DIY Sulfur Denitrator
- Thread starter JohnL
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dahenley
New member
i will say that while i was reading, it mentioned that a MJ1200 is a little big for the recirc? they changed theirs to a 600 or a 900. (im using a 600 because it is what i had lying around) you might change out the impeller on the MJ if you have a smaller one. you might be pushing too much water and causing it to channel like you were saying.
i would have to say that you are getting good water by putting the inlet down there in the bottom so there is no worries about that part.
like you were saying, you might just empty the reactor and make sure you didnt have a air pocket. (what media did you use? and also, did you rinse the media before you put it in the reactor?)
im trying to look at everything so sorry it you have already mentioned things, but we can figure it out.
i would have to say that you are getting good water by putting the inlet down there in the bottom so there is no worries about that part.
like you were saying, you might just empty the reactor and make sure you didnt have a air pocket. (what media did you use? and also, did you rinse the media before you put it in the reactor?)
im trying to look at everything so sorry it you have already mentioned things, but we can figure it out.
saltydog64
New member
budda... Good morning and a Happy New Year:jester::jester: Have u already opened it up ????(opening it will cause u to have cycle out the new air that just got in there), but if u think u must go for it, it'll just add to the cycle time. Any how, a couple of thoughts, as I just caught your post, first the 6" pipe is fine....and the location of the VV (vent valve) is good. Its normal for a little S to show up in the eff pipe as the 1200 can really stir things up and some S can get by your sponges...no biggie. If you open it leave off the top and start the 1200 and u will see how much the pump will cause the media to rise in there, but it will settle back down. Now when u put the top back on leave the VV open until u see water comimg out, the close the VV and gentily shake the unit back and fore (with the 1200 running) and open the VV again...do this a few times and you'll be surpised now much air gets trapped in there, then when no air and all water close the valve. Let's deviate a little with the flow rate...what I did was set the FR @ 1 drop per 2 seconds this seem to help with the purging of the air and speeding up the process.
Gas after a couple weeks then no gas is also normal as it cycles. Be advised that with NO3 @ + 100 ppm (been there and done that:lol
will cause the total cycle time to very long, how long ? no easy answer sorry ! What you could try is get some NBC# 9 (I to used LSM media and know it's " should" be bacteria active...but u never know how long that stuff sets around so)... and put it in the SR (this a great all purpose bacteria substance and "could" speed up the cycle).As your NO3 are so high it will be some what difficult to judge the progress, why? if for example your NO3 was say 25 to 50 ppm then when you checked @ the eff you could get lets say +70 ppm or more why ? it's just the way it cycles..and you will get a NO2 (Nitrite) reading also...having just said that I recall that's what I check for while mine cycled, because when the NO2 was almost zero then the NO3 started to get lower..So @ + 100 u might not see the first higher NO3 readings because your so high @ the start just IMO...
Just remember this WILL work but it's going to take a LOT of patience so stick with it...if u did open it no biggie, just consider some of the above thoughts.
Hope this helps.
Dick
dahenley
New member
if your media is below the your recirculation pump, (and you have already opened the reactor) you could replace the impeller and still have your media covered in water. also, before you start up your recirc pump, make sure to turn on the feed pump and fill the container. (also to prevent air from getting passed through the media)
also, after your change out the impeller (if you do) take a stick or something and tap around the reactor and see if that will help the media settle and fill in any channeling.
i have done that in my CA reactor when i first poured the media in it. being clear, you could see it settle and fill in. just another idea.....
also, after your change out the impeller (if you do) take a stick or something and tap around the reactor and see if that will help the media settle and fill in any channeling.
i have done that in my CA reactor when i first poured the media in it. being clear, you could see it settle and fill in. just another idea.....
saltydog64
New member
budda............Good, now yes do the shaking thingy and open the VV as I mentioned, I don't think there is any problem w/ size of the 1200 as alot of us have good results with it and on smaller pipe than yours...
OK I did it but some air did get in not much.I didnt open it. I accidentally shut off the feed pump. So it did drain down a bit. I think I did purge some air out of the reactor. Not much. though. I did turn my flow down to 1 drip every 2-3 seconds. So it is just the nature of the beast that it is going to take a long time for this thing to kick in? A couple of months maybe? Thats crazy!
saltydog64
New member
budda.....Good and now if all you got was water out of the VV your all set....NO it shouldn't 2 months, but with your high NO3 it will take u longer than most but not 2 months...now with "new" FR wait a day or two and carefully smell for H2S @ the VV...none...good now if none, slow it down again to 1dp/ 3 seconds and repeat the smell check if none let run here for 24to 48 Hrs and I bet you get some NO2 out of the SR.....if you get H2S, speed it up now to a FR of 1 d/2 sec and let it run for 24 to 48 hrs, if u don't H2S let it run @ the 1dp 3 sec....until u get NO2 then increase the FR to the 1d/p sec. and let run here until you see lowering NO3 @ that eff line...you will and good luck with it.........you must calibrate your flow to exactly not about now fast it's going thru there...do this by knowing the dps your eff line flows @.Take a flask or what ever have and collect @ the eff. line say for 2 mins this will give u a good repeatable flow and measure the total vol..div by 120 secs will give u cc/sec..knowing your dps you determine you exact FR....this a must because eventually you will flow faster than u can count...but by the total vol....it easy as pie....
