Denitrator Hooked up, anyone use one?
- Thread starter plum70rt
- Start date
slothy
Active Member
plum70rt
Active Member
Mine is very similar as there a few different designs , but the same idea is there, I drip menthenol, as the bacteria food as they say, pretty scary as this is racing fuel!
This is supposed to be state of the art, will see when I season it, it will have a cycle just like a tank nitrites will peak and decline, until i have a 24 hr cycle , a little difficult to understand at first, we will see, the best thing and I know it will suprise alot of people, is NO water changes EVER, Ill keep everyone posted on the progress
This is supposed to be state of the art, will see when I season it, it will have a cycle just like a tank nitrites will peak and decline, until i have a 24 hr cycle , a little difficult to understand at first, we will see, the best thing and I know it will suprise alot of people, is NO water changes EVER, Ill keep everyone posted on the progress 
chris103
New Member
I got a denitrator a few years ago. It works on a timer and moves water from the sump to the denitrator for about 20 minutes, then the powerhead shuts off and the methanol (Nitragone) drips in for a few minutes (I forget how any drops or minutes, I programmed the timer a while back). After that the system shuts down for 23 and a half hours during that time there's supposed to be an aerobic cycle followed by an anaerobic cycle after the oxgen is consumed. The anaerobic bacteria reduce the nitrates to nitrites and the nitrites to nitrogen, and it all happens in 24 hours because every night at 7 the powerhead starts up and it starts over. I haven't had nitrates for years. I don't change water nearly as often as i should and have no refugium or live plants. Why the system requires race car fuel I don't know but it seems to work fine. I never checked the ingredients in the nitragone before today but sure enough it CONTAINS METHANOL. KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. I've probably used 2 gallons over the years a few drops at a time and the fish and coral don't seem to mind, I guess it gets used up in the process.
chris103
New Member
I've gotten a couple of things locally and a couple from the internet. I've got to go slow, the tank's only up and running 6 weeks since the move. I'm in Pembroke Pines now and always looking for a good LFS. Any suggestions? email chris103@bellsouth.net
sal t. nutz
Member
How much did you guys pay for that contraption?
memnoch
Member
I have educational background in biomedical areas so i'm making an educated guess here that the reason that methanol is required is that the particular bacteria used in the denitrator uses methanol for it's cellular metabolism much like we use glucose in our own cells. The anaerobic bacteria break down the nitrate to obtain oxygen molecules, the nitrate molecule has one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. Thus when the nitrate molecule is broken nitrogen is released in it's gaseous state while oxygen is consumed by the bacteria....methanol i suspect is the energy source for the bacteria that drives this process. This is all just educated guess like i said....if this is the case i would be surprised if any methanol ever escaped into your system in the form of a methanol molecule.
sal t. nutz
Member
$750?????????? Jesus, if you have to keep adding methanol, then it's not even worry-free. If you have to keep doing that anyway, why not just use a nitrate sponge, and save yourself $750. I'm sure the Nitrate sponge is about the same price as the Methanol, without the $750 initial investment.
jonthefb
Active Member
a nitrate sponge, is usually a bottal of some kind of adsorbant chemical that you place in a microfilter, and then set in your sump so htat the water plows over it. the chemical (not sure on exactly what) basically adsobrs the nitrate and then you just dispose of the media!
btw, wher edo you get methanol?
jon
btw, wher edo you get methanol?
jon
bryanh
New Member
My LFS suggested that I get a denitrator as well. I am sorry, but I have very limited info, as I dont have my tank set up or anything yet. I have been doing alot of research and reading on items that are really helpful, and those that may make keeping a reef easier, but not necessarily helpful. Chris103 is correct in the way that it works, but it seems that its really only helpful if you have no desire to do regular water changes. My LFS says that he changes the water on his tanks every 6 months, and that the denitrator keeps everything level, as long as it is monitored. There is a device called an "ORP Monitor" that measures the nitrates in the water, and depending on tank volume allows you to adjust the drip to keep up with the bio-load. Now, with all that said, I am not against having one, but IMO it is not necessarily heplful, but just allows you to go with fewer water changes.