sulphur denitrator

[Blob-79]

Hey cal, Ive been researching sulfur denitrators now for a bit, think im probally going to start making one as well. Couple questions though, where did you get your newer sulfur pellets from? What is the ph of the effluent? You still havent had to increase your alk dose? Also this matrix you are using, I havent seen it mentioned anywhere that I have looked, what is it, and what is the purpose of it?

 

[Cal_stir]

i bought mine from a guy on canreef, i got 5lbs for $60, he got it from midwest aquatics in the states, oceansdirect.ca has it but you have to email them about it.

i have never tested the ph of the effluent, it is lowered by the denitrator, but the effluent passes thru a phosban reactor filled with caribsea ARM calcium reactor media before going to the tank, i don't dose ca anymore as the denitrator acts as a ca reactor.
i did not see any change with the ph of the tank (i have a Reef Keeper Lite with a ph probe)

i dose about 10ml more per day of alk for a total 70ml per day, my alk is 9.5 dkh

the matrix is a high porosity bio-media, a place for the bacteria to colonize, i got it at MOPS, 1 litre for @ $10, it's made by seachem

 

[Blob-79]

cool. I got a pretty good handle on it now. My main concern now is what orp controller i want to get. You happy with that milwaukee sms125? do you find the ph reading helpful? or would i be fine with just a orp control?  i assume they dont come with a solenoid? lol

 

[Blob-79]

scratch that, the sms510 (orp only controller) doesnt look like it is setable to the negative readings..strange

 

[Cal_stir]

yes, the sms125 is the only milwaukee controller that controls in negative orp, down to about -200mv, i set mine at -180mv, i don't use the ph controller but i do use the ph probe as a secondary probe, 2 ph probes are better than 1.
i did not condition my orp probe to read in the neg but it works fine

when the orp reaches -180mv, it energizes a small plastic sol. that increases the effluent drip rate from @ 2 dps to @ 10 dps, this causes the orp rise to @ -170 mv and shuts off the sol., the cycle takes @ 3 min., so 3 min at 2 dps and 3 min at 10 dps

i got the sol.( actually i got 2, 1 for a spare) at AQUAFX, they were @ $15 each but the shipping and broker fees cost me $40(ouch), would get them shipped to port huron and pick up yourself.

 

[Blob-79]

I was reading somewhere that it is possible to reverse the contacts from the probe to the controller, this way you get negative readings, but displayed as a positive...who knows how true this is... damn internet lol.  its just my wife will kill me if I spend 200 on a controller not to mention more for a solenoid and all that junk lol. Im sure ill find someway to pull it off. 

if I were to use just a orp meter, I would work the same right, just I would have to make the adjustments manually. and get it dialed in. Do you notice your solinoid clicking on often?

 

[Cal_stir]

i read about the probe reverse as well, in theory it should work, people couldn,t get it to work tho, but i think the people weren't to tech savvy as they couldn't get it to read at all.

mine cycles about every 3 min

if you use a monitor you will have to adj alot at first, but when the tank gets close to 0 it would be less

you don't want the orp to get higher than -50mv or lower than -300 mv, but is better to err on the -300mv side

-500mv is anoxic, H2S, rotten egg smell, some people have successfully run these without a probe or monitor, they simply test the effluent daily for trates and increase the driprate 1dps when the effluent reads 0 trates, if you smell rotten eggs you have about 2 to 3 days to correct the problem before the reactor would crash and poison the tank.


if it crashes you must tear the unit down and rinse the suphur and matrix in rodi water and start over

the nice thing is it is easy to take it off line

the orp controller is a fantastic way to run this thing

 

[Cal_stir]

one thing i've learned is to get what you want not what you think will do, it's cheaper in long run

 

[Blob-79]

ya good point.

 

[Cal_stir]

Update

the denitrator is working perfectly, except the noisy mag3 pump i haven't changed yet,
i'm still not dosing calcium and it is maintaining at 420ppm, i was dosing 45ml a day before, alk is 10.2dkh, i increased the alk dose from 60ml a day to 70ml a day a month ago, magnesium and strontium are good.
nitrates are 1ppm, and i cannot see any ill effects.
the inside of the reactor is clear and the sulphur level appears the same as when i started.
haven't made any adjustments this month except we feed more and our reef loves that. ;D
i am very pleased with the results and i feel it was money very well spent

 

[pulpfiction1]

sweet,gotta love that

 

[Cal_stir]

UPDATE

denitrator still working great, pump is actually getting a little quieter, NO3 is 2 or less, no ill affects. ;D

 

[pulpfiction1]

still zero matainence?

 

[Cal_stir]

ya, i haven't touched it for over a month now, still as clean inside as the day i started it up.
i did have to start dosing a small amount of ca again, i suspect it's because the nitrates are so low and the reactor isn't working very hard anymore.

 

[phi delt reefer]

do you have any algae in your tank?

have you noticed you are cleaning the glass alot less now because of the reactor?

do you have SPS - if so, have the colours improved?

thanks

Vince

 

[Cal_stir]

We don;t have any algae growing in our tank,  and we clean our glass about every three days....which we did before our denitrator.  We only have a scroll coral for an SPS.  We have noticed that our corals seem to be growing faster. But that could be due to the fact that we can feed everything more.  Our zoas are especially doing extra well.  We also believe that the substrate stays cleaner longer.

 

[pulpfiction1]

I'm glad its working good for you,i ended up with a new bio-pellet setup complete  on a live rock deal,gonna give it a try as the vodka was very good to me.this should work basically the same without having to actually dose daily

 

[Cal_stir]

yes, i think the pellets will give you the same result,but with less hassle, both are forms of carbon dosing.
good luck with that, keep us posted

 

[Cal_stir]

Update

It has been @ 6 months now, the unit has settled in and nitrates are consistantly 2ppm (salifert).
I noticed the drip rate had slowed a bit and discovered the aqualifter pump wasn't moving as much water, so I swapped it out and took it apart and found some slime had built up in the valve bodies, a quick cleaning with vinegar and it is as good as new.
The aqualifter only pumps aquarium water thru the denitrator which then drips into the tank, the denitrator itself still looks as clean as the day I started it.
So to be on the safe side, I will maintenance the aqualifter every 4 months, it takes about 20 min.
The ARM media looks like it should be good for another 6 mon., and the sulphur looks about 10 to 15% depleated.
I still don't see any ill effects and I am very happy with the unit.

 

[pulpfiction1]

thats fantastic cal,always good to read a success story once in a while,its still al setup the same?