Thank You. From my Simple understanding of all of this and our mutual faith in Seachem--I am hoping that this system suits its intended purpose. But comments like the one below cause me to wonder:


I am assuming here that they are referring to the anaerobic "pockets" that can form in substrates. But I might as well ask....LOL: From Your Experience, with the Denitrator built and setup as above--Should I expect any problems from "deadly Hydrogen Sulfide" or any other negative by-product?

One of the problems with these snakes is that in identical setups--some thrive, some don't. Of the ones that thrive--Normally: Eventually Something occurs, sooner or later, that causes a downward spiral from which the animal cannot manage to recover.....I agree with your secondary infection leading to a respiratory infection followed by death. They are plagued by a "Fungus" that is theorized not to actually be a fungus at all, but probably a bacteria. Most of the information available on these snakes is from field studies. The water "Quality" et al was not looked into very much at all---it's a shame.

Your out-of-the-blue reference to tannins and their antiseptic qualities is intriguing. I add Kent's Blackwater Expert--for the Tannins. These snakes not only seem to do better with it in the water----they definitely don't do as well without it--in my experience.

It appears at this point that these snakes and some extremely difficult turtles from the same general region of the planet (Indo, PNG, Australia) benefit from Highly Oxygenated water......but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

Any thoughts on the Hydrogen Sulfide?

If you are pushing 40GPH or better Hydrogen sulfide should never become an issue.

My out-of-the-blue referrence to Tannins is infact the very nature of SEA water chemistry as it pertains to Aquatic Herps. Acidic environments retard bacteria. You may also consider 1. a HB oxygen reactor, or 2. an O3 reactor (once over 63* and 30% humidity Ozone decays at warp speed) indirectly contributing o2.

The fungal infection you speak of is in fact mycobacteria (it will not tolerate O2)

I'd also suggest a mesh top, and positive ventilation, but that's just me... Prof M

I am currently pushing ~37.5gph(=80oz/min). I can tweak it up to above 40gph. Seachem recommends 50gph or below (optimal:30-40gph). I've asked them the same question, but I am currently waiting on a response.


I did some Googling, but came up pretty blank. Would You care to elaborate? And are either one of them DIY?


I will definitely look into this. I will be pretty busy over this weekend, but next week is a new week!


I've been running a limewood "airstone" on a dedicated pump. I just added another airstone and increased air exchange ability. I've been pondering how to oxygenate the water and get the airstone(s) out of the tank for a while now. I have a couple of airstones in the sump currently, but I plan on increasing that soon.