New Nitrate Removal Korallin Sulfur-Based BioDenitrator - Page 7

jerrymlr1 · #**151** 10/08/2005, 08:03 PM

3002 model. We have a 240 w/ 120 sump.

kreef · #**152** 10/08/2005, 08:12 PM

Ah. I ran the 1501, the 3002 can run faster, i would continue increasing by 30 drips extra per day until you get a slight nitrite reading.

jerrymlr1 · #**153** 10/08/2005, 08:13 PM

What's with the nitrite reading?

kreef · #**154** 10/08/2005, 08:19 PM

If you get a nitrite reading it means aerobic bacteria are increasing and anerobic bacteria which is what you want are decreasing

jerrymlr1 · #**155** 10/08/2005, 08:23 PM

Hmm........ I'm no RH Farley but I think I get it. Thanks Kreef. Up a bit late?

Jerry

kreef · #**156** 10/08/2005, 08:39 PM

Up late yeah,aways am and it is the weekend. what time/day is it where you are.

I;l try to explain a little better what happens is the faster you run it the more oxygenated water enters and exits meaning the reactor if run flat out it would end up as the equilivant of a cannister filter just areobic bacteria. so the drip rate has to be a balancing act between a good flow but slow enough to have just the aneorobic/nitrate bacteria alive.

jerrymlr1 · #**157** 10/08/2005, 08:50 PM

Kinda what I figured. 9:49 eastern time.

reefclown · #**158** 10/11/2005, 07:29 PM

Quote:

What does running the denitrator at a higher temp do? Is it more efficient?

Im assuming that the bacterial activity will increase and the available oxygen will be somewhat depleted. But short of knowing which bacteria are active in the reactor it's tough to determine the ideal operating temperature.

Generally speaking, higher temp = higher respiration = lower oxygen levels.

reefclown · #**159** 10/11/2005, 07:54 PM

Quote:

If it is producing nitrogen gas it must exit from the outflow as i never had a buildup in the reactor.

Can't see how that happens, here's some pics of the reactor top

underside

topside

you'll notice that if you use the standard output it will only extract gases that are 5 cm below the base of the surface (the longest tube on the left of the picture), but using the gasing exit will ensure that all surface gases are expelled (the recessed hole with white washer on the right of the picture).

hope that clarifies the theory.

on the other hand, there may be no gas production.

jerrymlr1 · #**160** 10/25/2005, 02:20 PM

Reefclown........Are you using the 1/4" poly tubing quick connect valve or is that a different size that fits better on the green plastic tubing. The little gray valves lasted about 6 weeks. Kinda weak IMO.

Jerry

reefclown · #**161** 10/25/2005, 06:33 PM

Jerry,

Quote:

Are you using the 1/4" poly tubing quick connect valve or is that a different size that fits better on the green plastic tubing.

Yes, it's a standard 1/4 quick connect.

The green plastic tube i've since replaced with ro tube, to cut out light.

ReefAddict1 · #**162** 10/26/2005, 12:46 AM

I'm starting to have a brown / grayish type of visible bacteria growth throughout parts of the sulphur beads, particularly near the bottom of the reactor chamber. Does anyone have the same?

jerrymlr1 · #**163** 10/26/2005, 06:07 AM

I have the same thing. Are you running the pump 24/7 or did you turn it off and let it circulate on it's own?

ReefAddict1 · #**164** 10/26/2005, 12:34 PM

I run it 24/7... haven't turned it off since I set up, aside from occasional tweaking / adjusting. I hope it's a good thing.

reefclown · #**165** 10/26/2005, 06:28 PM

Quote:

I'm starting to have a brown / grayish type of visible bacteria growth throughout parts of the sulphur beads, particularly near the bottom of the reactor chamber. Does anyone have the same?

Is your test kit indicating low/zero nitrates ?

Could it be sludge from the calcium media ?

got a pic?

Avi · #**166** 11/10/2005, 04:34 PM

Any verdict on this yet? Seems like you should know by now. Thanks.