Good luck with this you'll get it
Dick
Dick
reefslugs
Active member
I'm a little confused.
I'm a little confused.
I got my reactor up and running four days ago. I'm dripping one drop a second. Here's what I'm confused about. My tank read 50ppm nitrates but when I test the effluent it reads higher at 100+. Is this right? Am I doing something wrong? Should I raise the drops to 2-3 per second or leave it alone at 1 drop per second?
I'm a little confused.
I got my reactor up and running four days ago. I'm dripping one drop a second. Here's what I'm confused about. My tank read 50ppm nitrates but when I test the effluent it reads higher at 100+. Is this right? Am I doing something wrong? Should I raise the drops to 2-3 per second or leave it alone at 1 drop per second?
sanababit
Active member
leave it alone, the reacto rneeds time to cycle, thus having a lot of nitrate coming out of the effluent, then nitrite will hit a high value then they will drop....
IME sulfur denitrifiers really work, i used one for almost 2 years and was fascinated that my nitrate dropped from 20ppm to 0 ppm, but as time passed by i noticed that my tank stayed at 5ppm, i came to the conclusion that the denitrifier was going thru a vicious cycle, this means that the denitrifier was keeping my nitrate in the tank at 0ppm, this caused the bacteria inside the denitrifier too die because it did not have any more nitrate in the water to feed on and this put back nitrate into the tank, when the nitrate got back up in the aquarium the denitrifier cycled again and started working again, i notoced this because every week i would test my denitrifier at the outlet and one week it would be 0ppm then another it would be 10-15ppm, and so on, so my tank always stayed at ~5ppm, it wasnt that bad but i opted on removing the device, since then i installed an algae scrubber (i am not trying to promote it or nothing, just a personal choice) and my tank has been running at 0ppm for almost 3 months now, BTW when i removed the dnitrifier 2 things happened, i got a lot of green cyano al over the walls, its like my tank went thru a mini cycle, i removed the algae and it hasnt came back since, second, my corals started to look better, i think it was due to the fact that i wasnt putting any more sulfate into the tank, i did water changes when i removed the denitrifier too, so take that on account....
This is by personal experience and please dont take it out as i am bashing denitrifiers, i used one and really liked it, i just wanted to share my story, thanks
sana
I've finally taken mine offline after almost a year battling it to break in - once it did, it ate the NO3 with a vengeance. Unfortunatly, to get the sulfur out I have to hacksaw the cleanout fitting. I must have muscled it on there pretty good, even with a 2" pipe wrench and a strap wrench - the cap wouldn't budge.
saltydog64
New member
NCNBilly.....hey there !!! I remember your battle the with beast but good you used it to fight and win the struggle over Nitrate.....It sucks on the hacksaw deal but hey it didn't leak....
What's your plan and maintaining low NO3...???? I to have used a SR and actually a month or so ago restarted it and trates are almost @ 0...actually last checked they were @ 2.66 PPM (LaMotte low range kit... .5 x 4.44= 2.66).
I think what I'll do is give the Vitamn C deal a go....seems like alpt folks are keeping trates down with VC..your plan....????
Dick
Vitamin C - so far at 1tsp twice a day. Cheato is finally growing, so offline it went. I actually had a nitrate reading on the rector (~2ppm) and 0 on the tank, so I think it started to go batty.
I was going to rebuild the reactor anyway, with a slightly different design - now I have the time to do it. I'm sure my NO3 will creep back up when I restart my Phyto cultures.
saltydog64
New member
NCNBilly................man I'm bad :furious: I just never saw your post over there with puffer and the other folks @ VC thread...
Glad you're having good results.....a ??? or two..did when run your SR and @ the same time add VC..and if so what affects did have on the SR if you know?
Currently I'm still running mine and @ last check getting zero @ Eff discharge and about 2 or 3 PPM on the tank. I recently added some new Zoas and wanted to let them adj to the tank before shutting down the SR and then slowly going to the VC route...what do u think of this approach ???
Dick
Yeah, I was dosing at the same time for about 4 weeks. No problems - if anything the VC helped break in the SR better, probably from the carbon dosing. I've had a terrible time getting the right bacteria to populate in the SR. I dosed NBC#9 directly in the degassing port a few times, but it took a few months regardless.
saltydog64
New member
NCNBilly.......good and thanks for your reply......Ya I remember now your battle with that thing....I to soon will be shutting down the SR as I'm tired of the constant fight with the lowering of the pH and Alk....as I recall from the VC thread, we still have to monitor those parms, but hopefully CV willn't be as big a fight on those parms....I guess the bottem line is pretty simple... there are no FREE lunches :lolspin::lolspin:
thank again.
Dick
saltydog64
New member
ong....While I'm not NCNBIlly....you can get the VC from here http://www.iherb.com/NutriBiotic-Sodium-Ascorbate-Crystalline-Powder-16-oz-454-g/10178?at=0.
I think the code to save $5 is still good from puffer over @ this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1602494&page=19.
[violation]
What I suggest u done before even considering VC is to read that very very long thread BEFORE u try this.....IMO
Dick
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