It's going great so far! I'll be posting a big followup soon. I'm close to having a bunch of days off which I'll have time to do some more analysis. My tank nitrate just over a week ago, was down to 15ppm. I've noticed my calcifying corals have begun to grow once again, after months of no growth.

No regrets so far...

thats due to a lower nitrate level.You should see some vibrant colours again.I found when my nitrates went up the corals faded at the tips.Some did better than others.

After running some standard tests on my tank tonight, I thought I would update this thread.

However there isn't much to say. I've hardly touched the Denitrator, opting to let it 'do it's thing'. I am pleased to report that my tank nitrate level is down to 5ppm, and the effluent of the reactor was 0. So I increased the drip rate ever so slightly for the first time in well over a month.

All in all, I'm very impressed with this 'hand's off' approach to dealing with mysterious high nitrate levels. It seems to be working wonders.

Thanks for the updates. Whats your bioload like and how fast is your drip rate? Do you feed your fish alot?

i run in my sump 2 phosban reactore with this media nitrate no more then 5ppm and drip 6 drop per second on each reactor.

i have 16 fish in my 120 gallon and i feed heavy 2 time a day + seaweeds on 2 clip . since i have this media run , i cut my refuge in the sump and i can said it's work great.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9897903#post9897903 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cthetoy [/i]
[B]Thanks for the updates. Whats your bioload like and how fast is your drip rate? Do you feed your fish alot? [/B][/QUOTE]

My bioload is quite heavy with 16 fish in 180g tank. (5 of which are Tangs & Rabbitfish in the 4"-6" range)

My feeding has been farily reduced for the past 6-8 months due to this nitrate problem, but I plan to start increasing my feeding again. I've been mainly feeding NLS pellets via. an autofeeder 3 times per day. Supplemented with Nori and the occasional frozen food treat. I would like to increase my frozen food & coral food feedings however I've had to cut back due to algae outbreaks. (and high nitrates)

My drip rate currently is around 4 drips per second or so.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9897965#post9897965 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mavgi [/i]
[B]i run in my sump 2 phosban reactore with this media nitrate no more then 5ppm and drip 6 drop per second on each reactor.

i have 16 fish in my 120 gallon and i feed heavy 2 time a day + seaweeds on 2 clip . since i have this media run , i cut my refuge in the sump and i can said it's work great. [/B][/QUOTE]

I'm glad similar idea's are working out for more people. I would also like to turn my refugium into something else eventually, so hopefully i continue having success.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9900398#post9900398 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Psyire [/i]
[B]I'm glad similar idea's are working out for more people. I would also like to turn my refugium into something else eventually, so hopefully i continue having success. [/B][/QUOTE]

Thanks , i have it more then 5 month in my system , at the begin there was problem because the media in one reactor wasn't enough to reduce the nitrate when i add the second one the nitrate reduce and no more then 5 ppm (if i will feed normal the nitrate will be 0 but i prefer it as is) . my main problem was because i feed a lot the food was clog in the fuge and the po4 and nitrate was to high now i don't have it and it's work great.

Have you noticed an ph drop at all as you've increased drip rates?

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9904826#post9904826 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DaveJ [/i]
[B]Have you noticed an ph drop at all as you've increased drip rates? [/B][/QUOTE]

the alk is drop but i keep it more high with the calc reactor , i drip more CO2 bubble . (about 3 bubble per second) .

Another very easy way to make one of these is to use a cannister filter, like an eheim, and pack it with sulphur media and crushed coral, then run the intake right into the intake so its a big loop. Then, in this loop pipe, tap in a couple 1/4" lines for inlet/outlet. Cheap, simple, and works very well. In fact, the very first reactors of this sort were done with eheim classic cannisters in this manner.

You have to watch the ORP of the output though... too high of flow, and the reactor will turn aerobic and produce nitrates. Too low of flow and the reactor will turn on itself. Because of this constant need to monitor (usually though, its set and forget) and the alkalinity problems that have come up with it, I have resorted to using my skimmer and the 'vodka' method with greater success (much easier to impliment).

i dose vodka before (3ML a day) it's not help the problem was that i feed a lot and i was afraid to dose more and to have bacteria bloom i also have more 100x circulatin in my 120 . i got 16 fish in that size and i am keeping to add more (but now i do it slowly because i don't want to crush the tank) .
since i have in stock the phosban reactor it was the easy and the quick way to go with....

here how 1 look i connect 2 to the same pump with "T" i believe one like this can handle till 90 gallon tank .

[IMG]http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f30/mavgi/nitratereactor.jpg[/IMG]

It's been almost six months, is the S denitrator still performing well for you? How did your refugium and chaeto hold up with the reduced nutrients? What is your routine for keeping the ph up.

Psyire
Hows the sulfur denitrator working?

Psyire, i just set up my MTC ProCal the same way you are running your reactor - with LSM Sulfur Media in the thick chamber and ARM Calc Media in the thin chamber. Running with about 1 to 2 drips per second from the effluent and also 1 to 2 drops from the bubble counter per second. But, should i even be using the CO2??? I'm not sure if that will hurt or help, but i figured why not? Please let me know...THANKS!

Steven M, it's running great! It's only required maintenance once due to plugging off. I recommend running a filter of some kind on the inlet feed so that you don't get particulate buildup inside the filter.

asch; absolutely no reason to be running CO2, it may in fact be harming your bacterial culture. No reason to elivate CO2 levels from what I've seen.

