Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)
Hi,
John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.
I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.
With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.
I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.
If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.
I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.
I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.
Thank you
Darragh Sherwin
Coil Denitrator
What Is a Coil Denitrator, and How Does It Work?
A Nitrate Reduction Method for Saltwater Systems Explained
Nitrate isn't good for any saltwater system, be it a (fish only)fowlr(fish-only w/live rock), or a reef aquarium. To accomplish nitrate reduction and eliminate the levels of nitrate that build-up in closed saltwater systems, you can buy a commercial denitrator unit that costs big bucks, is difficult to adjust, and requires feeding and monitoring to maintain proper operation. However, there is an alternative low-tech solution to very common nitrate woes. A simple coil denitrator!
What Is a Coil Denitrator?
Essentially nothing more than a cylinder with a coil of tubing and bio balls some, this device works, and achieves the same denitrification results as the more complex and costly commercial units, but much more easily, as well as naturally.
How Does a Coil Denitrator Work?
A coil denitrator takes 5 to 6 weeks to cycle (yes, they cycle just like the tank). The quantity of product that is processed, (nitrate) is truly amazing, considering how once established there isn't anything more to do! So how does this happen? As oxygen rich water is pumped into (G) and enters the top of the unit (A) it is forced to spiral down through the layers of plastic coil tubing (E) until exiting within the center of the cylinder (C). As the water level increases within the body of the unit, the bioballs (F) become host to the millions of colonies of bacteria that commence multiplying. As the water reaches back up to the top, it exits through the other fitting (
, the one not internally connected that runs back to your sump or display tank. So? So, as the water slowly works it's way down the spiral, the O-2 is consumed by the AEROBIC (living only in the presence of oxygen) bacteria, the same ones that are in your filter and make all the life possible. Somewhere around 3/4th's of the way down however, the O-2 levels diminish within the spiral, having been consumed by the aerobic bacteria higher up the coil. (D=Base)Now what? Well, now the ANAEROBIC (can live in the absence of atmospheric oxygen) bacteria begin to flourish, the very ones that feed on nitrate, not O-2! As the water continues its travels it encounters the main interior chamber of the cylinder. All those bioballs are just waiting to provide area for more anaerobic bacteria to consume all the nitrate that wasn't converted inside the bottom 1/4 of coil. This is the \"bank\" that will allow the coil denitrator to continuously process more and more nitrate as it is produced within the display tank.
By the way, if you are using a wet-dry or trickle filter with ANY other media, you have a nitrate \"producing\" filter! Yup, that's what they are designed to do, convert ammonia ultimately into nitrates! Nothing like adding more in so we can spend more money to get it out, huh?
~ Don Carner
sorry i made a copy of this for myself but forgot to include were i found it so sorry it may take a while to reference more on this subject(i really must tidy up my links and notes)
Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods
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