DIY Sulfur Denitrator

[swearint]

dj,

I am using the carib-sea lsm. It has been running (recirc only, no feed from the tank yet) since 11/27 and as of 11/30 the nitrates in the unit have not dropped. I suspect that the pump is deadheading, ie no flow through the media. I will check it tonight and if nitrates are still unchanged, I will open it up and remove some of the sulphur. I am probably using too much anyway, I used the entire gallon. I will see about posting pics, I have not done it before.

Todd

 

[williah]

Does anyone who's been using this unit have a brain coral and/or a lobophyllia coral?

Both of these corals in my tank were doing great until recently. Shortly after my unit was running at "full speed" my brain-coral stopped expanding. It is now shrunken down to the skeleton and won't expand. It's been like this for 3 weeks.

My lobophyllia is now doing the same thing. The flesh of it has shrunk and at parts it's died down to the skeleton. It's lost a lot of its color.

Has anyone with these pieces experienced a similar reaction? I'm trying to rule out the reactor and the sulfur as a cause.

My nitrate is 5, my nitrite, amm, are 0, my ph is 8.

Anyone?

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13851823#post13851823 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by williah
Does anyone who's been using this unit have a brain coral and/or a lobophyllia coral?

Both of these corals in my tank were doing great until recently. Shortly after my unit was running at "full speed" my brain-coral stopped expanding. It is now shrunken down to the skeleton and won't expand. It's been like this for 3 weeks.

My lobophyllia is now doing the same thing. The flesh of it has shrunk and at parts it's died down to the skeleton. It's lost a lot of its color.

Has anyone with these pieces experienced a similar reaction? I'm trying to rule out the reactor and the sulfur as a cause.

My nitrate is 5, my nitrite, amm, are 0, my ph is 8.

Anyone?

Have you checked the rest of your water paramaters:

Alk
Calcium
Mag

Please get back to us...as this is not common when using a sulfur reactor. It is usually the result of some other water parameters being out of whack.

djfrankie

 

[djfrankie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13851185#post13851185 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by swearint
dj,

I am using the carib-sea lsm. It has been running (recirc only, no feed from the tank yet) since 11/27 and as of 11/30 the nitrates in the unit have not dropped. I suspect that the pump is deadheading, ie no flow through the media. I will check it tonight and if nitrates are still unchanged, I will open it up and remove some of the sulphur. I am probably using too much anyway, I used the entire gallon. I will see about posting pics, I have not done it before.

Todd

Todd,

Something is not right there. If the pump was malfunctioning or in the process of dying I don't think it would be able to lift the entire media up. That process takes much more energy and head pressure to accomplish.

Post some pics of the unit....and maybe we can see something you're not seeing.

djfrankie

 

[swearint]

dj,

No the pump works. I added bioballs to prevent the whole mass from moving up. So that much is ok. I just suspect that I am not getting any flow through the media.

Todd

 

[swearint]

Ok, well the nitrates were unchanged so I opened it up and took out half the sulpher media and restarted it. I tested it and the media stayed in place and I could see water movement. However, the top foam pad was prone to floating up so I added more bioballs. I will give it several days and check the nitrates. Here are some pics:

The reactor:

pump mount:

foam pad:

a diy pipe tap made from a brass plug with flutes cut into it:

Todd

 

[saltydog64]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13855271#post13855271 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by swearint
Ok, well the nitrates were unchanged so I opened it up and took out half the sulpher media and restarted it. I tested it and the media stayed in place and I could see water movement. However, the top foam pad was prone to floating up so I added more bioballs. I will give it several days and check the nitrates. Here are some pics:

The reactor:

pump mount:

foam pad:

a diy pipe tap made from a brass plug with flutes cut into it:

Todd

Todd,

Took a look @ SR, you deviated a little in your design from the original dj plan, now I could be wrong so bare with me. The tank water feed into your unit is probably ok as is your vent, but your effluent line where is it ??? The valve @ the bottom could serve as a "drain" to clean unit when needed but I don't think that will work as the effluent discharge and as such I think controlling your FR might be tough. Let's let dj charm in later as I'm sure he'll have some help for you..

Nice job on the tap very impressive....

Dick

 

[swearint]

Salty,

The valve at the top, on the cap, is the gas purge. The tee on the pump inlet is the reactor feed, and the valve at the bottom is the reactor outlet. I intend to gravity feed the unit, the bottom valve will control the rate through the reactor, back into the tank. The only difference from dj's original design is the inlet. His had a seperate fitting on the body of the reactor, but it is still on the suction side of the pump. There should be no functional difference.

Todd

 

[saltydog64]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13858880#post13858880 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by swearint
Salty,

The valve at the top, on the cap, is the gas purge. The tee on the pump inlet is the reactor feed, and the valve at the bottom is the reactor outlet. I intend to gravity feed the unit, the bottom valve will control the rate through the reactor, back into the tank. The only difference from dj's original design is the inlet. His had a seperate fitting on the body of the reactor, but it is still on the suction side of the pump. There should be no functional difference.

