DIY Sulfur Denitrator
- Thread starter djfrankie
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djfrankie
In Memoriam
I haven't checked. I was hoping someone who is using this type of media here would chime in with the specs.
You could use the whole thing now and adjust accordingly later on if you start getting sulfide smell, but that won't happen until you're (tank) nitrates are zero. The excess media can be dried and stored , it can be reused later on.
HTH,
djfrankie
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11960617#post11960617 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Here's a picture of it again, just to get you up to date:
Water flow is provided via MaxiJet 1200 in a sock, mainly to avoid sucking detritus into the reactor. The water pumps up through some handy clear tubing and then 25' of red tubing.
Water enters via the red tubing to the first canister on the right. It has some sulfur beads (by Sera) in there (4" worth). They resemble split peas.
It travels to the middle canister which has ARM in a DI cartridge so the water must flow up through the ARM to get out.
It then travels into the left canister filled with GAC, again in a DI cartridge so the water passes up through the carbon to exit.
It travels out the blue tubing into my sump. I had it at 1 drip per second for almost a month. When nothing occurred, I opened it full flow for several days, plus I added some bacteria from a sponge floating in my refugium. The bacteria was added to the sulfur section (removed the housing, squeezed the sponge, re-installed the housing).
After a few days, I reduced it back to 1 drip a second. A few weeks later, I changed it to 1 drip every 5 seconds. Today's test showed that the nitrate in the reactor is the same as what is in my reef.
Yes, AZNO3 worked great, but it gets expensive. It brought my nitrates from 60ppm to 2ppm. I weaned the tank off of it, and nitrates rose to about 25ppm. AZNO3 caused a huge cyano bacteria outbreak that was really hard to tolerate, as well as some strange furry growth on the walls of my overflow. I'm assuming that is some reaction to sugar in the water. Over time that stuff has dissipated and since vanished.
Melev:
For the record I ditched this setup earlier this week for "DJ Denitrator". I too had zero success with the RO machine version. I am using that to hold my Ca media to offset the lower Ph coming from the recirculating NO3 reactor. I had to sue the canisters for something!
J
saltydog64
New member
Paul-------------thx Paul, that makes sence, right now I'm running w/o the ARM, the 2nd reactor as I'm NOT yet hooked up to my 75 gal soon to a "semi reef" vs a FOWLR tank (actually has some very mushrooms and one very tough Leather, they got to be as my trates WHERE +200ppm.....:mad2:
I think I will swap out the LSM, I want to find out (gots to know) what the LSM looks like as I think the larger media will be less prone to clogging, after all we are in is for the long haul. One other thing that concerns me about my current media is the ongoing increasing pH readings I have been getting the last few days.
I will post a complete report on current results w/pics it might prove helpful w/those w/high trates, a little teaser, i added sugar to my sulfur reactor and well stand by for posting Wednesday....u teaser u
djfrankie
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12011897#post12011897 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
DJ - do me a big favor and link me to your design post so I don't have to wade back through the pages. I feel like I'm out of the loop, but I'm busy over here working on the new edition of Reefkeeping Magazine and feel a tad swamped.
Here ya go!
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1288082&perpage=25&pagenumber=4
djfrankie
i'm in need of a little help and advice, i have a sulphur cartridge(ratz) hooked up on the return from a cannister filter,from the sulphur cartridge the water travels through crushed shell, by means of a t piece and tap the flow through is 1 drip per second but this thing refuses to cycle,after 5 weeks the nitrate level of the effluent is 100ppm but in addition i have a nitrite level of 2ppm ,any help or advice would be gratefully received
thanks
thanks
djfrankie
In Memoriam
Check out the guidelines - page 14.
Assuming your media is fine and all, nitrate levels in excess of 50 will require longer cycling times.
It is not unusual to see cycle times of up two months with such higher nitrate levels.
3 Things you can at this point:
(1) Water change and bring the nitrates to a more manageable level.
(2) double media amount recommended. This will be expensive and ultimately unnecessary.
(3) Wait longer for it to cycle.
HTH,
djfrankie
Paul_PSU
In Memoriam
Dick,
I originally purchased the sulphur media from a hydroponics site since it was only about about $19 including shipping. Although the media was 99% pure sulphur it was way smaller and unseeded. The smaller media kept floating on me and getting sucked into the recirculating tube. I did what I should have done in the first place an purchased the media Frankie did. The LSM media says it's seeded, but I haven't seen it first hand so I can't comment on the size as compared to the Premium Aquatics media.
I'll be interested to see about the sugar being added. I have read about people dosing the tank directly or feed a coil denitrator with it, but not a sulphur one. I wonder how the sugar will react with the sulphur in the reactor.
Paul
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12010991#post12010991 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Steve 926
Hello To All
Is anyone using this reactor & a calcium reactor together, or a Kalk. top off with one ?
What results are you experiencing with the calcium, Ph, & or Alk levels. ?
