New Nitrate Removal Korallin Sulfur-Based BioDenitrator

[64Ivy]

I've had my Korrallin Biodenitrator online for several months now and it has certainly been doing its job; nitrates are virually undetectable even though because of my heavy Tang and Anthias bioload, I tend to feed like a pig. However over these months, I've noticed my canister getting more and more grungey to the point now that it looks absolutely toxic in there. The directions say nothing about maintenence so my question is are just supposed to let these things go until the media is exhausted or is a regular cleaning recommended? Oh, and if so, how should this cleaning be performed? Well away from the house, no doubt.

[ReefAddict1]

I was wondering the same thing also. I have the smaller Korallin Denitrator for my 55 + 20 sump. It's been working great for almost 8 months now, but there's lots of yellow, reddish brown sediment accumulating throughout the canister.

The Korallin site / instructions did mention NOT having to maintain the canister for up to a few years with only the need to replace beads, etc. But no mention if natural waste collects inside. Or maybe the waste sediment is part of what the nitrate bacteria eats???

I don't have a prefilter connected to the Korallin tank intake. Another company sells a small, new mini-canister prefilter (basically a sponge filter inside a cylinder the size of canned cat food), but I don't want to install something that will interrupt the flow rate as it took a while to balance everything out.

[KEITHMC]

Well guys any updates on how the reactors are working?
just made one just waiting on media to arrive. here are some pics.

[hahnmeister]

how cute, I dig its mini sump! How did you seal the pump in around the electrical cord? I have been looking for a solution like that.

[KEITHMC]

drilled the fitting out for the electrical cord then with a stepped drill bit on the back side (pressure side) enlarged the hole to allow for the oring both fit very tight and any pressure will hold the oring in place and both the pumps are from harbour freight tools at $10 ea both are sealed magdrives with all plastic impellers

[NexDog]

Bumpity bump for the grungy maintenance question. If you clean it out then surely you are starting at zero again and have to wait for the new media to recolonise?

[jnb]

I have asked midwestaquatic to read the thread and respond - they are selling a nice sulfur denit.

[KEITHMC]

Originally posted by NexDog
Bumpity bump for the grungy maintenance question. If you clean it out then surely you are starting at zero again and have to wait for the new media to recolonise?

Yes! however the once every 1.5 to 2 years you wont miss it for 3-4 weeks while it is cycling.

[jnb]

Here is a email I got back from someone who makes and sells sulfur based denitr.
We do not post to the boards, as we do not want to be accused of spamming, etc.

In answer to the question about cleaning the DeNITRIFIER. We cannot speak on behalf of the foreign units. We recommend following the instructions provided with the unit.

The DeNITRIFIER is a bacterial filter. That being the case, it will get grungy over time.
This isn't necessarily a problem. Unless the unit gets to the point that it is clogging, there is no need to clean it. If the unit is constantly clogged to the point that it becomes difficult to regulate the flow, then cleaning it will not hurt anything. Feel free to rinse the unit with fresh water. This will kill most of the bacteria, but not all of it. It will re-populate very quickly. Even if it takes the unit a week or two to get back to 0, this will not harm the overall health of the tank. Presumably the tank will be very low in nitrate, so if nitrate accumulates for even a couple weeks, which is a liberal estimate as far as time to begin reducing again, it will not cause any long term harm to the tank inhabitants.

One reason the filters sometimes get fouled is that solid waste and sediment enter the unit. You can greatly reduce this by placing a sponge over the inflow tube. Simple cute a cube out of filter sponge, then poke a hole half way through it with a pencil. Slip it over the inflow tube and it will trap solid waste before it gets into the filter.

I hope this answers the concern. If not, please let me know and I will go into deeper detail.

Thank you for your inquiry, and thank you very much for using the DeNITRIFIER

[AcroSteve]

How well would it work if you placed the arragonite in a seperate 2nd stage for the effluent only to pass through? Like one might do to buffer the output of a CA reactor.

