Sulfur Media For Reactior

[backbayreef]

Everything is looking great. Love it - esp “Puffertown” ;)

 

[backbayreef]

@mike.metzger6 - checking in, how’s it looking?

 

[mike.metzger6]

@mike.metzger6 - checking in, how’s it looking?

I put in a brand new Orp probe and was trying to use that to dial it in but not having much luck. With flow at 30ml minute I had zero effluent coming out and Orp around 230iish but nitrate level in the tank wash still increasing. About 1ppm a day. I got more sulfur and added on a dual reactor I had with more media. Let that run at high flow for 24hrs than backed down to 30ml again. Alk took a big hit so it did something lol. Nitrate dropped 5ppm in one day but then went went up the day after. I left it there for a couple more days to give it a chance to build bacteria on the new sulfer. It’s been a few days since. I’m currently at 36ml a day with zero on the effluent and nitrate in the tank dropped 2ppm today. Only thing weird is Orp only shows -150ish but if I slow flow to raise Orp…the nitrates in the tank don’t decrease ?

 

[backbayreef]

I put in a brand new Orp probe and was trying to use that to dial it in but not having much luck. With flow at 30ml minute I had zero effluent coming out and Orp around 230iish but nitrate level in the tank wash still increasing. About 1ppm a day. I got more sulfur and added on a dual reactor I had with more media. Let that run at high flow for 24hrs than backed down to 30ml again. Alk took a big hit so it did something lol. Nitrate dropped 5ppm in one day but then went went up the day after. I left it there for a couple more days to give it a chance to build bacteria on the new sulfer. It’s been a few days since. I’m currently at 36ml a day with zero on the effluent and nitrate in the tank dropped 2ppm today. Only thing weird is Orp only shows -150ish but if I slow flow to raise Orp…the nitrates in the tank don’t decrease ?

Glad to hear that you’re getting a hang of it. I would not muck around with the amount of media though.

It appears that your tank’s nitrate production is higher than the reactor can reduce. I would keep things steady and maintain 0-10 out of the effluent. Once the whole reactor is colonized, you should drop by 2-5ppm/day. That’s what happened to me and now I’m concerned that things might bottom out. I’m at 4.9 and ORP is +24 (I don’t want negative ORP anymore). Yes, it’s hot at the house - the tank is 82F :(

 

[mike.metzger6]

Yeah just letting it run its course now and I’ll tweak it as needed once it’s fully established. And wow 82 degrees. I’d be scared of that number. My tank actually runs on the cool side but always have because I have 300 gallons of water in the sump in the basement which is always 15 or so degrees cooler than the main floor. I maintain usually anywhere between 75-77 year round

 

[backbayreef]

Just a quick update — I’m running full blast at +80mV inside the reactor. Nitrate is stable at ~6ppm. LC is keeping Phosphate at bay at ~0.06ppm. I can’t be happier - total auto-pilot! :)

@mike.metzger6 - how is yours coming along?

 

[mike.metzger6]

Just a quick update — I’m running full blast at +80mV inside the reactor. Nitrate is stable at ~6ppm. LC is keeping Phosphate at bay at ~0.06ppm. I can’t be happier - total auto-pilot! :)

@mike.metzger6 - how is yours coming along?

Those numbers are awesome. Right where I’m looking to get. Right between 5-10 on the nitrate side and .05-1 on phos. I have it tuned right now where it’s very gradual and I’m bringing both down together. It’s working like a charm. I’m currently running at 70ml per minute which on my Orp in the reactor is showing -20ish and nitrate is dropping almost exactly 1 point per day. I’m currently at 19.1 nitrate and .19 on phos so perfect balance and slowly decreasing daily. Another 2 weeks with this process and should be at my target and I’ll increase the flow and hopefully maintain from there. I have to admit I was a little skeptical about how it would work and for anyone else…just be patient. Once that bacteria colonizes it will do its thing then it’s just up to you to dial it in. Once you’re there hopefully set it and forget it. Keep an eye on your Trident NP if your running one and your golden

 

[backbayreef]

Glad to hear! I’ve done this before with much success. I’m perplexed as to why people don’t use this method of filtration before and resorted to carbon dosing, refugium, turf scrubber, etc. I understand that this might be overkill for small tanks but anything over 150gal with a heavy load, this method is the easiest and effective solution to reduce/maintain nitrate.

I can feed 4-5x a day and won’t see a material increase in nitrate!

 

[kboogie]

I wish I saw you thread back in August. I've been running a Sulfur Denitrator since February of 2023. I have a 300G FOWLR at zero nitrates in the DT. I run 95ml per minute through my denitrator. I don't have an ORP probe in it but it is very good to have one. I use the old school daily check of the effluent to tune mine. I started at 1 drop per second and tested the effluent daily until it was zero nitrate then increased the flow a little waited 24 hours then test the effluent again. If it was zero, I would increase flow; if it was not zero, I would back down the flow, retest then increase the flow if the effluent was testing zero nitrates. It took about three weeks to get it optimized.