ReefAddict1 · #**167** 11/10/2005, 09:38 PM

Here are the pics of the algae substance growing inside my reactor. Does anyone have something similar?

Avi · #**168** 11/10/2005, 10:01 PM

ReefAddict1, has the denitrator lowered your tank's nitrates to your satisfaction?

ReefAddict1 · #**169** 11/12/2005, 10:47 PM

Hi,

The effluent measures 0, while the main tank measures between 15 and 25... Might have been spiking lately from an overfeeding or two. I do notice a slight, new growth of red slime algae in the fuge over the past couple of months. Not sure if it's related.

cbicop · #**170** 11/13/2005, 03:02 AM

I subscribed to this thread because of sombody asking if a phosban reactor could be converted to mimic this denitrator... havent seen a response yet.

keefsama2003 · #**171** 11/13/2005, 08:17 AM

i have a 300g tank thats has just gotten to 0 ammonia
nitrates/trites are 50/110 they are real deep deep purple and my tank has been running for 2-3 weeks now any ideas on wether i should invest in something like this or will it go down on its own? i have about 200# of live sand and i just put a few pieces of live rock in the tank maybe 10# total so far i have base rock of about 200# but i think my issue now is not enough live rock for denitrification

any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Avi · #**172** 11/13/2005, 10:03 AM

keefama...I think you got it right already...New tank...cycling...not enough live rock. IMO, all that "live" sand will do is join with the 10 pounds of live rock to seed the 200 pounds of base (dead, er, well not live, anyway) rock. The base rock will become live but it's going to take some time. In the meanwhile, it isn't a surprise that you have the kinds of trates/trites that you have. It should go down to very acceptable numbers on its own. Just have the patience that's always so needed in the beginning of a reef. The size of it, and I admit it....I'm freakin' jealous...may well have something to do with the amount of time...that it'll take to get where you want it to be before you can add reef inhabitants. It's way too early to tell if you would need or want one of these gadgets.

keefsama2003 · #**173** 11/13/2005, 10:53 AM

well im trying to add some more rock. any idea on how much more i would need? the ammonia went away fast after the livesand was added.

Avi · #**174** 11/13/2005, 11:22 AM

I'm not certain. I operated with the "One pound of live rock for every gallon of tank size"-rule. I don't believe now that it's really a "rule" but it did work to very quickly ready the tank for stocking with coral and fish and inverts. I think you would just get your tank on track a lot faster and it would generally benefit the health of your reef if you got some higher proportion of live rock in there. Of course, the cost is significant with a 300-gallon tank. It isn't for me to spend your money but I think I'd go for about 100-pounds, which of course will eventually turn out to be a lot more than that with the base rock that you have in there. But it's really all a matter of how fast you want this pre-livestock period of time to take. I think I'd wait another week or so and see if your water quality is improving at a reasonable rate of time. If after that you don't see some significant progress, then I'd go out and get the more live rock to kick start things if you are in a position to make the expenditure. Otherwise, waiting patiently (which can be hard to do) will do the trick.

Geddex · #**175** 11/18/2005, 08:28 AM

I have been running the Korallin Sulfur-Based BioDenitrator for 1,5 years now.

I had very high nitrate readings when I first installed it. After just a few weeks nitrates were undetectable and the reactor has kept it that way ever since. Unfortunately that rapid change seemed to put my tank out of balance with unwanted algae growth and coral death for a period of time. Once the algae outbursts stopped the tank has worked perfectly and very stable. I would recommend installing the biodenitrator already when starting up a tank.

I have noticed that if the reactor is exposed to light something that looks like green algaes start to grow inside it. I keep my reactor in a dark environment.

I do not test my water values very often, I tend to go by the look of my corals but when I did test them the other day I got the following, a bit odd readings:

PH: 8.0
Ca: 540 (!! I have to test that again with another test)
KH: 7,5
NO2: Undetectable
NO3: Undetectable
PO4: Undetectable

The tank has been running for at least 6 years with very few waterchanges.