All about Denitrator

Originally Posted by Spakase

Still don't follow. Unless you are saying we cannot remove all the nitrate anyway, so why bother whether it's first or last chamber?
DOC should be constant in first & last chamber...am I correct?

Hmmm let me try another way. DOC should be the highest where the filter wool is trapping all the solid waste. For most sump, it is located in the 1st compartment. This is the best place to draw the water from for the denitrator. Any other places will be secondary.

For my setup, I am using siphoning and so my placement of input is limited to the main tank itself.

Still don't follow. Put it another way, DOC in first chamber & last chamber, what's the diff? It's the ammonia that goes through the process of nitrification. DOC? It should pass right through? Am I right?

Originally Posted by Spakase

Still don't follow. Put it another way, DOC in first chamber & last chamber, what's the diff? It's the ammonia that goes through the process of nitrification. DOC? It should pass right through? Am I right?

For those who wants natural feeding for anearobe, DOC is used. The place where the highest level of DOC is normally located where the wastes are trapped .....the filter wool.

Atom ah, still trying to grapple with this DOC thingy....

it is "proteins, amino acids, phenolic compounds, pheromones (hormones that affect the behavior of other fish), and other metabolic byproducts", .....???

Why would the first chamber have more DOC than the last chamber?

Originally Posted by Spakase

Atom ah, still trying to grapple with this DOC thingy....

it is "proteins, amino acids, phenolic compounds, pheromones (hormones that affect the behavior of other fish), and other metabolic byproducts", .....???

Why would the first chamber have more DOC than the last chamber?

Aiya I'm just trying to make you look at it at another angle.

Dissolved Organic Compound ...organic because they contain the element carbon in their chemical composition and thus sometimes known as Dissolved Organic Carbon. Anaerobe need carbon source to denitrify the nitrate.

Any questions on this part?

ok ok, first chamber sipon or pump out ( but still don't understand, nevermind, I believe what you say, you know the way.)

Regarding clogging, what are the likely causes?

Originally Posted by Spakase

ok ok, first chamber sipon or pump out ( but still don't understand, nevermind, I believe what you say, you know the way.)

Regarding clogging, what are the likely causes?

Why clogging? IMO ....

- too much carbon source ....anaerobe bloom
- too much dead bacteria
- exposure to light source

Originally Posted by atom

Very good chart, mod Sunburst! The chart is based on a fixed 20 mg/l of NO3 only. In real case scenario, the NO3 is constantly generated because of bio-conversion which complicates the issue further. This is precisely the reason on why standard WC (20% once a week) can never control the level of NO3 even for a normal tank without addtional means.

Another informative source on WC vs NO3 is using the calculator from practicalfishkeeping but must sign in first.

Bro ATOM,
Mind to PM me the link??

always nice to learn more from you on Denitrator topics..

Originally Posted by wlchew

Bro ATOM,
Mind to PM me the link??

always nice to learn more from you on Denitrator topics..

Here goes but I think must sign up first.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.u...calculator.php

Did a small experiment. I have been running one of denitrators which was recently maintained (about 1month ago) with a control output of 6 l/hr 2 weeks ago. The ORP controller is set at -200mV. At this flowrate, denitrator kicks in and out fequently about 10 mins interval. The lowest ORP value was -270mV.

Today, the value went down to -389mV. There are slime build-up along the output hose which mean the flowrate has reduced further.

The hose on the left is the affected denitrator.