DIY Sulfur Denitrator

[Steve 926]

Glad I could return a favor

Steve

:smokin:

 

[Black71gp]

ok... well I took out i think almost 2L of the bio matrix and added the rest of the gallon of sulfur.. so that should give me around 3.8 L of sulfur and around 2.2 L of bio matrix.. total of 6L.. and it is FULL like i can not fit another drop of anything.. actually think there might be too much for it work.. but we shal see... if i need to add more i will have to redo the way the media is supported at the bottom of the chamber to lower it and get more media in there..... lets hope this change helps...
oh and the lagoon is far from full right now.. guessing more around 1100 gallons in the system.. maybe even a little less....

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12595606#post12595606 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Black71gp
ok... well I took out i think almost 2L of the bio matrix and added the rest of the gallon of sulfur.. so that should give me around 3.8 L of sulfur and around 2.2 L of bio matrix.. total of 6L.. and it is FULL like i can not fit another drop of anything.. actually think there might be too much for it work.. but we shal see... if i need to add more i will have to redo the way the media is supported at the bottom of the chamber to lower it and get more media in there..... lets hope this change helps...
oh and the lagoon is far from full right now.. guessing more around 1100 gallons in the system.. maybe even a little less....

Be careful and try not to cavitate the pump. If I were you I would run it without the recirculating pump for now at 1 dps until it starts to cycle. Such a small body of water will tend to overheat pretty fast. Let it cycle and continue adjusting dps every few days until you have a pretty good stream of flow going through there before turning on the recirc pump on.

Maybe just having the sulfur in one reactor (recirculating) and the Matrix (straight flow) on the second reactor would be a better option, IMHO.

djfrankie

 

[djfrankie]

Sulfur Reactor after 6 months.

Just wanted to bring some updates to this thread at the six month period mark. So I figured today was a good time since Indy 500 is over and is a long weekend

Initial observations:

Unit has performed flawelessly for the past 6 months bringing nitrates down from over 80 ppm (API test kit) to 0 levels in my mixed tank.

I have to adjust alkalinity almost every week from 7 to 8 dKH.

Over a month ago I turned off the recirculating pump off since the unit was creating hydrogen sulfide smell. In essence I made the reactor less efficient and it worked just fine.

As of today my effluent was in excess of 500 ml per minute.

I will show you some pics now:

Media just off reactor. Little dirty, but nothing to worry about.
<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/?action=view&current=DSCN0798.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/DSCN0798.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/?action=view&current=DSCN0799.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/DSCN0799.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Here you can see how the media has been used and consumed by the bacteria.

<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/?action=view&current=DSCN0804.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/DSCN0804.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Seachem's Matrix.

<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/?action=view&current=DSCN0800.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/DSCN0800.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

New Matrix compared to old. Definitely darker than the new media. I tried to wash it off, but nothing was coming off. So it's not bacteria or slime on it. The new media is also wet to correct for color comparison.

<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/?action=view&current=DSCN0806.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/DSCN0806.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Filter pad does catch quite a bit. I'm glad I used it from the beginning.

<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/?action=view&current=DSCN0801.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/DSCN0801.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Inside reactor...no slime or bacterial build up.

<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/?action=view&current=DSCN0802.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/DSCN0802.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I'm left with over 1 liter of Midwest Sulfur media. The rest was discarded while washing it. I've lost in 6 months approximately .4 liters of media. Most of it was probably consumed during the early stages of the cycle. That's just my guess. I figure another 6 months will tell the tale of how long this media really lasts.

Just out of curiosity.

1 liter of wet sulfur media = 3.75 pounds

<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/?action=view&current=DSCN0810.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/dj_frankie/Sulfur%20Reactor%206%20months%20after/DSCN0810.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


I'm going to disconnect the reactor for now and pay very close attention to my nitrates in the following weeks. I'm basically trying to see how fast they start building up in my aquarium. By now I figured whatever nitrates were embedded in the live rock and such have already leached out or so I hope.

I'm leaving the media out to dry and then I will try to restart and see how long that takes as well.

I promise to keep you all updated.

Happy Memorial day!

djfrankie

 

[asmodeus]

hey there Frankie good to hear that this thread has good crazy with good reports. Just back for a few weeks from AFghanistan, heading back on the 7th of june. started the build on my new tank 60x24x24. will let you know when I start up my reactor again.

take care Mike

 

[Black71gp]

looks like it sure worked out well for you!!!! I shut off the recirc pump and waiting for it to cycle again and hopefully can up the flow to a nice steady stream.. i hope it takes my alk down.. i have high alk all the time.. even when not adding anything but RO water and no co2 reactor hooked up!!!

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12612728#post12612728 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asmodeus
hey there Frankie good to hear that this thread has good crazy with good reports. Just back for a few weeks from AFghanistan, heading back on the 7th of june. started the build on my new tank 60x24x24. will let you know when I start up my reactor again.

take care Mike

Hey man, nice to see you're back and safe!