Todd

Hey Todd,

Yep I agree on the inlet side, I don't think that is an issue, where I guess I'm little confused is the discharge or effluent line...to me it looks like it's a part of the "pressure" side of the pump and I think that could be an issue. Take a look, better yet I'll try and post a pic of one of the orginals.....

The blue line in this photo is the discharge or effluent line, the SR is covered with insulation as it's setup with my tank in the basement, my private fish room so to speak :rollface:

At this point I was still cycling using tank water, but discharging into a 5 G bucket...maybe that helps in some small way.

 

[swearint]

I think I understand your concern, that the incoming water won't have enough dwell time in the reactor before it exits. I am assuming that it will get well mixed since the internal flow is much greater than the throughput. Time will time if I am incorrect. I went back and checked dj's very first post and the main difference is that I reversed the locations of the inlet and outlet. My outlet is on the pressure side of the pump as you pointed out. The reason I switched it is so that I could use a single pump. If it does not work, all I have to do is hook up a pump and feed it the opposite way.

On a different note, have any of you had problems with the pvc cement? I soaked mine several days in tap water and even ran it overnight with caustic (washing soda) to clean it out. But when I opened up the reactor to remove some of the media, I still got a strong odor of glue.

Todd

 

[mjpinsky]

First...... comment to Todd...
When PVC cement thoroughly dries it should leave no odor residue. Did you give all your joints time to properly cure and thoroughly dry before closing the unit and if not then sealing the unit would basically prevent any additional needed evaporation and you retain the odor. That would result in the odor you smelled when you opened it up.

Second.... I'm a newbie at all this (as you will see by my other comments) but from what I understand of how the unit works, it would appear that the effluent/output needs to be ABOVE the sulfur and ARM. That way when the treated water is acidified, the ARM will buffer it somewhat before going back to the tank water. If you pull the water from the bottom, it is being mixed with incoming water from the tank. That would seem to me to be contaminating it with nitrate rich water. Does my reasoning make sense to you?

Next....... (camera is dead ... see old pic of reactor on page 17)
I have big brown up and running. A few comments for other newbies like me......... remember that output MUST equal input!. I tried keeping my input at full open and adjusting my output to a slow trickle and I discovered leaks I did not know existed under my test mode. But , it made sense...... the reactor tank is a confined space and can only hold so much fluid. You can't feed in more water than the tank can hold. When I resealed everything, I set it up the opposite way and opened my output all the way and then adjusted the input valve to allow for a slow output trickle. No more leaks.
I discovered that "GOOP" is the best stuff out there to seal up "after manufacture" leaks. It is waterproof and dries quickly. It claims to be able to glue/seal just about anything to anything.

Also, for us first timers.... remember to push your tubing as far into the quick disconnect valves as you can or they leak like a slit throat.
(Wives HATE saltwater all over the place!!!! They find enough reasons to yell at us. Let's not give them another reason.)

Also, nobody mentioned it yet in the 58 pages of the thread, but it takes a lot of rinsing to clean the sulfur of its bubbly milky residue before putting it into the reactor,

here's what's inside my denitrator....
Over the inside sewer grate (which covers the recirc output pipe) I put in a filter then about a 1/2 liter of CaribSea LSM sulfur media, 2 more filters, then filled the unit up with Reborn ARM (it took about 1.1 Kg of aragonite or 1/2 the bucket it came in), another filter, and unit was closed up. (Thank you DJFrankie for helping me figure out how much sulfur to use for my 65 gal tank)

Another thing to consider in your construction is...when you put your top return /recirculator pipe into the PVC remember to leave enough room to get your hand in so you can insert the media and filters.....my hand didn't fit and I had to push everything into place with an old wooden backscratcher.

Only 1 day since firing it up.......starting point is somewhere between 80 and 160 using API kit -- redder than 80 but not as brown as 160. When I got home tonight no gas build up yet, and about the same output reading. NO additional leaks noted. From the thread I know I will have to wait anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

Just want to verify.... earlier in thread someone said that API kits are good for about 2 years from date of manufacture (last 4 digits on label). TRUE??? My kit is now about 18 months old (was probably a year old when it was purchased). I don't want to continue with readings if kit is not giving out good numbers.

I'll keep you all updated on my progress. Good luck to us all and thanks for all the help that led to my units completion!.......MARC

 

[reefplicate]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13855271#post13855271 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by swearint


foam pad:

i think this pad u're using is way too dense....
will give u problems later due to clogging.....

 

[swearint]

mj,

I built the unit over about a weeks time and then it was a few days later that I filled it with media. And I rinsed it real well and even ran washing soda in it overnight. It smelled ok before I filled and closed it up. It should have had plenty of time to fully cure, so I am not sure what the problem is.

I am not running any ARM in the reactor, I intend to run that in a seperate canister so I can replace it more easily. Once I get the reactor fully cycled I will run it as currently set up. If I don't get good results, then I can easily add a feed pump and reverse the connections.

reef,

The photo is a bit blurry, but it is a fairly coarse foam. It appears to me about the same as the eheim foam dj used, maybe a bit thicker though.