Rather than having it in the main recirculating chamber like the Koralin.

[ReefAddict1]

Poke the tube into a small piece of sponge... brilliant! Why didn't I think of that sooner?

Originally posted by jnb
Here is a email I got back from someone who makes and sells sulfur based denitr.
We do not post to the boards, as we do not want to be accused of spamming, etc.

In answer to the question about cleaning the DeNITRIFIER. We cannot speak on behalf of the foreign units. We recommend following the instructions provided with the unit.

The DeNITRIFIER is a bacterial filter. That being the case, it will get grungy over time.
This isn't necessarily a problem. Unless the unit gets to the point that it is clogging, there is no need to clean it. If the unit is constantly clogged to the point that it becomes difficult to regulate the flow, then cleaning it will not hurt anything. Feel free to rinse the unit with fresh water. This will kill most of the bacteria, but not all of it. It will re-populate very quickly. Even if it takes the unit a week or two to get back to 0, this will not harm the overall health of the tank. Presumably the tank will be very low in nitrate, so if nitrate accumulates for even a couple weeks, which is a liberal estimate as far as time to begin reducing again, it will not cause any long term harm to the tank inhabitants.

One reason the filters sometimes get fouled is that solid waste and sediment enter the unit. You can greatly reduce this by placing a sponge over the inflow tube. Simple cute a cube out of filter sponge, then poke a hole half way through it with a pencil. Slip it over the inflow tube and it will trap solid waste before it gets into the filter.

I hope this answers the concern. If not, please let me know and I will go into deeper detail.

Thank you for your inquiry, and thank you very much for using the DeNITRIFIER

[steve the plumb]

can you make one using 3 phosban reactors?The first will hold the sulfer the second will hold crushed coral and the third will hold the arm media to act as a buffer for acidic water release.With the 3 hooked in series and a slow flow going threw them with a valve at the end to control drip wouldn't it work?You would also have the benefit of the calcium media acting as a reactor.

[hahnmeister]

You do not need 3, the crushed coral does what the ARM does...only at a higher pH.

Being that you can make a calcium reactor out of a phosban reactor, you can also make a nitrate reactor from one as well. Do it by using the 1/2" inlet and outlet barbs on a closed loop with a recirculating pump...something that gives you about 100gph or less. Then splice 1/4" inlet and outlet JG fittings into this loop for the drip feed/output. This way, the reactor will recirculate very fast for good nitrate removal, but the output is kept low. Then, on the 1/4" line that runs from the sulphur reactor as the output, feed that into the second chamber where the crushed coral is. Honestly, I see no reason why the crushed coral couldnt just be kept inside the main chamber with the sulphur anyways (its how the korallin and others do it, only they put a sponge in between the two in the same reactor, but I see no reason for them to be kept seperate)...so really only one unit is needed.

[steve the plumb]

I think the phosban reactor might be to small.I might use the no3 since that has the sulfer and crushed mixed into 1 product.I am thinking of using the aragonite just as a safety net so no acid or sulfer gets by.I am a bit nervous about using this method on my tank since I have no nitrates.It something I am thinking of because I have a crushed coral bed of 2 to 3 inches and eventually down the road it will become exausted.I think by haveing the 2 reactors its much easier to clean.crushed in one sulfer in the other.If I use 3 the third can have the arm media.If I did it this way do I still have to loop the first reactor to the second or do I run them straight in line with a low psi.If you look at the carib sea page they have a home made reacto that works with the siphon method and a ball valve to cntrol the flow.I am thinking to use a low feed pump and put the reactors in line.Do you have to loop them to make them recirculate.On the carib sea site they don't.Thanks.PS I want a higher ph.

[da colts]

i bought the midwest aquatic version. it has freeze dried bacteria in the unit to speed the cycle along. i installed the unit on sunday june 18 , the tank has about 40ppm nitrates. as of last night tue june 20, the effluent from the unit was checking at 0 nitrates and the tank was at 30 ppm. sounds pretty good to me, i will keep you guys posted .