Thanks for a reply
Steve
:smokin:
Anyone ?????????
saltydog64
New member
Sugar to Sulfur Reactor
Sugar to Sulfur Reactor
Paul.............. as promised my update.
The last 48 hours have brought on some very interesting developments in my setup. Where to start and still be as brief as possible ?...well @ the begining I guess.
Started unit 02/21/08...The DJ Denitator:rollface: Filled with 2/3 matrix, 1/3 LSM. Running out of a 5 Gal Bucket, not hooked to my tank. Flow rate 60cc/10 min =approx 1.6 d/sec, NOTE: I'm using 1/4" tube (1/8" ID) most are using 3/8" (1/4" ID) so my drip size will be smaller so I use actual cc/min not drops for flow rate. At this time effuent was into a ARM Reactor.
(all tests w/Salifert kit's and using a 2.5% solution)
02/22 Nitrate +200ppm pH 7.67 (out of Sul.Reactor)
02/23 Nitrite +20 ppm pH 7.04 " " "
02/24 Nitrate 500ppm
02/25 No Changes pH 6.96
02/26 " " pH 6.67 (ph 7.51 out ARM)
02/27 " " pH 6.66 (pH 7.50 " "
02/28 " " pH 7.01 (Ph 7.51 " "
02/29 " " pH 7.07 (pH 7.31 " "
02/30-03/01 " " removed ARM unit for now
Getting pretty tired of this progress, got to kick it in the butt so..........I shut off the feed pump, closed all valves and added 1 t of sugar mixed in 100cc distilled, poured this in the top gas relief "hole" and left mj circulating. Now wait until the next day.
03/03 Hello Skinky yep smelled like someone cut the big one :smokin: Increased flow rate to cleanup smell, but saved some of the output to test: Nitrites approx. 40 ppm w/ pH 6.79, but several hours later water in the bucket was VERY cloudy, could be a bacteria bloom due to the sugar (glad I'm NOT hooked to tank) Let's see how did Paul put it...Oh ya BAM !!!!
03/04 UNCUT sample Nitrite 0.25 ppm
" " Nitrate 0.00 ppm
Yep ZERO......still slight skink, not good..
03/04 Four Hours later Nitrite 0.00ppm
Nitrate 0.00ppm
Today got to get rid of cloudy water and it just dawned on me that all those "good" bacteria have no Nitates in the bucket so this am did a quick 5 Gal water change and tossed all the skinky water out and setup feed pump in the "new" water, reset flow rate to approx. 1 drop/sec.....will test tonight and update Thrusday...
Dick
Sugar to Sulfur Reactor
Paul.............. as promised my update.
The last 48 hours have brought on some very interesting developments in my setup. Where to start and still be as brief as possible ?...well @ the begining I guess.
Started unit 02/21/08...The DJ Denitator:rollface: Filled with 2/3 matrix, 1/3 LSM. Running out of a 5 Gal Bucket, not hooked to my tank. Flow rate 60cc/10 min =approx 1.6 d/sec, NOTE: I'm using 1/4" tube (1/8" ID) most are using 3/8" (1/4" ID) so my drip size will be smaller so I use actual cc/min not drops for flow rate. At this time effuent was into a ARM Reactor.
(all tests w/Salifert kit's and using a 2.5% solution)
02/22 Nitrate +200ppm pH 7.67 (out of Sul.Reactor)
02/23 Nitrite +20 ppm pH 7.04 " " "
02/24 Nitrate 500ppm
02/25 No Changes pH 6.96
02/26 " " pH 6.67 (ph 7.51 out ARM)
02/27 " " pH 6.66 (pH 7.50 " "
02/28 " " pH 7.01 (Ph 7.51 " "
02/29 " " pH 7.07 (pH 7.31 " "
02/30-03/01 " " removed ARM unit for now
Getting pretty tired of this progress, got to kick it in the butt so..........I shut off the feed pump, closed all valves and added 1 t of sugar mixed in 100cc distilled, poured this in the top gas relief "hole" and left mj circulating. Now wait until the next day.
03/03 Hello Skinky yep smelled like someone cut the big one :smokin: Increased flow rate to cleanup smell, but saved some of the output to test: Nitrites approx. 40 ppm w/ pH 6.79, but several hours later water in the bucket was VERY cloudy, could be a bacteria bloom due to the sugar (glad I'm NOT hooked to tank) Let's see how did Paul put it...Oh ya BAM !!!!
03/04 UNCUT sample Nitrite 0.25 ppm
" " Nitrate 0.00 ppm
Yep ZERO......still slight skink, not good..
03/04 Four Hours later Nitrite 0.00ppm
Nitrate 0.00ppm
Today got to get rid of cloudy water and it just dawned on me that all those "good" bacteria have no Nitates in the bucket so this am did a quick 5 Gal water change and tossed all the skinky water out and setup feed pump in the "new" water, reset flow rate to approx. 1 drop/sec.....will test tonight and update Thrusday...
Dick
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