Pulled my sulfur denitrator and rinsed off all the media today. I try to do it once a year or so. The bacterial slough off in these things is amazing. The water the first 4-5 times you rinse the media comes off like watery oatmeal, just tons of tan bacteria detritus. Stinky with the sulfur as well. I am totally amazed that with this much crud in the sulfur the effluent line doesn't clog up all the time.
Stinky maintenance job
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Got to love them, although I haven't used myself, the info that I have read about them makes me feel like I need one... Ok, ok got to admit it too, when I saw Dave was using one and had his system shiny and flourishing, I said myself: myself you need one.
However I still think that any of the media that we introduce in any tank has its pros and cons, just to mention GFO could shock any system if used improperly
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Status: quo
However I still think that any of the media that we introduce in any tank has its pros and cons, just to mention GFO could shock any system if used improperly
Status: quo
The STN issues I had in my former 300 gallon a few years ago I could not definitively link to using a sulfur denitrator, just that was the only thing left I could find that could possibly explain the issue. And if it was the denitrator, it was because I never did any maintenance to it, not the denitrator itself. It was tucked away in a corner of the space behind the tank where I had the equipment, out of sight, out of mind.
Fast forward to the 465 being set up late in 2012 with matrix (12+ gallons) in the bio chamber for denitrification. I needed so much because the sump is huge with a bio chamber. The matrix worked for about 6 months, then I noticed my nitrates slowly creeping up. Nothing terrible. My sump is a flow through design regarding the matrix, and the matrix had trapped a ton of detritus, and it needed regular removing and rinsing, like a sulfur denitrator does. I decided that instead of all the work involved in hand removing the matrix for rinse/replace, I would try the sulfur denitrator again. But this time I would actually pay attention to it. Its been working great. Without the matrix in the sump, I can also keep the sump a lot cleaner vs having it in there trapping crud 24/7. It is really easy to siphon the sump now.
Matrix or the denitrator will work for nitrates. The denitrator allows me to be more anal about keeping the sump clean, and it keeps the nitrate levels at <.05 ppm. I also use a Cole Parmer peristaltic pump to feed the denitrator, and that has helped keep the flow rate nice and steady without the lines clogging. The empty bio chamber in the sump now serves as a detritus settling area before water enters the skimmer section.
joseayes;950261 wrote: Got to love them, although I haven't used myself, the info that I have read about them makes me feel like I need one... Ok, ok got to admit it too, when I saw Dave was using one and had his system shiny and flourishing, I said myself: myself you need one.
However I still think that any of the media that we introduce in any tank has its pros and cons, just to mention GFO could shock any system if used improperlyalt="" />
Status: quo
I use a Midwest Aquatics model as well. Properly maintained, I don't see much of a downside to sulfur denitrators, outside of their effluent being low pH like a calcium reactor. Too bad Midwest went out of business.
Only change I did was I filled the denitrator completely with sulfur, and I pass the effluent through a secondary MRC reactor filled with ARM media instead of having the denitrator filled half and half. I did this for the increased capacity because of the higher volume of the system.
Thanks for the input Dave!
Let me share this pic from your thread so for those who don't have the idea of your setup.
The other thing I would like to try once I have a tank (.....time...) Would be the ozotech unit, I'm just afraid of the damage it could cause to plastics, PVC, or acrylic, would love to hear from your experience, thanks Dave.
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Oh, I just noticed, that pic was when you had setup your Denitrator half and half with media.
Status: quo
Let me share this pic from your thread so for those who don't have the idea of your setup.
The other thing I would like to try once I have a tank (.....time...) Would be the ozotech unit, I'm just afraid of the damage it could cause to plastics, PVC, or acrylic, would love to hear from your experience, thanks Dave.
Oh, I just noticed, that pic was when you had setup your Denitrator half and half with media.
Status: quo
joseayes;950314 wrote: Thanks for the input Dave!
Let me share this pic from your thread so for those who don't have the idea of your setup.
The other thing I would like to try once I have a tank (.....time...) Would be the ozotech unit, I'm just afraid of the damage it could cause to plastics, PVC, or acrylic, would love to hear from your experience, thanks Dave.
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Oh, I just noticed, that pic was when you had setup your Denitrator half and half with media.
Status: quo
The Ozone level I use is so low it doesn't do anything to the equipment. I put a tiny bit into the skimmer to clarify the water. Not enough to need to monitor ORP or use carbon for O3 removal, etc. For me, O3 use other than that requires too much monitoring and the results of an overdose can be pretty bad, so I choose not to use it at anything but a minimal dose.
Here are a couple brand new pics. Only equipment changes from the first pic you posted was I took my GFO offline to let my PO4 levels rise a bit. I also split the sulfur denitrator like I said, and I had added a huge GEO kalk reactor to replace the Avast Marine unit I was using. The GEO reactor is the same chamber size as my GEO 818 calcium reactor, 8" x 18". My calcium reactor can hold 24 pounds of media.
Oh yea, I finally decided to get rid of my HH Hybrid pump that has failed seals every 12 months with something I won't have to worry about again, an Iwaki 70. You can see it pictured between the sulfur denitrator and the MRC media reactor in the pic.
I also plan on adding a Bubble King SM 250 or 300 in the near future, as soon as some more make it to the US.
I am expecting a temporary spike in nitrates as my cleaned denitrator cycles again, but I rinsed it out in tank water, so I would not think I'd have killed all the anaerobic bacteria on the sulfur pellets.
Sure.......just open the reactor and dump the sulfur into a bucket. Fill with some tank water, stir with your hand and drain off the water. Repeat until no more oatmeal like detritus drains off. Clean the sponges and the reactor chamber. Reinstall the sulfur and top off the media with new if needed.
No need to put new sulfur in there. The sulfur slowly gets used up by the anaerobic bacteria living on it. Lasts for years.
My hands stunk like sulfur for hours after cleaning it. Hard to get it off even with repeated washings. Might be good to wear gloves next time.
Lol I'll remember the gloves if I end up going this direction. This build I am determined to attempt a LNS, still not sure if I'm capable. Honestly, I'm not sure how anyone does this with fish. Seems no matter how conservative I am with fish and feeding I get a buildup of No3.
Since you are doing a 93, if you decide to use a sulfur denitrator, it is easy to tune it and increase or decrease the effluent as needed. Typically, sulfur denitrators have much more capacity than is ever used or needed.
They pop up FS on RC and the ARC once in a while. Ender might have one for sale.
Thanks Dave! Info always appreciated!
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I was in the midst of buying one, when he told me about his crash...I removed that from cart, lol. Vodka is extremely easy, but both systems (really everything) has pluses & minuses...I have started to rethink for no other reason than when I am in heavy, heavy feed mode, that I could go back to 30% to 35% bi-weekly water changes instead of weekly....
Dave, how often should you change out the "stuff"?
It has to collect detritus....
Dave, how often should you change out the "stuff"?
It has to collect detritus....
Ralph,
I think if you clean it out every 10-12 months you are fine. My denitrator was at about the 11 month mark. It really doesn't pull much into the reactor in the way of solids because the actual volume of water passing through is so small, like 15-30 ml a minute. Solids accumulation is dead bacteria or live bacteria that is the oatmeal-like stuff I mentioned.
When I had the issue in my 300 gallon, the denitrator had not been serviced once since setup, probably two years old or more, if that was the cause of my problems in the first place.
Great info Dave, thanks.
I've had a Denitrator sitting here to go on my new build and couldn't decide if I wanted to use it.
I guess I will, since you do
I've had a Denitrator sitting here to go on my new build and couldn't decide if I wanted to use it.
I guess I will, since you do