Ben; (sorry for the late response) The fuge and chaeto isn't doing so well, but for some reason the halimeda(sp?) is doing 'too' well. I'll likely be cleaning out the refugium and using it for something else shortly. My kalk reactor is enough to keep my pH levels in check. Once in a while I have to adjust but not too much.

*Note to all*

Careful when opening these reactors up once they've been running for some time. They stink horribly so be sure you are in a well ventilated area. (as some H2S is likely to be released) I'm unsure of the exact amount but be cautious as this is a deadly gas in small amounts. However I don't believe our reactors have the ability to make a LD of it. Next time I open it up, I'll be doing a test on the PPM it gives off with a detector from work.

Just saw Psyire post...
The same applies for those DeNitrator that use Deni Balls....
Eventhough I opened mine up outside the house last time...after I refill it and brought it back into the house...there is still a bit a funky smell in the beginning.

Short term exposure limit is 15ppm. H2S is nasty because at high concentrations (above 150ppm) it paralyzed the olfactory nerve so you can't smell it. If this happens death could be a real possibility.

[url]http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/50654/[/url]

IF you are getting a nasty smell like that, I dont think the reactor is working properly. The rate needs to be kept within a very small window on these things... if the ORP drops too low, they go acidic and stop working (create H2S deposits), if the ORP is too high, they reverse and become nitrate factories.

I guess I should have been more clear...

I opened it up after discovering it had plugged off. So yeah, at the time it wasn't working properly.

Psyire, thanks for clarifying that (saying not to use the co2). I shut it off and will see how things go - it's only been 2 days, so i need to be patient. I might increase the drip a little (right now it's only about 1 or 2 drips per second). No smell is present at all. If i'm not using the co2, will i still get the benefit of increased calcium levels in my tank (meaning is this still a calc reactor as well as a sulfur reactor or is it strictly a sulfur reactor now)? I will test the nitrates from the effluent as well as in the tank next weekend. I'm not sure if I will see any change just yet, but...Is there anything else you would suggest that I test for such as ph or kh? Thanks!!!

Andy

I must confess that I've been running a test of sorts...

I haven't been running my skimmer for 5 months and I've only done three 15g water changes in that period of time. My tank is a 180g display (220g system) with 18 fish, 2 anenomes, many LPS, and inverts. (4 of my fish are 5 - 6" tangs/rabbitfish)

I wanted to see just how much this reactor can take and it's proven itself to take just about whatever I can throw at it.

My nitrate test yesterday indicated 5ppm. (Salifert) This is simply amazing, as I'm sure I would be well over 100ppm if I was not running this reactor.

This coming week I will be tearing apart my refugium and setting it up as a new home for my Peacock Mantis. (somewhat temporary as I have a large tank for him that will be setup in the future) I will also be starting up my Skimmer once again.

A few things I've noticed are that it definately 'uses/lowers' alkalinity. For my system my Kalk Reactor offset's this almost perfectly, for others you may have to dose or use a different method to maintain alkalinity. (I have to add a little baking soda now and then to keep things right)

The other thing I've noticed is that my drip rate will slowly taper off about once a month. All I have to do then is crank my restrictor valve all the way open for about a day and then it comes back fine. I believe the unit very 'slowly' airlocks and then you have to relieve the built up Nitrogen. I don't actually see this Nitrogen, but I'm not sure what else would account for this strange behaviour.

In any case, this piece of equipment requires the least amount of maintenance and does the greatest amount of filtration of any mechanical method I've used or seen so far. In the next couple months I plan to clean the reactor out and switch to a bead or pearl sulphur material. This is because I want too, not really because I need to.

Hopefully somebody finds this information useful and I will be around more to answer questions. (summer was very busy for me)

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11154786#post11154786 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Psyire [/i]
[B]
The other thing I've noticed is that my drip rate will slowly taper off about once a month. All I have to do then is crank my restrictor valve all the way open for about a day and then it comes back fine. I believe the unit very 'slowly' airlocks and then you have to relieve the built up Nitrogen. I don't actually see this Nitrogen, but I'm not sure what else would account for this strange behaviour.

In any case, this piece of equipment requires the least amount of maintenance and does the greatest amount of filtration of any mechanical method I've used or seen so far. In the next couple months I plan to clean the reactor out and switch to a bead or pearl sulphur material. This is because I want too, not really because I need to.

Hopefully somebody finds this information useful and I will be around more to answer questions. (summer was very busy for me) [/B][/QUOTE]

This is why units by H&S and Korallin use a recirculating design with a higher flow pump... to prevent airlock.

The only downside to a system that uses the sulphur reactor is a buildup in phosphates and organics. These acids might be the reason for your alkalinity problems. Otherwise, if someone were to rely completely on the aerobic nitrogen cycle, and then a sulphur reactor, you could use a carbon and phosban reactor and have a complete system (the aerobic cycle produces the yellow in the water as well as phos). A skimmer is a good way to remove these organics from the water all together though... so its hard to pass up all together, unless its a system for say... xenia, zoas, softies, etc... things that dont mind, if not feed on organics. Heck... a clam tank.

Well this unit I've setup does recirculate the sulphur side with quite a high flow rate. I'm not exactly sure what is causing the problem, it may not be nitrogen after all, as I can't see any air bubbles. I'll have to do some more investigating.

I am setup with two phosban reactors for carbon and phosphate absorber, as well as an oversized skimmer. I just chose not to run any of it for the duration of this lengthy test as I was curious as to how the denitrator would handle it by itself.

I definately don't recommend just running a denitrator but it does do wonders for Nitrate conversion. I do agree with hahn regarding the use of a skimmer and some sort of phosphate control. Which is exactly what I'm going to fire back up this coming week.