DIY Sulfur Denitrator
- Thread starter djfrankie
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newreefbishop
Premium Member
I must be stupid 
should I have another powerhead attached to this for inflow? Or do I just attach the inflow tube and put into my sump?
should I have another powerhead attached to this for inflow? Or do I just attach the inflow tube and put into my sump?
newreefbishop
Premium Member
newreefbishop
Premium Member
Maybe I filled the thing too much....I dont know.....Im tempted to empty everything into a bucket and only run the 2.5 pounds of sulfer that I ordered...
newreefbishop
Premium Member
I think I figured it out....I did need another "feeder" pump pumping water into the intake...
tipou
Premium Member
Here is a picture of mine. It is presently in testing process. I've based is conception on the H&S model. It is feed with a maxi-jet 1200.:thumbsup:
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3150
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3150
newreefbishop
Premium Member
Frankie.....its doing well now I think I got it figuured out the only thing Im dealing with is some slight leaking around the top seal.....nothing I cant deal with though.....so far so good...Im going to test PH and ALK tonight......I had stopped dosing my two part solution.....I think now it will be time to start dosing again.....
Paul_PSU
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11802699#post11802699 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tipou
Here is a picture of mine. It is presently in testing process. I've based is conception on the H&S model. It is feed with a maxi-jet 1200.:thumbsup:
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3150
Excellent! Nice quality work there. I wanted to use the clear acrylic, but I had pvc already. My friend wants one, maybe I'll give him mine and make an acrylic one
juliovideo
Premium Member
Pr. Jaubert's method(plenum) boosted by sulfur
Pr. Jaubert's method is now more and more known; I've been using it since 1994. It consists in placing nitrates reduction into nitrogen and the calcium reactor directly inside the aquarium. The reduction is done in the lower part of a thick layer (8 to 10-cm) of sand (J. Jaubert pers. comm.). This method works very well; however, it seems limited to aquariums with low fish load, or not fed very often, most probably by lack of organic elements in the sand's lowest part, a limiting factor for anaerobic bacteria development, which transforms nitrates into nitrogen by using carbonated matter (organic matter).
It also seems that only well-lit aquariums can work following this method, even if we don't have any complete explanation yet.
Finally, the substrate's surface that is covered by the rocks must not be over 25% of the total surface (J. Jaubert pers. comm.).
If, for a reason or another, nitrates are persistently present in the water, we can boost the system to make them disappear, faster, by accelerating the bacterial process by introducing organic compounds in the lower layer of sand (glucose, by example, by introducing a tube that penetrates under the layer, the other extremity sticking out of the water in the air).
To push Pr. Jaubert's method beyond its limits, i.e. in a heavily fed or under-lit aquarium, without adding glucose under the sandbed, and still conserve its advantages, i.e. its extreme simplicity, no external reactor, no flow rate to set, incorporated calcium reactor, etc. an idea came to me, a few years ago, to get rid of the limiting factor that is made of the quantity of organic compounds present in the lower layer of sand by boosting the system with a thin layer of sulfur in the form of beads at the same level. This allows the system to work in an autotrophic way instead of a carbon-heterotrophic-only way.
The device that I successfully experimented is made of a traditional floor net, from an under-gravel filter without up-lift (the water flows only naturally through the sand, just like in Pr. Jaubert's method).
I established at the end of August 1998 an experimental protocol.
I completely rebuilt a 100-liters aquarium that was established a few years back with 6 to 8-cm of coral sand and a few live rocks. It must be noted that this aquarium, even if it was setup following the Jaubert principle, had nitrate level rises during feeding periods.
Even empty of any animal and not fed for months, its nitrate level did not diminish. It is the perfect example of a scarcely lit Jaubert aquarium that does not work fast enough, most probably because of a lack of nutrients for the anaerobic bacteria present in the lower layer.
I setup the system by layering sulfur beads between the UGF plate and the sand, 1/2 cm thick, sandwiched between two plastic mosquito nets.
The 65 to 70 liters of water contained 35 mg/l of nitrate (NO3-). I reused this water to fill the new setup. Five days later the aquarium had a nitrite level above 10 mg/l. I was using live sand that was already full of aerobic bacteria. It was the first step of the transformation of nitrate into nitrite using sulfur that was starting, and not the transformation of ammoniac into nitrite like happens traditionally in a newly established tank.
