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Guest
Guest
Ok, here it goes.
I was searchin the web one day and saw some interesting sites for DIY De-Nitrators....So,,,,,I decided to build one. And here it goes....I believe that it works because in just one week, my Nitrate levels have dropped from 50ppm to 10ppm....Check it out...
This is what I did for my 55 gal tank. ( Note: I would add 1 inch of pipe and 1-1/2 feet of 1/4 inch tubing for every 10 gal above 55 )
1 - 4inch x 18inch thin wall PVC pipe
2 - 4inch end caps
1 - 1/4inch pass through tubing connector ( L shaped )
1 - 1/4inch pass through tubing connector ( Straight )
50 feet 1/4inch clear tubing
Bio-Balls to fill container
PVC Cement
Plumbers Epoxy (clay two part)
Stainless Steel or Plastic Hemostats ( to control flow )
OK, now that you have the list, lets put it together:
1st, take the parts and wash them well in a mild soap and bleach solution. ( Rinse very well making sure to not leave any residue) and dry them well.
2nd, Drill 2 holes, one in the center and one about 3/4inch from the side, the appropriate size for the pass through connectors. 5/16ths should do it.
3rd, Mix a small amount of epoxy and epoxy the straight connector in the center hole. Then epoxy the L shaped one in the other hole ( facing the way your tubing is going too coil to it.
4th, Take the tubing and carefully start at the very bottom and wind your way up to the top on the inside wall of the pipe.
5th, When you make it to the top, tape it into place.
6th, Fill with Bio-Balls or other media biological purposes
7th, The epoxy should have hardened enough by this time so you can connect the tubing to the L shaped connector. ( if not, don't hurry. Pop a cold one and wait a few more minutes, your working too fast.)
8th, After attaching the tubing to the L shaped connector, you can glue the top on. ( make sure the connector is very secure before doing this, because there is no turning back after glued.)
9th, After the end caps are glued, let stand for 24 hours to let everything set.
10th, Hook up time!!!! You can attach this with a T to your return line out of the sump, or get a pump for this. ( I use gravity to feed it by siphon power. Much cheaper) Anyway, you should have ample tubing left over for intake and return lines. Now, you want the flow to go into the side connector and out of the center connector. Let the water flow into the sump to get aerated and pumped back into the aquarium. ( THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! THIS WATER HAS NO OXYGEN AND MUST BE INDUCED WITH OXYGEN BEFORE RETURNING TO THE TANK ). Use the Hemostats to control flow to no more than 2 liters per hour and not much less than that, to insure you do not get Hydrogen sulfide released.
This is it. All there is, there aint no more. Please do this at your own risk....As I said...it has helped me and I don't want to be responsible for any tank crashes....
Here are some pics of the project. There aren't enough and they are crappy, but I think you can get the idea.
I was searchin the web one day and saw some interesting sites for DIY De-Nitrators....So,,,,,I decided to build one. And here it goes....I believe that it works because in just one week, my Nitrate levels have dropped from 50ppm to 10ppm....Check it out...
This is what I did for my 55 gal tank. ( Note: I would add 1 inch of pipe and 1-1/2 feet of 1/4 inch tubing for every 10 gal above 55 )
1 - 4inch x 18inch thin wall PVC pipe
2 - 4inch end caps
1 - 1/4inch pass through tubing connector ( L shaped )
1 - 1/4inch pass through tubing connector ( Straight )
50 feet 1/4inch clear tubing
Bio-Balls to fill container
PVC Cement
Plumbers Epoxy (clay two part)
Stainless Steel or Plastic Hemostats ( to control flow )
OK, now that you have the list, lets put it together:
1st, take the parts and wash them well in a mild soap and bleach solution. ( Rinse very well making sure to not leave any residue) and dry them well.
2nd, Drill 2 holes, one in the center and one about 3/4inch from the side, the appropriate size for the pass through connectors. 5/16ths should do it.
3rd, Mix a small amount of epoxy and epoxy the straight connector in the center hole. Then epoxy the L shaped one in the other hole ( facing the way your tubing is going too coil to it.
4th, Take the tubing and carefully start at the very bottom and wind your way up to the top on the inside wall of the pipe.
5th, When you make it to the top, tape it into place.
6th, Fill with Bio-Balls or other media biological purposes
7th, The epoxy should have hardened enough by this time so you can connect the tubing to the L shaped connector. ( if not, don't hurry. Pop a cold one and wait a few more minutes, your working too fast.)
8th, After attaching the tubing to the L shaped connector, you can glue the top on. ( make sure the connector is very secure before doing this, because there is no turning back after glued.)
9th, After the end caps are glued, let stand for 24 hours to let everything set.
10th, Hook up time!!!! You can attach this with a T to your return line out of the sump, or get a pump for this. ( I use gravity to feed it by siphon power. Much cheaper) Anyway, you should have ample tubing left over for intake and return lines. Now, you want the flow to go into the side connector and out of the center connector. Let the water flow into the sump to get aerated and pumped back into the aquarium. ( THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! THIS WATER HAS NO OXYGEN AND MUST BE INDUCED WITH OXYGEN BEFORE RETURNING TO THE TANK ). Use the Hemostats to control flow to no more than 2 liters per hour and not much less than that, to insure you do not get Hydrogen sulfide released.
This is it. All there is, there aint no more. Please do this at your own risk....As I said...it has helped me and I don't want to be responsible for any tank crashes....
Here are some pics of the project. There aren't enough and they are crappy, but I think you can get the idea.