-50 gph through it - it began working like a charm.
It's on a 24g and within 5 days of adding it my NO3 went from 15 ppm to 1 ppm where it has remained for the past 18 months.
After almost two years of use, the epoxy I used to bond the 'intake pipe' to the bottom of the jar has broken loose, so I am about to replace it with a a Two Little Fishes 150 reactor. Just going to dump the De*Nitrate from the mayo jar into the TLF 150 and it'll be good to go.
What kind of live rock did you use in your tank?
I went with aquacultured man-made rock. Turned out to be great for ammonia and nitrite processing. But it just isn't porous enough for the anaerobic bacteria that consume/process nitrate to thrive. De*Nitrate was the solution for me.
Something along the lines of Brightwell NO3 bricks/plates/cubes would work as well.
The key to any of the above is ensuring you get the proper amount of flow through them. For example, I first tried the De*Nitrate passively in my sump ... to no effect. The minute I put it into the homemade reactor - fed off my return line, which allowed my to put the recommended 20-50 gph through it - it began working like a charm.