On the tenth day, the nitrite level was of about 1 mg/l; the transformation of nitrite into gaseous nitrogen was on going. In a system of this type, where the water flow is produced by natural diffusion through the sandbed and not forced through a filter, it is logical that the evolution is slower than in systems using reactors.
On the eleventh day no nitrite was left and the nitrite level was below 5 mg/l.
On the Twelfth Day the nitrate level was not measurable at all (below 1 mg/l).
On the 24th day the aquarium was still without any nitrate, even if it received every day a cube of frozen artemias (around 1-cm3), which is pretty high for a 65-liters tank. The Tubastraea aurea in this aquarium for two months was nearly opened all day long, liking the strong water flow in the tank and the daily addition of food. It was the same for some Actinias equina and two Carotalcyon sagamianum specimens. The pH was around 7.7, because of Carbon dioxide present (degassing raises the pH) but this didn't look like it bothered the invertebrates. The KH was between 6 and 7. It was the same as the one from the Channel water that I used to fill the tank.
This very interesting method could perfectly be established in the sump of an existing aquarium so that the whole setup doesn't have to be rebuilt. The low pH will most probably shock some of you, but it should be noted that with Pr. Jaubert's method, the pH and KH are generally lower than those found using the Berlin method (at least in the morning concerning the pH). It is without noticeable consequence for the animals. My aquarium is not lit (only by ambient light in the room). It is not aerated by any other mean than a normal air/water interface, this interface being slowly moved because I preferred to direct current in the direction of the corals to bring then food.
In a lighted aquarium and with a good surface movement, or with an air stone, the dissolved Carbon dioxide should be eliminated in a better way, and the pH should be higher. The sulfur surface may not cover the tankÃÂs entire surface like I did.
I am personally convinced that this CO2 presence in the water in not necessarily a problem, but time will tell. As soon as I can lay my hands of some Dendronephtyas, gorgonians, Sphaerella krempfis, sponges, etc. I will add them to this aquarium. Feeding should be automated and more regular, simple flakes are enough to open the Tubastraea aurea.
Please send me your experiments in this field.
To be continued...
Marc LANGOUET.
6/11/98
from: http://mars.reefkeepers.net/USHomePage/USArticles/SulphurDenitrator.htm
-----------------------------
Pr. Jaubert's method is now more and more known; I've been using it since 1994. It consists in placing nitrates reduction into nitrogen and the calcium reactor directly inside the aquarium. The reduction is done in the lower part of a thick layer (8 to 10-cm) of sand (J. Jaubert pers. comm.). This method works very well; however, it seems limited to aquariums with low fish load, or not fed very often, most probably by lack of organic elements in the sand's lowest part, a limiting factor for anaerobic bacteria development, which transforms nitrates into nitrogen by using carbonated matter (organic matter).
It also seems that only well-lit aquariums can work following this method, even if we don't have any complete explanation yet.
Finally, the substrate's surface that is covered by the rocks must not be over 25% of the total surface (J. Jaubert pers. comm.).
If, for a reason or another, nitrates are persistently present in the water, we can boost the system to make them disappear, faster, by accelerating the bacterial process by introducing organic compounds in the lower layer of sand (glucose, by example, by introducing a tube that penetrates under the layer, the other extremity sticking out of the water in the air).
To push Pr. Jaubert's method beyond its limits, i.e. in a heavily fed or under-lit aquarium, without adding glucose under the sandbed, and still conserve its advantages, i.e. its extreme simplicity, no external reactor, no flow rate to set, incorporated calcium reactor, etc. an idea came to me, a few years ago, to get rid of the limiting factor that is made of the quantity of organic compounds present in the lower layer of sand by boosting the system with a thin layer of sulfur in the form of beads at the same level. This allows the system to work in an autotrophic way instead of a carbon-heterotrophic-only way.
The device that I successfully experimented is made of a traditional floor net, from an under-gravel filter without up-lift (the water flows only naturally through the sand, just like in Pr. Jaubert's method).
I established at the end of August 1998 an experimental protocol.