Todd

 

[Steve 926]

Just an up date on the Dj Jr.

I recently cleaned it & decided to add another chamber with just the aragonite. This will make it easier to replace the aragonite next time.
The second unit has no alterations to the stock Phos ban reactor, other than some JG fittings & worm clamps.
A small piece of plexi for the base, & another piece to keep the units together "God Bless Velcro" !!

This time I used some teflon tape ( about 6 wraps each ) on the strainer connections to each other & to the cap also.
I have noticed a much better flow now through the sulphur, & the aragonite.

the old design

The new one

I'll run it into a bucket for a while & we'll seee how it goe's

Steve

:smokin:

 

[saltydog64]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13860302#post13860302 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by swearint
I think I understand your concern, that the incoming water won't have enough dwell time in the reactor before it exits. I am assuming that it will get well mixed since the internal flow is much greater than the throughput. Time will time if I am incorrect. I went back and checked dj's very first post and the main difference is that I reversed the locations of the inlet and outlet. My outlet is on the pressure side of the pump as you pointed out. The reason I switched it is so that I could use a single pump. If it does not work, all I have to do is hook up a pump and feed it the opposite way.

On a different note, have any of you had problems with the pvc cement? I soaked mine several days in tap water and even ran it overnight with caustic (washing soda) to clean it out. But when I opened up the reactor to remove some of the media, I still got a strong odor of glue.

Todd

Todd,

By now the pvc cement smell should be gone, is it ?? if not empty the reactor and place it outside for a day or so.

As I understand it your trying to cycle your unit not hooked to your tank (always a good idea) and no flow from your tank, is that right ?? remember this....as these things do run anaerorbic, the reason for a drip rate to start with is to aid in O2 depletation so you must have a continuing supply of nitrate to the SR for the developing bacteria, or once all the nitrate is consumed, then the bacteria will consume sulfur and your going to get H2S........ skinky stuff.

Why is it a good idea to cycle into a 5 bucket, as the SR developes the bacteria some Nitrite will be formed, now if your tank is large enough, I suppose then that is not a concern as it propably can oxidize it before it becomes a problem.

You will know when cycling has started as N2 will be present @ the vent.....one thing you can do is take a small clear container and stick your vent tube in it and slowly open your vent valve you will be amassed how much will form, for example, when mine got "cooking" I would have gas venting for 15 to 20 secs.....also as it progress this is a good way to detect for H2S, but please sniff carefully as H2S is toxic.... :mixed: :mixed: Hope this helps.

Dick

 

[saltydog64]

Steve,

Very nice..........Good idea on the separate ARM more the merrier and also smart on using a bucket to cycle into...

Good luck with it and as a reminder.... as you get futher in to the cycle keep a watch on your pH and ALK as they will be lowered by the process.

 

[swearint]

Yes I am cycling it without it hooked to the tank. I pulled a sample from the SR and did a nitrate test and it is unchanged, but it has only been a day or so since I restarted it. Before starting it, I rinsed it well and it did not smell, but neither did it the first time.

Todd

 

[williah]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13851823#post13851823 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by williah
Does anyone who's been using this unit have a brain coral and/or a lobophyllia coral?

Both of these corals in my tank were doing great until recently. Shortly after my unit was running at "full speed" my brain-coral stopped expanding. It is now shrunken down to the skeleton and won't expand. It's been like this for 3 weeks.

My lobophyllia is now doing the same thing. The flesh of it has shrunk and at parts it's died down to the skeleton. It's lost a lot of its color.

Has anyone with these pieces experienced a similar reaction? I'm trying to rule out the reactor and the sulfur as a cause.

My nitrate is 5, my nitrite, amm, are 0, my ph is 8.

Anyone?

Anyone?

 

[dvanacker]

Just thought I would report back. Well I did a water change and cycled the unit with 5g bucket of my WC water. It took 2.5 days to reach 0ppm nitrate. Boy was I impressed.

Then I placed it on the tank and tested after one day. I found nitrate high or nitrite (dont know). SO obiously I needed to cycle the unit again for some reason. 3 days after putting it on my tank I have 0ppm nitrate on the output and dripping a few drops per second. This thing is very impressive. Don't know why I waited so long to try one.

 

[saltydog64]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13873383#post13873383 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dvanacker
Just thought I would report back. Well I did a water change and cycled the unit with 5g bucket of my WC water. It took 2.5 days to reach 0ppm nitrate. Boy was I impressed.

Then I placed it on the tank and tested after one day. I found nitrate high or nitrite (dont know). SO obiously I needed to cycle the unit again for some reason. 3 days after putting it on my tank I have 0ppm nitrate on the output and dripping a few drops per second. This thing is very impressive. Don't know why I waited so long to try one.

dvan............

Sounds good.........I think...Not sure why you couldn't tell between Nitrate or Nitrite ???? I would think it's important to know which one it is...why ??? how you adjust your FR can be determined by what's coming out of the SR, for example if it's Nitrite you'll what to bump up the FR a little and the opposite for Nitrate.....just my 2 cents.....