DIY coil Denitrator

[sammydee]

If I ever have nitrate problems on my 20 gallon I'm gonna have a bash at building an internal denitrator. It would be internal in the actual tank, half buried in the sand. I could use PVC pipe or similar for the outside. The tubing used might be standard silicone airline tubing or maybe model aircraft fuel tubing which is thicker-walled, tougher and narrower internally. With the model aircraft tubing I would have maybe two twenty foot lengths coioled up round and round inside the pipe. The interior would be filled with gravel or similar for bacterial population.

I could either use an air lift tube (might not be enough pressure to draw water through all that tube) or a tap to a filter outlet to circulate about 3 or 4 gph through it.

Simple question - would it work?

Thanks, Sam.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Im no salty, but i dont understand the princible you are trying to use? Could u explain a little for me! Thanks.

 

[chkltcow]

Any time you have what you believe is a solid (or hair brained) idea for a DIY project, check KingVinnie's first Chances are someone has already done it and you can learn from their mistakes There are a few plans for Denitrators there for you to look at.

http/www.kingvinnie.com/aquaria/diy/

 

[Mr Miagi]

Dude! That is an awsome link. Straight to the pool room!

 

[sammydee]

I just figured it wouldn't work the way it's currently set up cause oxygen would get in the top and make the whole thing useless. I would need to add an outlet pipe.

Mr Miagi - a coil denitratificator is a long tube, coiled up, which water flows through very very slowly. The oxygen is used up first by ordinary bacteria - then there is no oxygen left. This leaves anaerobic bacteria that break down nitrate into nitrogen gas - get it? You need a long long tube, then some media for the anaerobic bacteia to settle on at the end. I was wondering if it was possible to make an internal one - then a leak would not be disastrous.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Oh yeah, i get it now, tahnx. How long would the cord have to be, im thinking quite long, and where would ya put it?!?

 

[sammydee]

Well that's what I was thinking. You need very thin tube, thinner than normal airline hose, and you coil it up so it don't take up too much room.

However, on that link posted by chkltcow (excellent link btw) there is an idea for making one out of correx (coroplast in the states) which seems far easier - I can just stick it to the back of the tank and it won't take up any room at all.

The idea involves using the intenal tube of correx as te long tube and the water goes up one, down the other, up the next, down the next, all the way along until it gets to the end. This allows you to have a very long length of tube in a flat space - you can even stick two pieces together to get one twice as long and only 1/2 an inch thick. I think this one sounds the easiest and cheapest to make.