New Biodenitrator

[andresont]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Hi Mike, that's actually my plan (to convert one of my unused Ca reactors into a sulfur reactor). The Korallin units actually have the same model #'s as their calcium reactors which tells me it's the same units, just plumbed a little different because there's no CO2.

Psyire - I was looking at those Midwest units -- they look good too. Premiumaquatics has them in case you (or anyone else) is looking for a vendor. They carry both the Korallin and those (unless I have my brandnames mixed up -- they have another one besides the Korallin at any rate).

So H2S is only a concern in the event of a power failure or pump stop? Hmmmmmmmm ... I need to do more reading. The problem is ... well .. H2S is some seriously nasty stuff. Reducing the nitrates isn't worth dying for!

I think you will notice the rotten smell long before it may become dangerous, unless of corse you are away from home,
I also wonder how bad is the clogging issue (drip rate reduction) that some people reporting (in the above provided links)
At any rate this is exitining to be able to feed corals and fish better diet and still have low No3.
Does anyone knows where to buy media in Vancouver?

[Pansy-Paws]

I would argue that this is the only way to go for nitrate reduction on large systems. I initially went with two Phosban reactors to test the concept for myself, before committing to a larger unit

Seeing the test reading of zero nitrates out of the reactor was like magic after struggling with nitrates for a year (we overfeed and that's not going to change ... so we know the source). Doing religious weekly 50 gallon water changes for 2 months steady still only took nitrates from 40 ppm down to 30 ppm, and skipping one week would put us back to the start.

With a DIY reactor based on the Phosban design (two 6" x 36" cylinders), we took the nitrates to zero in 4 weeks on our 500 gallon FO system.

The rotten egg smell can create the occassional "Annacis Island" as my wife calls it, but can be masked with some burning oils until the flow rate is corrected (too low of a flow rate creates H2S). For those who've driven over the Alex Fraser bridge on a muggy summer day, you will understand the reference to Annacis Island

[Delphinus]

Holey mondo reactor size though! Is there any good reading as to how to size a reactor effectively against a total system volume? Or is it mostly guesswork?

Also is there any mechanism to determine an optimal flowrate through the reactor? How long does it take for the smell to go away after adjusting, if indeed you start off too slow? What kind of flowrate do you have on your reactor?

[Psyire]

From what I know, flow rates depend on bioload. It is slightly different for everyone. The .pdf file for the Midwest unit explains how to set your drip rates. (they also cover how to find the optimal flow)

Thanks for the input Lyle, now I really want one. lol

[Pansy-Paws]

Delbeek and Sprung Volume 3 suggests that the volume of sulphur beads be 1% of the water volume. This book was absolutely the best source for information as I was researching and setting up my reactor.

I have 4 gallons of beads for a 500 gallon system, so a little under 1%. To start off, the flow rate needs to be extremely slow (this is very tricky unless you have a nice system like reeferaddict with fine controls - if Korallin had a much larger unit I would have seriously considered that). The drip rate for starting is in the range of 1 drop per second per half gallon of sulphur - that's tough to regulate in a DIY design!

Once cycled (mine took about a week), flow can be increased to around 1 gallon per hour per gallon of sulphur. The flow range seems to be quite forgiving, unless you can't get the flow fast enough due to constricted tubing ... hence my Annacis Island situation. As the nitrates dropped, I found I needed to increase the flow rate into the 8-10 gallon per hour range. I upgraded to a Mag 7, and still needed to redesign the plumbing with 3/4 inch PVC to get the necessary flow.

The smell can last 2-4 hours before the increased flow gets the H2S under control. It can seem like a long time when you have the rest of the family staring you down

[Pan]

Originally Posted by andresont

I think you will notice the rotten smell long before it may become dangerous, unless of corse you are away from home,
I also wonder how bad is the clogging issue (drip rate reduction) that some people reporting (in the above provided links)
At any rate this is exitining to be able to feed corals and fish better diet and still have low No3.
Does anyone knows where to buy media in Vancouver?

as long as you can smell the h2s your ok

[Delphinus]

Lyle, are you recirculating through the media, and feeding with a separate pump, or are the flowrates you're describing (8-10 gph) refer to the only flow through the media? I sort of get the sense you're not recirculating .. I was thinking I'd still recirculate, much like how a calcium reactor works .. or is that not the recommended approach?

[Psyire]

From what I understand you must recirculate. All the reactors are built this way, and then they have a slip stream through them from the Aquarium and back. (some people use a siphon, some people use a pump)

[Delphinus]

Thanks, that's what I thought too. If you read the "DIY" instructions that Caribsea puts out though, they just have it as a single-pass basis and it sort of sounded like that's how Pansy-Paws does it too (I could be reading it wrong?). I guess that way works too, but to me anything that requires contact time is always better to have it on a recirculating basis.

Well sounds like I'm set then .. I just need some media. I'm gonna have this online within a couple of days (just as soon as I can get my hands on some media!).

[Psyire]

I believe it is this recirculating that helps remove the oxygen from the water to create the anerobic zone. (more effective)