DIY Coil DeNitrator

[alfani]

DIY Coil DeNitrator for less than $50

24 inch PVC tube - $10
75 feet air hose - $15
250 Bio Balls - $10
2 - 4 inch end caps - $5
1 ball valve - $1
1 1/4 to 3/4 intake adaptor - $3

 

[nanoreefer22]

Looks cool...any more pics of the inside?

 

[spacenyc]

great

great idea to use all the bio balls sitting in the basement.

 

[alfani]

Looks cool...any more pics of the inside?

no....it's just one continuously spiral of coils from end to end, this is the hardest part of the project, took a while to coil 75 feet of tubes inside

 

[Wes]

no....it's just one continuously spiral of coils from end to end, this is the hardest part of the project, took a while to coil 75 feet of tubes inside

easiest way is to heat up the tubing in hot water then wrap it around the outside of the pipe and let it cool. This will "teach" the tubing to coil up like you want it.

 

[NYPDFrogman]

easiest way is to heat up the tubing in hot water then wrap it around the outside of the pipe and let it cool. This will "teach" the tubing to coil up like you want it.

great tip!!!

 

[KathyC]

Hey Peter...very nice

Can you post the reason why a reefer would want/need one of these and how much flow is necessary, does it require cleaning..etc?

 

[alfani]

Hey Peter...very nice

Can you post the reason why a reefer would want/need one of these and how much flow is necessary, does it require cleaning..etc?

The flow going in is just gravity feed, you can use a pump but don't really need it. I had set up so that the intake tube is 3/8 inch for more force, the max output is 1 drop per second so why bother with the pump. It would take about 5-6 weeks to "cycle" and once it is cycled, the output should have 0 nitrate. The use of the denitrator is to reduce nitrate. Once is set up, no cleaning or maintenance necessary, just leave it there and forget about it and could last few years. You can read more about it here.

It cost couple of hundred dollars if you buy it from vendor, but can be build for less than $50, same concept. Other concepts include using sulfur to remove nitrate.

 

[Wes]

another tip is to use the john guest fitting with a valve on the output. Over time nitrogen gas builds up in the top of the chamber and the water will have a hard time escaping. you can fix this by removing the output tubing and "bleed" the gas out until the water starts flowing again...Then close the valve until you can reconnect the tubing.

Kathy, reefers can use this to help denitrification. The idea is by the time the water reaches the end of the coil, the aerobic bacteria on the inside walls of the coil have consumed all the oxygen creating an anaerobic zone in the center where the bioballs are located. This is where the nitrates convert to nitrogen gas.

you start it out with a slow drip while the bacteria colonizes, and slowly increase the flow rate over time.

if the effluent smells like sulfur the flow is too low, if the effluent contains nitrates the flow is too high. After the initial tweaking, it is very low mainenance.

 

[Wes]

The flow going in is just gravity feed, you can use a pump but don't really need it. I had set up so that the intake tube is 3/8 inch for more force, the max output is 1 drop per second so why bother with the pump.

you may find that over time the gravity may not be enough. I found that after time, the backpressure increases. Probably the biofilm, etc. building up in the tubing.

 

[KathyC]

Thanks guys, that is very interesting!

Are they always cycled while attached to the tank? Doesn't that increase the nitrates for a period before the unit is totally cycled? Is there a way to cycle it off the tank?

 

[alfani]

you may find that over time the gravity may not be enough. I found that after time, the backpressure increases. Probably the biofilm, etc. building up in the tubing.

ic, all the intake/output hose can be unscrew/detached so I'll add a pump if it happens.

never open the container, inside the container it should be air tight for anaerobic to thrive

 

[Wes]

as long as you keep the flow going the bacteria will not die off and you "stay cycled" It shouldnt "increase" the nitrates because you have the same amount of ammonia going in being "processed" I imagine you could cycle it off the tank, maybe even quicker by adding ammonia? That is just a guess, never tried it.

 

[alfani]

Thanks guys, that is very interesting!

Are they always cycled while attached to the tank? Doesn't that increase the nitrates for a period before the unit is totally cycled? Is there a way to cycle it off the tank?

yes, it will increase the nitrate for short period of time, but once it cycle after 5-6 weeks it should be fine. in the beginning you can collect the output and trash it and replace with top-off but make sure you add salt

 

[Wes]

ic, all the intake/output hose can be unscrew/detached so I'll add a pump if it happens.

never open the container, inside the container it should be air tight for anaerobic to thrive

Hence the use of the "bleed" valve. This allows you to bleed the excess nitrogen gas without opening the denitrator to the atmosphere. After about a year, the gas pocket got so larger water would not flow out properly.

Again, it is impossible for this to increase nitrates initially. You are still introducing the same amount of NH4 so it's impossible for this to increase nitrate production

 

[NYPDFrogman]

I was thinking of making one for the 450
I have a 24X6" clear tubing laying around
i was curious if light entering the tube would impede performance
I guess seeing the reactor filled with water would be a plus

 

[alfani]

I was thinking of making one for the 450
I have a 24X6" clear tubing laying around
i was curious if light entering the tube would impede performance
I guess seeing the reactor filled with water would be a plus

i'm guessing there would not be any ill effect to having a clear tubing, i'm using the standard pvc pike from HD because it cheap and testing what's the cheaper way to go, hence no pump yet you might want to increase the hose (coil) to 100 feet

 

[Domboski]

Very cool peter

 

[alfani]

Very cool peter

thanks..just hope i have the patience to wait 5-6 weeks now that the project is over and would mess it up by messing it around too much

 

[Bob 1000]

I loved this idea for a while. Then when you have it running for more than a year as I did before I got my denitrifier, the denitrifying bacteria clogged the tubing so bad it wasn't able to flow.. Just make sure you flush it on a more than 2 month basis after 8 month's and you should be fine.. But eventually you will need a pump and I couldn't figure out how to put one airline tubing without creating that much back pressure that it would pop off.. But Hey your Here on MR and it's good that we can share experiences so others can figure out what we can't or didn't want to,,lol..
Best of luck..