Tony - when I got mine I had no info besides what is available online and in Delbeek & Sprung Vol 3. I wasn't really wallowing in your misery, rather encouraging you to keep with it.
I don't care what your vessel size or media volume is, this "system" will work.
On my unit I use a MJ pump to feed the intake which is where the flow control is to avoid the pressurization of the container. The intake goes down into the bottom of the vessel as with a kalkreactor. An Eheim 1048 is the pump used to recirculate, and when I cycled it I set the effluent at 1 drop per second, increasing it when the NITRITE levels disappeared. I gradually amped it up to around 5 litres per hour which is where I had intended running it on my system according to my research. Once cycled at that rate, (EG. - the water used to cycle it results in being nitrate free), I stuck it in my main system which was at 20 - 30 ppm nitrates from massive water changes. It took 2 months or so to see it get to zero, but I didn't do any water changes until it got down to zero. During this time was when I discovered it not circulating a couple of times, but all I did was open up the valve all the way to flush out the gunk and it seems to have had no effect. I think once the sulfur is colonized it would actually take a severe flushing with highly oxygenated water to actually kill it. Even after a couple of lengthy power outages this winter it seems to be fine.
I don't know what else to tell you to help here. Mine is a Korralin 1502, but that doesn't make it a set science here. It's the principle of the concept and patience. I believe the only way to have sped up my process would have been to increase the sulfur volume, but everything else would have remained the same.
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135G Mixed Reef. Bullet 2, 25 gal refugium, 2 X250W MH + 4X 96W PC\'s, DIY Calcium Reactor, Coralife 1/6 HP Chiller, Phosban, Tunze, 2 closed loops & SQWD\'s, Seios, Coralife 4 stage RO/DI & a bunch of other expensive gadgets... I may never retire, but I'm gonnahavahelluvanaquarium!
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