AquaMaxx Sulfur Denitrator TS-1

abinder

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I will be using the Aqua Lifter pump to feed the water to my TS-1.

The water will be coming from the sump. Aqua lifter instructions say to use a prefilter before the pump. Do I really need to use a prefilter before the pump in this case ?

Thanks for any feedback.
 

gettaReef

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I wouldnt. I used to use an aqualifter pump for my sulfer reactor (korallin); as the filter collected/filtered out particles from the water, it would slowly decrease the flow of the pump which would in turn effect the flow and performance of the reactor, resulting in more and more tweaking of the reactors drip rate
 

abinder

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I wouldnt. I used to use an aqualifter pump for my sulfer reactor (korallin); as the filter collected/filtered out particles from the water, it would slowly decrease the flow of the pump which would in turn effect the flow and performance of the reactor, resulting in more and more tweaking of the reactors drip rate

Thanks.

Exactly what I was wondering would happen.


Allen
 
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Fudsey

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I have been using one with the Tom's aqualifter and haven't had any issues with it. Just need to occasionally clean it but I see your point.
 

abinder

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I still haven't been able to put the TS-1 into my system. It's filled with the sulfur and media. I've been running it now for about a week with fresh salt water in it just running the recirculating pump to be sure it doesn't leak because initially, it leaked right out of the box from the input of the recirculating pump.

Problem is, I'm going to Thailand again in 2 weeks. Since I won't be here for about 3 weeks and the bacteria won't have time to 'settle in', is it okay to leave the salt water in the TS-1 during the 3 weeks I'm not here without the recirculating pump running? Or should I leave the recirculating pump running?
(I have the fitting 'plugged' where the water would normally return to the sump so the TS-1 is basically just recirculating the salt water through it continuously. )

Any advice will be appreciated.
 

Jongalt26

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Unfortunately the answer is 'it depends'
You said it's fresh saltwater so the dependency is on if the saltwater has organics in it. (Reef crystals etc). If the saltwater used does not have organics in it then theoretically the TS-1 should be bacteria free.
If the salt does have organics in it then you run the risk of creating hydrogen sulfide which can occur in just a couple of days. I learned this the hard way.
Anyways, i do suggestion leaving the pump on.
 

abinder

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I mixed the salt water myself using the water from my RO/DI unit and mix it with Red Sea Coral Pro salt.

Is there a way to tell if there's hydrogen sulfide present ?

Thanks for any info.
 

Jongalt26

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Cool.
Yes you can absolutely tell when H2S is present, you'll see black spots / streaks and it will give off a rotten egg smell. Unfortunately the sulfur will in the reactor will also give off a rotten egg smell so differentiating between the two is difficult, if it can even be discerned. If it's there though you'll see the black spots.
 

abinder

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Cool.
Yes you can absolutely tell when H2S is present, you'll see black spots / streaks and it will give off a rotten egg smell. Unfortunately the sulfur will in the reactor will also give off a rotten egg smell so differentiating between the two is difficult, if it can even be discerned. If it's there though you'll see the black spots.

Thanks for the reply.

I don't smell the 'rotten egg' smell and the sulfur/media still looks like I just put it in there; not black spots or streaks.

Thanks again.

Allen
 

Joeganja

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I'm thinking about getting one of the aquamaxx TS1 Denitrators for my 135 fish only. So the question is this are they worth it? And would you recommend them to others?
 

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I'm thinking about getting one of the aquamaxx TS1 Denitrators for my 135 fish only. So the question is this are they worth it? And would you recommend them to others?
The drip rate takes a while to dial in. In large tank with lots of fish it reduces nitrates, doesnt eliminate them.

I feel like i would need about 4 reactors for my 225 but combined with lighter feeding, good circulation and water changes i believe it helps.
 

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The drip rate takes a while to dial in. In large tank with lots of fish it reduces nitrates, doesnt eliminate them.

I feel like i would need about 4 reactors for my 225 but combined with lighter feeding, good circulation and water changes i believe it helps.

Well I can get any size I just want to know if it helps and if there are any downfalls to having one.
 
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Fudsey

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Without a doubt it helps lower your nitrates. My nitrates are now hovering between 5-10ppm down from somewhere off the scale on every nitrate test I tried. If you look at my 1st post with test results(Page 1, post #5), you can see how dark it really was. I have had a few bacteria blooms or die offs, where the water in my tank got cloudy, but just let it run an it clears in a day or 2.

Right now I have taken mine off line and need to clean it out and start fresh. I shut it off for a couple days (forgot to turn it back on) and when I went to turn it on, the smell was nasty from the sulfur. But I will be setting it back up soon.

And if @Terence is running one in his set up, it has to be good, right??? :)

And my tank is a FOWLR as well.
 

Newb73

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Well I can get any size I just want to know if it helps and if there are any downfalls to having one.
Once my drip rate went to almost nothing..i accidentally turned it wide open without purging the Hydrodgen sulfide into 5 gal bucket and put a few gallons into my tank.

My ORP went WAY low.

I have an industrial air pump an hooked it to a manifold and hooked up about 8 tubes and air stones to it and after an hour the Hydrodgen sulfide was mostly oxidized and the orp went back up...might have been bad had i not taken action.

Its really safe unless YOU screw up.

I do not leave ozone running when im out of town but i have no reservations leaving the denitrator on when traveling.

If it does clog it will stay clogged until you unclog it.....just remember to purge it into bucket if that ever happens.

My rate needs to be above 60 drops per minute to avoid getting toxic but lesd than 100-110 drops to reduce nitrates.

The results speak for them elves. Nitrate tests always so a much lower level of nitrates in the water coming from the reactor than the tank.

Its actually one of my lower maintenance items on my tank.

Filter socks and skimmer are a lot more work.
 

Newb73

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Without a doubt it helps lower your nitrates. My nitrates are now hovering between 5-10ppm down from somewhere off the scale on every nitrate test I tried. If you look at my 1st post with test results(Page 1, post #5), you can see how dark it really was. I have had a few bacteria blooms or die offs, where the water in my tank got cloudy, but just let it run an it clears in a day or 2.

Right now I have taken mine off line and need to clean it out and start fresh. I shut it off for a couple days (forgot to turn it back on) and when I went to turn it on, the smell was nasty from the sulfur. But I will be setting it back up soon.

And if @Terence is running one in his set up, it has to be good, right??? :)

And my tank is a FOWLR as well.
I still have my ozone running also.....that prevents bacterial blooms.

I have learned not to take my ozone off line for more than 4 or 5 days the hatd way.

I don't even change the carbon very often.
 

Joeganja

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Run plenty of carbon then. You can get bacterial blooms...i had one.

Eh. That's fine. My lighting is super low to keep algae off the rocks. I have 0 algae. My tank looks like it was set up yesterday yet it's been up since February.
IMG_4905.JPG
 
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Fudsey

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This is a warning to anyone out there using one of these...

NEVER FORGET TO TURN IT BACK ON IF YOU SHUT IT OFF ! ! !

I had turned mine off to clean sump and forgot to turn it back on. Once I did the sulfur smell was very strong so I figured I would start fresh with new stuff. I took it apart to dump the old stuff out and almost threw up multiple times and I was outside.... [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]
 
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Fudsey

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Back up and running..... And wow was that a nasty experience ! !

To reiterate, never forget to turn it back on if you shut it down to clean anything.....

Denitrator.jpg
 

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