DIY Sulfur Denitrator
- Thread starter djfrankie
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djfrankie
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12622914#post12622914 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reef_only
After one day of setting 1dps:
- NO3 from effluent shows 50ppm, which is double of NO3 of tank water 25ppm.
- PH at effluent is 7.7 vs. tank PH of 8.3.
I assume this is normal and can't wait to see if drops down to 0ppm from effluent and then the whole tank too. I had never seen my tank water below 20ppm since I owned the test kit
Looking ahead, there is something I'm not clear, the cycle process and final effluent rate depend on the level of tank NO3, is it right? if it is then the higher tank NO3 level the slower of effluent rate? and assuming the NO3 level will be going down during the denitrating, do we need to adjust the effluent rate accordingly? If the tank water never gets to 0ppm (due to loading/leaching.....) then the denitrator can be up and running and if the tank NO3 drops to 0ppm means we have to shut down the denitrator and wait for NO3 to rise again before hooking up the denitrator again?
Check out page 14 of this thread for some guidelines regarding flow and adjustments.
djfrankie
djfrankie
In Memoriam
Re: ??
Re: ??
That really depends on long the feed pump was off and how much bacteria actually died off from starvation.
Most likely a cycle will take place so I would recommend you start slow and adjust accordingly. Starting slow will do less harm in any case.
You can test after 24 hours and see where your effluent levels are at.
HTH,
djfrankie
Re: ??
That really depends on long the feed pump was off and how much bacteria actually died off from starvation.
Most likely a cycle will take place so I would recommend you start slow and adjust accordingly. Starting slow will do less harm in any case.
You can test after 24 hours and see where your effluent levels are at.
HTH,
djfrankie
skippyreef
New member
SO you can run these after you gett he nitrate to 0.00 without the recirc in order to decrease the population of bacteria in the reactor if needed?
pecan2phat
Active member
How are you guys measuring the media amount, Liters as in dry volume?
Re: Re: ??
Re: Re: ??
i bet all bacteria is dead or atleast most of them b,c the water in side there is stinky
and now
my main tank is reading 0 now,,,so if i test after the effluent i bet its still reading 0 so what??
take the unit off line?? wait untill main tank have more nitrate and start all over again??will i be able to use all the media again??
what should i do thanks??
Re: Re: ??
i bet all bacteria is dead or atleast most of them b,c the water in side there is stinky
and now
my main tank is reading 0 now,,,so if i test after the effluent i bet its still reading 0 so what??
take the unit off line?? wait untill main tank have more nitrate and start all over again??will i be able to use all the media again??
what should i do thanks??
xinumaster
reef addict
I would suggest to wash and clean you reactor including the sulfur beads, then put it back online, cause it will take some time to seed the reactor again.
skippyreef
New member
I jsut got started on mine today. This is the first DIY acrylic project I have attempted. I ordered the flanges from MRC because I am not that handy so I left it up to them 
The bases I got are 12*9 for the nitrate reactor and 8*8 for the kalk reactor. The chambers are 6" diameter and 24" tall. I am working with Weldon four to bond the flanges and the bases and using uniseals for the plumbing. I am thinking of running a bead of weldon 16 around the base and flanges just to be safe and make sure that these are water tight. I did go around the flange several times with the applicator to make sure that it was sealed up. Eventually the number four just stayed on the outside of the joint. I also went from teh inside as well to be sure
The bases I got are 12*9 for the nitrate reactor and 8*8 for the kalk reactor. The chambers are 6" diameter and 24" tall. I am working with Weldon four to bond the flanges and the bases and using uniseals for the plumbing. I am thinking of running a bead of weldon 16 around the base and flanges just to be safe and make sure that these are water tight. I did go around the flange several times with the applicator to make sure that it was sealed up. Eventually the number four just stayed on the outside of the joint. I also went from teh inside as well to be sure
skippyreef
New member
Thanks Jarrod. I am going to score the bases with a 6" hole saw I have and then use a dremel with a router bit to make them the right width to seat the tubing in. I will feel better if it is actually in a joint of sorts and then sealed. I think it will be more durable that way too with more material around the tubing.
skippyreef
New member
Here they are on the bases (not attached yet - I think I can get that doen by Monday-but not rushing anything). I like the position of the Nitrate reactor (on the longer base) fro pump placement.
wizsmaster
Moved On
looks really good. how much did those tops run you from MRC ?
skippyreef
New member
I think it was 95.00 for both but I will have to double check. They are worth it though
What are those Zooanthids in you Avatar BTW? They look cool.
What are those Zooanthids in you Avatar BTW? They look cool.
Looks great Skippy. You have more nerve than me. I had MRC glue the flanges to 4 inch acrylic tube, also 24 inches tall. I wil still have to drill and tap it. Cost 159 shipped. While I was waiting, I used my Koralin 1502 calcium reactor temporarily and I have to say these things work great! Started at 80 ppm one week ago and with only 3 days of cycling, my effluent was nitrate 0, nitrites 0 and pH 7.6 approx. My tank now a week into it is down to 30 ppm (approx 130 gallons of water in the system) and I've ramped up the effluent to a fast drip just short of a steady stream. You will love this. Thanks to DJ Frankie for all the time, effort and giving us the info and knowledge to put this technique to use. Good Luck Skippy.
I have a question on amount of media by weight per gallon of aquarium water. I have been reading some thread formulas to tryand fine tune my media amount but I'm confused. (Probably me) I saw this posted on page 39. 2.1 Lt = 71 oz. / 16 = 4.43 lbs. Liters is volume which converts to volume ounces (liquid) not weight ounces right?
I saw this posted on page 39. 2.1 Lt = 71 oz. / 16 = 4.43 lbs. Liters is volume which converts to volume ounces (liquid) not weight ounces right?skippyreef
New member
I think that a one liter weighs 2.2 pounds. I think it is the same conversion as Kilograms to Pounds. I need about 5 pounds for my tank volume.
The whole glue thing was a lot easier than I thought but I think it is because I had the applicator and took time to do a little homework on DIY pages for acrylic projects. I am going to work on this some more this coming week.
The whole glue thing was a lot easier than I thought but I think it is because I had the applicator and took time to do a little homework on DIY pages for acrylic projects. I am going to work on this some more this coming week.
This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1400576
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