DIY Natureef Style Denitrator Build and Data thread...

[Northside Reef]

Once you automate would you please post a snapshot of your dosing system?

I am really looking forward to giving this a shot.

 

[mrx66699]

Once you automate would you please post a snapshot of your dosing system?

I am really looking forward to giving this a shot.

Yes I will post a pic of a few ways you can do things....just takes a doser pump either connected to a controller or one that is stand alone programmable or on a timer and either a controller or timer to turn on the flush pump

 

[iTzJu]

Do you think this can be done with a standard 10 gallon tank modified with those egg crate baffles or would a taller tank be more suitable?

 

[lnevo]

Forgot if this was mentioned... are you still doing water changes while this process is ongoing? What's the long term plans for WC?

 

[jon+megan]

my build 6 mpnths ago

my build 6 mpnths ago

Hi all, thought i would throw in my 2cents.
built a 4" x 24" rig with 100ft of dripline. chamber is full (about 20) of plastic dish scrubbers.
set up syphons from the clean side of a penguin HOB bio wheel and drips into fuge in the sump at a rate approx 2 pints per hour.
i persevered with it for about 2 mths and never had any change in input and output so shut it off and removed input from HOB filter and just left where it was.
Any how decided to see what if anything was going on as am doing water change today.
reset input and drained output into a jug, 2 cups in 15 mins and gave it a smell check. very faint smell, poss hydrogen sulphide.
dumped that and drew another jug, still faint odour, checked nitrate and pow!!
absolutely zero...never before seen even from my rodi water.



am now continuing to drip and monitoring,

 

[DRThompson]

Hi all, thought i would throw in my 2cents.
built a 4" x 24" rig with 100ft of dripline. chamber is full (about 20) of plastic dish scrubbers.
set up syphons from the clean side of a penguin HOB bio wheel and drips into fuge in the sump at a rate approx 2 pints per hour.
i persevered with it for about 2 mths and never had any change in input and output so shut it off and removed input from HOB filter and just left where it was.
Any how decided to see what if anything was going on as am doing water change today.
reset input and drained output into a jug, 2 cups in 15 mins and gave it a smell check. very faint smell, poss hydrogen sulphide.
dumped that and drew another jug, still faint odour, checked nitrate and pow!!
absolutely zero...never before seen even from my rodi water.
am now continuing to drip and monitoring,

You've built a coil-denitrater!!:thumbsup:. You should still consider feeding it once to twice a week with some vodka to prevent it from going sulfer on you . I use to run one on my 55gal, they will remove nitrates but can get a little fussy. I found the dripper would get clogged; consider using a needle valve to control the dripping.

 

[DRThompson]

Once you automate would you please post a snapshot of your dosing system?

I am really looking forward to giving this a shot.

Here's mine; just used drews dosers from BRS. Controlled using the EB4 by my apex.

<a href="http://s1072.photobucket.com/user/pharmd99/media/natureef%20denitrator/P1020023_zpsf3f260e2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/pharmd99/natureef%20denitrator/P1020023_zpsf3f260e2.jpg" border="0" alt="dosing pumps photo P1020023_zpsf3f260e2.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1072.photobucket.com/user/pharmd99/media/natureef%20denitrator/P1020019_zpsec4d5c10.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w362/pharmd99/natureef%20denitrator/P1020019_zpsec4d5c10.jpg" border="0" alt="dosing pumps and apex EB4 photo P1020019_zpsec4d5c10.jpg"/></a>

 

[bmanzie]

Isn't methanol flammable? Aren't you nervous having it so close to your electrical outlets?

 

[DRThompson]

Isn't methanol flammable? Aren't you nervous having it so close to your electrical outlets?

We dilute it to 50% with RO when dosing .

 

[jon+megan]

dose for denitrator.

dose for denitrator.

if i were to feed with sugar or vodka straight into top of coil how much would be appropriate....guess work?

 

[DRThompson]

if i were to feed with sugar or vodka straight into top of coil how much would be appropriate....guess work?

What diameter size is your coil? I hope you didnt use 1/4", it will clog.

Dosing is best done in the compartment where you put the plastic dish scrubbers if possible. The bacteria that grows and removes the nitrates is VERY thick and slimy and might clog up your coil if fed at the beginning. Maybe you could put a line in there with a check valve for dosing the vodka.

I'd start with 4-5ml once to twice a week of vodka.

 

[mrx66699]

if i were to feed with sugar or vodka straight into top of coil how much would be appropriate....guess work?

Can we put this to its own thread or pm so as not to clog up those in this thread following the data here ....thanks ...

 

[mrx66699]

Cycleing 3 times a day now and have lowered the dose down to 40ml each dose ....that's a 90gal water change every day for the moment ....

Dt is down to 2.5-5 nitrates depending on the test kit.....api gives me 5 and the salifert Dave measureed with was closer to 2.5.......now to maintain and lower the dosage to as low as possible with a sustainable output at 0 nitrates per cycle

 

[SPotter]

thats amazing.....how high were your nitrates when you started?

 

[mrx66699]

thats amazing.....how high were your nitrates when you started?

Nitrates were 50-100 hard to tell on the API as the shades of red all seem to blend together....

 

[SPotter]

Nitrates were 50-100 hard to tell on the API as the shades of red all seem to blend together....

Wow....and how many cycles did it take to reduce? I remember having nitrates over 100 when my last tank finished cycling. That system was about 450g twv and I think it took almost 800g in water changes to get it down. Where was this when I needed it!!! Cant wait to set this up on my new tank!

 

[mrx66699]

That is one thing I did not count the number of cycles....it is cycling 90 gal a day at present ......I have not stopped regular water changes and I do use natural sea water .....

 

[dwolson2]

Do you think this can be done with a standard 10 gallon tank modified with those egg crate baffles or would a taller tank be more suitable?

I have a 10 gal tank sitting in my garage, and am curious as well.
I do have another question. I go out of town for a few days at a time, if I was setting it up and was gone for 4 days, if it finished at day 2, is there any harm in leaving it in there until day 4 when I get home, test that its ok and then flush it with the next set?

Also, is there any benefit to using methanol over say vodka? The Natureef stuff says Alk is the byproduct, in small amounts, what is the byproduct of the methanol?

 

[dwolson2]

Also, do you need to buy the starter culture? Or are you able to just wait until it starts on its own?

 

[mrx66699]

I have a 10 gal tank sitting in my garage, and am curious as well.
I do have another question. I go out of town for a few days at a time, if I was setting it up and was gone for 4 days, if it finished at day 2, is there any harm in leaving it in there until day 4 when I get home, test that its ok and then flush it with the next set?

Also, is there any benefit to using methanol over say vodka? The Natureef stuff says Alk is the byproduct, in small amounts, what is the byproduct of the methanol?

not so sure how good the 10gal will work as it needs to flush and you don't want the pump in the chamber as it will just get covered in bacteria and then will eventually clog up and you don't want to keep disturbing things taking the pump in and out in and out.....i suppose if you could drill the 10 it would work just fine....if you are gone and the bacteria is not fed it will start to die off and then when fed your cycle will need to start up again, put it on an automatic doser and timer for the flush pump....unless this is your fist time cycling and in that case if it finishes before you get home then restarting the cycle should not be an issue just will delay time in starting up things ....the byproduct of the bacteria feeding on the methanol is the striping of the 02 from nitrate and and then the nitrogen releasing and degassing off (Dave could prolly answer this more scientifically)....methanol is more of a pure substance of carbon....