Re-Introducing Methanol Denitrifiers to the Hobby

by | Mar 15, 2019 | Equipment, Science, Video | 3 comments

I want to reintroduce an old, forgotten, but incredibly effective and safe technology back to the hobby. In this video, I’ll show you guys a different type of denitrifier that utilizes bacteria ‘fueled’ by methanol (sorry had to) that will eat away at the nitrates to convert them into nitrogen gas. It polishes your water in the process and makes it clean and pristine, which your fish and corals will definitely appreciate.

First introduced by Adolf of Natureef back in the 1990s, this simple and effective unit was viewed as complicated, ahead of the time, and under-advertised for what it was capable of. It was ultimately forgotten over the years.

However, luckily for us,  old school reefers who had experienced major success using this method had not forgotten about this hidden gem. Since Adolf was local to me, our reef club president Dr. David Thompson as well as several others were familiar with and was still utilizing this unit, improving it over the years to make it easier and safer to run. A few months ago, I was surprised to see one at my friend, Rogger Castell’s, house; I had to check it out and was quite impressed with how well and effective the unit worked, as he’s constantly feeding his frozen blend in the tank with massive amount of fish. When I saw how much more visually appealing the design is now, I had to get made one for myself.

Rogger referred me to his friend and expert custom fabricator, Chris at American Aquariums (American-aquarium.com or https://www.instagram.com/american_aquarium/ ) in Miami and he made a one of a kind denitrifier for me, and the results were undeniably extremely positive. With laboratory results in hand of before and after, check out my journey into methanol denitrifiers here!

  • Afishionado

    Afishionado : a person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a usually fervently pursued interest or activity. (In this case, fish, corals and reef keeping). We are group of passionate hobbyists who are all about educating, creating innovative contents and providing eye popping visuals for hobbyists of all levels.

3 Comments

  1. Wolfgang Widmer

    I used and still have a Natureef denitrifies but it’s way to big for my nano 20 gallon tank. I would like to build a smaller version for my nano. I know the mix is 50/50 water methanol but what is the ratio between the methanol mix and reservoir water. Gallon to ml. Second recommendation on size of reservoir for 20 gallon tank.I have search the internet and you’re the only one that seam to know about this.

    Reply
    • bill kopycki

      i had some of my old nitragone and i used a chemical hydrometer and came up with 20% pure racing methanol and 80% di water. have been doing this since they went out of business. 50/50 sounds strong

      Reply
  2. David

    Is there startup instructions for methanol denitrator?

    Do you need to inoculate with a particular bacteria strain?

    Reply

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