Keep us updated when you get it going.

Take care,

djfrankie

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12612732#post12612732 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Black71gp
i hope it takes my alk down.. i have high alk all the time.. even when not adding anything but RO water and no co2 reactor hooked up!!!

I wish I had that problem



djfrankie

 

[kcress]

djfrankie; My tank has over the years hit something like 3-400ppm nitrate. I am building a new larger tank which would of course drop the nitrate shockingly fast for the present denizens that will be moving.

So I am building one of these sulfur reactors pretty much as described in your initial description.

As I really hate creating more chores like having to "bleed the gas" daily with the resulting "I forgot to close it" issues, I want to modify it a bit.

Could the effluent output be moved up the column an inch or two so it's above the recirculator's inlet by a small margin? Then the gas can go ahead and form until it's built a bubble that extends down to the outlet. Then the bubbles would be able to leave occasionally on their own, entrained in the effluent.

Do you see any issues with this?

 

[Steve 926]

Hi Dj.

You mentioned that you are running 500 ml p/min. of effluent now
is that correct ?
I was under the impression that 1 litter of flow per litter of media per hour, was the starting guideline. I also thought that the flow can be increased up to 5x per litter of media over time. will your increased flow rate cause the sulfur media to be oxygenated.

Thanks For a Reply

Steve

:smokin:

 

[adnup]

I'll post an update too:

My tank has been as ZERO nitrates for a while now. I have the reactor running wide open, I have to keep bumping up the alk/ph. As of 3 days ago I noticed the tank looking somewhat cloudy, only thing I could think of was the SR so I cut the flow back a bunch. Then I noticed the water in the SR was very cloudy. Today I took it off line and cleaned it out, there was some hair algae(bacteria?) in the media but not much. The tank cleared up through out the day today. I cleaned all media with RO water and left out to dry out, but I think I'll leave it off line for awhile and watch the nitrates....

 

[Steven M]

My tank went to zero and I did not up the flow enough. The reactor got full off slim. Washed it with ro/di. I still think it's to big.

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12614281#post12614281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Steve 926
Hi Dj.

You mentioned that you are running 500 ml p/min. of effluent now
is that correct ?
I was under the impression that 1 litter of flow per litter of media per hour, was the starting guideline. I also thought that the flow can be increased up to 5x per litter of media over time. will your increased flow rate cause the sulfur media to be oxygenated.

Thanks For a Reply!

Steve

:smokin:

Steve,

Thanks for the correction! I guess the number 500 from Indy 500 stuck in my head from hearing it all day Sunday.

My flow was maintained at 150 ml/min and I was running with 1.5 liters of sulfur and 2 liters of Seachem Matrix. 3.5 liters of media total and 9 liters of flow per hour.

djfrankie

 

[reef_only]

My newly DIY denitrator. My tank has been 25-30ppm NO3 which was brought down from 75ppm range through heavily water change (100G water change each time). There are only 4 fish in my tank. Hope this denitrator (my first DIY reactor) would bring it further down w/o much of water change.

I circulated overnight to clean the media. Now it is set at 1 dps to a bottle. I used 2.5L of sulfur media and 1L of ARM. Not too bad for $60 total cost if it works

 

[Steve 926]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12617563#post12617563 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by djfrankie
Steve,

Thanks for the correction! I guess the number 500 from Indy 500 stuck in my head from hearing it all day Sunday.

My flow was maintained at 150 ml/min and I was running with 1.5 liters of sulfur and 2 liters of Seachem Matrix. 3.5 liters of media total and 9 liters of flow per hour.

djfrankie

Promise me, you will never scare me like that again !!:eek1:

 

[kcress]

Did you see my question djfrankie?

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12618681#post12618681 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kcress
Did you see my question djfrankie?

Got it now.

During the initital cycling of the unit it will cause more problems than you'd like due to the large amounts of gases built within. It will cause an air lock in your effluent line and disrupt or give you inconsistent drip rates.

You could extend, depending on your setup, the venting line higher than your system water line and let it vent on its own.

Let me know if this answer your question.

djfrankie

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12618432#post12618432 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Steve 926
Promise me, you will never scare me like that again !!:eek1:

I can make you a promise now that I'm sober, but lord knows what happens when I'm not :eek2: :rollface:

djfrankie

 

[kcress]

Thanks for the info.

I just picked up the bulk fittings from HomeDespot it will be a different look. LOL

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12615368#post12615368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Steven M
My tank went to zero and I did not up the flow enough. The reactor got full off slim. Washed it with ro/di. I still think it's to big.

Steven,

every week or so I would open the effluent valve all the way to clean it up a little bit and would see some of the bacteria purge out of the system. I would do this becasue bacterial growth would keep messing up the drip rate. The excess bacteria that made it into my sump never caused any issues in my tank, IMO.

I was expecting lots of bacterial growth inside the reactor when I opened it, but to my surprise there was not much as you can see from the previous pics.

djfrankie