DIY Sulfur Denitrator

[NyReefNoob]

out of curiousity, i was thinking of using a tap water filter chamber

http://www.aquariumguys.com/tapwaterfilter.html
and modding a recirc pump in it. use foam pad and seal bottom hole off easily. and control valve for output of gas. be a cheap mod, already have the filter from when i first started. have a few old pumps i could use. and a john guest vavle or so. total investment would be from mistakes over time. so what do you think. will try to post pic's of progress, and this would be for a 40g total volume

 

[boalady]

Could you put your input line on the intake side of the pump and allow it to suck in its own water from the sump? The amount of water traveling through would be controlled by the valve on the output line.

Would this work?

 

[newreefbishop]

Well, I tested the water coming out of the reactor within 5 minutes of it running that was roughly two days ago and it was around 80-95 PPM, this afternoon I ran another test and its down to 20 PPM, I also calculated how long it would take to process all the water in the tank.....and by my calculations every 14.5 days and thats of course and estimate bassed on rough figures. So basically two water changes a month....... Thanks FRANKIE....I actually put it in my sump so I dont need to worry about leaking per say I just need to watch my parameters carefully.....By your estimates the sulfer should last two months right?

 

[asmodeus]

doenst the sulphur last like 2 years

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11814411#post11814411 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asmodeus
doenst the sulphur last like 2 years

According to the manufacturer it will last between 2-3 years.

I'm also in total favor of doing water changes since it replenishes all the fundamental elements necessary in a marine environment.

djfrankie

 

[newreefbishop]

Good I dont want to take it out of my sump.....it was a pain to get it in there.

 

[newreefbishop]

Im still going to do water changes, its just now I dont need to do 50 gallon ones. lol

 

[asmodeus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11814454#post11814454 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by newreefbishop
Good I dont want to take it out of my sump.....it was a pain to get it in there.

ROLMFAO:smokin:

 

[newreefbishop]

Man you have no idea.....it was a real pain......I can just imagine trying to get it out.....LMAO

 

[bawla47]

yikes 2 months sulfur wouldnt be worth it! but the calcium, thats another story.

the ONLY reason i built mine out of clear piping, is to monitor the calcium, because taht does need to be replaced alot more often. still havent had a chance to finish it, but its almost done. waiting for my media to come in.

 

[newreefbishop]

Bawla, where did you get the materials for the clear version....

 

[bawla47]

i got clear extruded tubing for 30$ at prospect plastics 6 ft though!
still have plenty left, going to make a kalk reactor too

, and black 1/4 acrylic for the top and bottom.


mine is all custom bcause i didnt know the tubing is actually smalelr then the regular 4" pvc fittings.


i did noticed alot simpler way tho, is they sell clear pvc tubing online, and you can use all the same pvc fittings. its a little pricey i think, but i think its alot better if you make it clear, cuz you need to replace the media every couple months or so.

 

[zachtos]

Question:

It's been two weeks. My tank is now down to 0.5-1ppm NO3(salifert). I have been reading a effluent ph of 8.8 now and the tank ph is 8.3. It is running through the calcium media, but I smell a slight slight rotten egg smell now. Does this high ph mean that the device is working or not? I know that smell indicates I may need higher flow, but it's already around 300ml/minute. I increased it to 500ml/minute now. I have 4 liters of sulphur media in the device.

Help?

 

[bawla47]

you either need to increase the flow more till you dont get a rotten smell, or remove a good amt of the media.

thats great news tho! glad you got your nitrates down so quick!

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11823313#post11823313 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zachtos
Question:

It's been two weeks. My tank is now down to 0.5-1ppm NO3(salifert). I have been reading a effluent ph of 8.8 now and the tank ph is 8.3. It is running through the calcium media, but I smell a slight slight rotten egg smell now. Does this high ph mean that the device is working or not? I know that smell indicates I may need higher flow, but it's already around 300ml/minute. I increased it to 500ml/minute now. I have 4 liters of sulphur media in the device.

Help?

You shouldn't be getting sulfide smell if it's still processing levels of nitrates in the reactor.

I don't know of any instance where the PH out of the reactor will be higher than the tank's PH? Even if it's going through aragonite.

Can you double check this with a different PH probe or kit?

I remembered you were using that other cheaper media. Maybe something to do with it?

How is your Alk reading as well? It should have dropped considerably by now as it is very natural. Keep and eye on that as well and report back.

The only time you would have to remove some media from the reactor is when your tank's nitrate reading are zero and the bacteria inside the reactor is starving to death.

Too fast a nitrate drop is also not necessarily a good thing for your tanks' inhabitants

djfrankie

 

[asmodeus]

got my reactor done i have it gravity fed will that work i dont havea pump to feed it. and do I really need 2 foams or is one enough. i will take a picture in a bit to show you..

 

[asmodeus]

well its going what is the rate that you guys have it going with. for a drip to start off.

 

[asmodeus]

i have around 80 drips per min i think i need to go more right

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11847032#post11847032 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asmodeus
i have around 80 drips per min i think i need to go more right

Start off at one drip per second for the next 3 days or so until you start getting zero NO3 out of your effluent. Then up it +1 drop per second every couple of days until it catches up and so forth.

You've got PM.

djfrankie

 

[asmodeus]

hey not a bad build on my reactor hey Frankie, it almost looks like yours

i did add a piece to sit on top of the media, its eggcrate along with a container top cut to fit the inside of the tube with lots of holes drilled into it. I had a couple of pieces of dead SPs skeltons that i putto keep it down.