HFP75's - 55 Galllon

[hfp75]

This post my indicate it is working...... have a read.

Well, its time for another update, it has been 19 days and I think we are on track. On day 15 I noticed a slight drop in NO3 from the return line coming from the denitrate coil - not enough that I was excited. I have been keeping nitrates about 40-50 so there is a constant supply to culture the anaerobic bacteria in the denitrate coil. Yesterday I did a small water change just to freshen up the tank water. This dropped my tank NO3 to 20.

In the last few days I have noticed twice that when I examine the return line it has stopped flowing & so I adjust it again for a small drip. Understand that I have not tampered with the valve restricting flow to decrease it. I am hypothesizing that the slimy barrier has formed inside and that small buildup has clogged the small opening in the ball valve - hence stopping or blocking the flow. Thus twice I have adjusted the flow to a slow drip... about 3 drips in 2 seconds - very hard to get right - but I don't want to get a flood of O2 rich tank water into the coil for fear of altering the bacterial cultures that are O2 void. I also think that the slime layer that is forming is also where all the anaerobic bacteria will basically be thriving.

So, in short, I think the slimy smooth coating is formed or forming and the anaerobic bacteria now in turn is establishing itself. Here is the latest NO3 values.

Tank NO3 - 20ppm
Denitrate Coil return Line NO3 - 5 ppm

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps389de736.jpg

Lets just wait a bit longer and keep our eye on things to see how this progresses. There is no other way the return line would be less than the tank supply line unless the NO3 was being consumed inside the coil.

Question is - Am I running it to fast and the 2 stoppages have allowed the consumption of NO3? or is it just starting to work? either way I will post updates. I may need to slow down the flow a bit.... but I'll wait for now and see what happens.