natureef denitrator ?
- Thread starter chuckbuc
- Start date
I like it a lot. If i had the room for it i would go this route for nitrate control. Seems to be better than sulfur based methods and conceptually its more controlled than pellets and vodka/vinegar dosing. My nitrates have always been in the 8-16ppm range. Not terrible but not where I'd prefer to see them. The only thing I've tried was prodibio which i have a nice supply of and need to try again with.
Yeah it adds up pretty quick. So you thinking of building one of these? Another cool maybe easier option is this diy build i saw.
http://wamas.org/forums/topic/68624-diy-chaeto-factory/#entry616213
It's similar to the ARID system if you've seen that but much easier/simpler for serious chaeto growing..
http://wamas.org/forums/topic/68624-diy-chaeto-factory/#entry616213
It's similar to the ARID system if you've seen that but much easier/simpler for serious chaeto growing..
Iammatt219
Member
Can someone point me to the DIY thread?
Iammatt219
Member
Found it. Looks really interesting..
I built, er, bought a DIY sulfur denitrator and there's a long thread on it somewhere I'm sure I can find.
It's just some PVC plumbing fittings from Home Depot and a Maxijet 600, and you fill it with sulfur (which lasts forever, I bought two gallons from BRS and needed much less than one) and it removed nitrates.
Found the thread, it starts here, and was split.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=12632975#post12632975
Here's the second part;
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1400576&highlight=sulfur+denitrator
It's just some PVC plumbing fittings from Home Depot and a Maxijet 600, and you fill it with sulfur (which lasts forever, I bought two gallons from BRS and needed much less than one) and it removed nitrates.
Found the thread, it starts here, and was split.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=12632975#post12632975
Here's the second part;
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1400576&highlight=sulfur+denitrator
It takes time to start working. I was sure I bought a piece of crap, but after leaving it alone, with water flowing very slowly, it began to do it's thing. Be patient.
pecan2phat
Active member
Charley,
Which brand S-denitrator are you running (MidWest Aquatics, Korallin) and have you considered bio-pellets for No3 control?
Which brand S-denitrator are you running (MidWest Aquatics, Korallin) and have you considered bio-pellets for No3 control?
pecan2phat
Active member
I've used the large MidWest a few years ago for a long time with slower, then faster drip rates and my No3 went nowhere so I switched to bio-pellets in 2010 and it took about 4 months then the No3 started to fall rapidly but did nothing for the Po4.
pecan2phat
Active member
I had 282 gallon system not including the sump system. I wanted to use 1600 ml total but since it was the initial start, I had to start with just 550 ml and waited 3 weeks. Then added another 550 ml and waited another 2 weeks before adding the rest.
Don't get me wrong, it's a horror to start bio-pellets in a high nutrient system. It's definitely growing pains like cloudiness, bio-slime coating the glass in a day or two and it literally took 3 months before the No3 even dropped 1ppm. After what I guess is the break in period, the No3 started to drop fast.
Since I started using the pellets in one of my systems, (4 years) I tried to stick with the initial brand but started to find that it was not easy to get. The first 2 years, I was able to stick to the brand but then started mixing with whichever was on sale since my system consumed 500 ml every 3 months. What I've learned from the last year or so is that Eco-Bak does make a difference in the tumbling department. It by far has been the only brand that I have used that does not clump on me. All the others would clump after 2 weeks and I would have to play with the flow rate, shake the dang reactor violently and just wait until the phase passed. I have not experienced this annoying habit with the Eco-bak but it also has not moved my Po4 numbers either.
I have a bag of the All In One pellets that is supposed to reduce Po4 twenty times the amount of regular pellets but we'll see. I have a feeling that I will go back to Eco-Bak primarily for the non-clumping issue. (The problem with clumping IMO is that it throws everything out of whack. The tendency is to increase flow by a lot to stop the rest of the pellets from clumping but as the parts that stay un-clumped gets tumbled too fast, the bacteria that you are trying to cultivate gets sheared off too quickly and etc., etc)
Don't get me wrong, it's a horror to start bio-pellets in a high nutrient system. It's definitely growing pains like cloudiness, bio-slime coating the glass in a day or two and it literally took 3 months before the No3 even dropped 1ppm. After what I guess is the break in period, the No3 started to drop fast.
Since I started using the pellets in one of my systems, (4 years) I tried to stick with the initial brand but started to find that it was not easy to get. The first 2 years, I was able to stick to the brand but then started mixing with whichever was on sale since my system consumed 500 ml every 3 months. What I've learned from the last year or so is that Eco-Bak does make a difference in the tumbling department. It by far has been the only brand that I have used that does not clump on me. All the others would clump after 2 weeks and I would have to play with the flow rate, shake the dang reactor violently and just wait until the phase passed. I have not experienced this annoying habit with the Eco-bak but it also has not moved my Po4 numbers either.
I have a bag of the All In One pellets that is supposed to reduce Po4 twenty times the amount of regular pellets but we'll see. I have a feeling that I will go back to Eco-Bak primarily for the non-clumping issue. (The problem with clumping IMO is that it throws everything out of whack. The tendency is to increase flow by a lot to stop the rest of the pellets from clumping but as the parts that stay un-clumped gets tumbled too fast, the bacteria that you are trying to cultivate gets sheared off too quickly and etc., etc)