[steve the plumb]

thanks colts.Let us know I am glad to hear its working out for you.If I do buy a reactor I will probably buy the midwest version.

[bushwick]

Thinking of getting the 1501 on a 20G nano. I do weekly water changes of 50% but my NO3 levels remain 5-10 PPM. I'm looking at keeping SPS in my tank and don't want the colours to brown out.

Any negative impact on using one on a 20G tank?

Cheers
Che

[hahnmeister]

Lets to back and do a check real quick...sound good?

First, if you have nitrate problems, be sure to check your tap water...it could be your source.

Also, there are many cheaper tests out there that either give false negatives or results of 0 when levels are too low. Be sure you are using a reliable, fresh nitrate test.

This might solve the problem for some right off the bat.

5-10ppm in a 20g...do you have enough light for a clam? They love nitrates.

[bushwick]

Thanks for the quick response,

No this tank is fairly high tech....gadjets as follows:-

Deltec MCE600 skimmer
red Sea Ozone plus with ORP meter
1 x 70W halide 14K
1x 150W halide 10K
Tunze temp control
Dupla Alpha PH meter.
Phosban reactor with Phosban
Dosing pumps etc.

Water is pefect except my nitrates. top up water test nil (RO/DI). Test kit salifert.

Any negative results using a Sulphur reactor on such a small volume of water?

Cheers
Che

[bushwick]

Originally posted by bushwick
Thanks for the quick response,

No this tank is fairly high tech....gadjets as follows:-

Deltec MCE600 skimmer
red Sea Ozone plus with ORP meter
1 x 70W halide 14K
1x 150W halide 10K
Tunze temp control
Dupla Alpha PH meter.
Phosban reactor with Phosban
Dosing pumps etc.

Water is pefect except my nitrates. top up water test nil (RO/DI). Test kit salifert.

Any negative results using a Sulphur reactor on such a small volume of water?

Cheers
Che

And yep i already have clams..thanks.

[cmc5dc]

Bushwick,

Keep an eye on your alkalinity and ph.

[hahnmeister]

Ok, well as long as those double-checks are made...how old it the tank? On a tank that small, unless you have an excessive amount of fish in it (they usually end up thinning out themselves anyways if you put more than 3 fish in a tank that size), I would try to find the source and eliminate it.

Are you using crushed coral for substrate?

Anyways, there is no danger in using a sulphur reactor on a smaller tank. One thing you should be aware is that since the tank is smaller, the effects can be more sudden. With sulphur reactors, one thing to keep an eye on is the ORP. The output of the sulphur reactor should be between -100 and -500 if I remember correctly...(maybe someone else can chime in), and while this doesnt mean a whole lot for larger tanks, I can see a sulphur reactor dropping the whole tank's ORP.

[bushwick]

Tank is coming up to 1 year old. I'm using a shallow sand bed of living sand, not crusehed coral. double checked all top up water and NSW last night, but all tested zero.

I think i will give it a shot. I have an ORP meter on the tank so i will be able to see if the ORP of the tank drops.

Anyone know where i can get a set of instructions from on line?

Cheers

[mariocaz]

Hi there guys!!

hahnmeister I have a midwest sulfur denitrifier and I am very happy with it, very nice item.

But I have a little problem, I hope you can help me, because I saw your last post.

Well the problem is that before I installed the Sulfur DeNITRIFIER in my Reef Aquarium, my ORP was always in 380 - 400 and now after I installed the DeNITRIFIER my ORP is in 430-440 and I cant' down it less than that.

Can you give a little more information about this ??, I hope you can.

Or what can I do to fix that my friend ??

I am a little worried because of that , what do u recommend to do ?

I will be waiting you nice help.

[hahnmeister]

Try Randy Holmes-Farley's section. I only know what to look out for, but a solution to this I have not (

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