I completely rebuilt a 100-liters aquarium that was established a few years back with 6 to 8-cm of coral sand and a few live rocks. It must be noted that this aquarium, even if it was setup following the Jaubert principle, had nitrate level rises during feeding periods.
Even empty of any animal and not fed for months, its nitrate level did not diminish. It is the perfect example of a scarcely lit Jaubert aquarium that does not work fast enough, most probably because of a lack of nutrients for the anaerobic bacteria present in the lower layer.
I setup the system by layering sulfur beads between the UGF plate and the sand, 1/2 cm thick, sandwiched between two plastic mosquito nets.
The 65 to 70 liters of water contained 35 mg/l of nitrate (NO3-). I reused this water to fill the new setup. Five days later the aquarium had a nitrite level above 10 mg/l. I was using live sand that was already full of aerobic bacteria. It was the first step of the transformation of nitrate into nitrite using sulfur that was starting, and not the transformation of ammoniac into nitrite like happens traditionally in a newly established tank.
On the tenth day, the nitrite level was of about 1 mg/l; the transformation of nitrite into gaseous nitrogen was on going. In a system of this type, where the water flow is produced by natural diffusion through the sandbed and not forced through a filter, it is logical that the evolution is slower than in systems using reactors.
On the eleventh day no nitrite was left and the nitrite level was below 5 mg/l.
On the Twelfth Day the nitrate level was not measurable at all (below 1 mg/l).
On the 24th day the aquarium was still without any nitrate, even if it received every day a cube of frozen artemias (around 1-cm3), which is pretty high for a 65-liters tank. The Tubastraea aurea in this aquarium for two months was nearly opened all day long, liking the strong water flow in the tank and the daily addition of food. It was the same for some Actinias equina and two Carotalcyon sagamianum specimens. The pH was around 7.7, because of Carbon dioxide present (degassing raises the pH) but this didn't look like it bothered the invertebrates. The KH was between 6 and 7. It was the same as the one from the Channel water that I used to fill the tank.
This very interesting method could perfectly be established in the sump of an existing aquarium so that the whole setup doesn't have to be rebuilt. The low pH will most probably shock some of you, but it should be noted that with Pr. Jaubert's method, the pH and KH are generally lower than those found using the Berlin method (at least in the morning concerning the pH). It is without noticeable consequence for the animals. My aquarium is not lit (only by ambient light in the room). It is not aerated by any other mean than a normal air/water interface, this interface being slowly moved because I preferred to direct current in the direction of the corals to bring then food.
In a lighted aquarium and with a good surface movement, or with an air stone, the dissolved Carbon dioxide should be eliminated in a better way, and the pH should be higher. The sulfur surface may not cover the tankÃÂs entire surface like I did.
I am personally convinced that this CO2 presence in the water in not necessarily a problem, but time will tell. As soon as I can lay my hands of some Dendronephtyas, gorgonians, Sphaerella krempfis, sponges, etc. I will add them to this aquarium. Feeding should be automated and more regular, simple flakes are enough to open the Tubastraea aurea.
Please send me your experiments in this field.
To be continued...
Marc LANGOUET.
6/11/98
from: http://mars.reefkeepers.net/USHomePage/USArticles/SulphurDenitrator.htm
-----------------------------
Last edited:
djfrankie
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11806568#post11806568 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PiXieCath
It's something I made myself and I'm proud to tell you that it work really well
Let us know how you created that twist off flange...unless you outsourced it to someone with a CNC router?
I'm in the process of creating a Calcium reactor using the best techniques from every major manufacturer and was thinking of something similar, but some parts like the twist off flange I would have to get outsourced.
Is there a DIY of maybe how you made it?
Thanks,
djfrankie
djfrankie
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11806611#post11806611 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tipou
It's something I made myself and I'm proud to tell you that it's working really well
Care to enlighten us ?
DIY link?
or Pics of how you made the twist off flange would really be nice.
Thanks
djfrankie
tipou
Premium Member
Check the link for my products with twist lock..Sorry I don't have pic of how I made it, but I use a cnc machine to make my pieces :rollface:
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=510
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1361
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1054
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=510
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1361
http://www.reefconcept.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1054
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