How much total sulfur do you have in your denitrator? I have around 10lbs or two Deltec 5lb bags in mine.

I feed 4.5 cubes of frozen in the morning and one table spoon of New Life Thera+ in the afternoon, plus four 8" by 8" sheets of nori each week. I trying to express that I generate a ton of nutrients and I'm able to keep my nitrates in the DT at zero all because of the magic of my denitrator.

The chart below shows my nitrate levels before and after the denitrator:

 

[kboogie]

Glad to hear! I’ve done this before with much success. I’m perplexed as to why people don’t use this method of filtration before and resorted to carbon dosing, refugium, turf scrubber, etc. I understand that this might be overkill for small tanks but anything over 150gal with a heavy load, this method is the easiest and effective solution to reduce/maintain nitrate.

I can feed 4-5x a day and won’t see a material increase in nitrate!

I ask myself the same question. I feel a big part is the misinformation and part is the tuning.

I feel there is a ton of misinformation about the N2O, it disapates very quickly.

As it relates to tuning, you have to first wait for the bacteria to establish, then you have to patiently tune the flow over days and weeks until you have what you need for your desired nitrate level.

The tuning is a little more complicated than tuning a protein skimmer, but not too much more.

Also, the alk depletion is probably scary for most people, even though it just means a little more alk dosing.

In defense of carbon dosing and marco algae, those do also remove PO4, which is an advantage they have.

Having done all of them, I will choose a sulfur denitrator every time!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I feel there is a ton of misinformation about the N2O, it disapates very quickly.

As it relates to tuning, you have to first wait for the bacteria to establish, then you have to patiently tune the flow over days and weeks until you have what you need for your desired nitrate level.

The tuning is a little more complicated than tuning a protein skimmer, but not too much more.

Also, the alk depletion is probably scary for most people, even though it just means a little more alk dosing.

In defense of carbon dosing and marco algae, those do also remove PO4, which is an advantage they have.

Having done all of them, I will choose a sulfur denitrator every time!

N2O?

Are you talking about nitrite? That’s not the reason I do not strongly recommend sulfur denitrators.

Depleting alk, somewhat tricky control, accumulating sulfate, and lack of phosphate removal are among the reasons I prefer other methods for nitrate control.

 

[kboogie]

N2O?

Are you talking about nitrite? That’s not the reason I do not strongly recommend sulfur denitrators.

Depleting alk, somewhat tricky control, accumulating sulfate, and lack of phosphate removal are among the reasons I prefer other methods for nitrate control.

No, I'm referring to the nitrous oxide that can sometimes be produced in addition to the sulfur dioxide when the flow is too slow.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No, I'm referring to the nitrous oxide that can sometimes be produced in addition to the sulfur dioxide when the flow is too slow.

I’ve never heard of that as a concern. Where do you see that as mentioned so much that it deters people?

 

[kboogie]

I’ve never heard of that as a concern. Where do you see that as mentioned so much that it deters people?

I have my gases confused. Multi-tasking with a flood from a ATO resevior overflow that may have shorted my return pump controler (it was laying in the standing waiting for a new mount).

I meant H2S, hydrogen sulfide, I'm mixing up the gases that make people go crazy.

 

[backbayreef]

I meant H2S, hydrogen sulfide, I'm mixing up the gases that make people go crazy.

With an ORP probe, one shouldn’t worry about Hydrogen Sulfide - set an alert when ORP goes past -300mV.

 

[kboogie]

I meant H2S, hydrogen sulfide, I'm mixing up the gases that make people go crazy.

With an ORP probe, one shouldn’t worry about Hydrogen Sulfide - set an alert when ORP goes past -300mV.

I’m not making the argument against. I’m just saying the pushback I hear from people.

The point I was trying to make is, it dissipates so fast it is more of a theoretical problem than an actual problem.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I’ve not generally worried about hydrogen sulfide as a reason to not use it.

 

[kboogie]

I’ve not generally worried about hydrogen sulfide as a reason to not use it.

I agree with you.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree with you.

Do you have a way to prevent H2S during a power failure?

 

[kboogie]

Do you have a way to prevent H2S during a power failure?

Unfortunately, I do not. I live in South Florida and frequently have brief power failures (10 seconds to 15 seconds) during the daily afternoon thunderstorms. I've had two incidents in the last six months where I lost power for more than an hour.

I need to work on a battery backup system. I've researched, and the Ecflow Delta Pro Ultra is loved by the experts. I want to get two cells and then, every year use credit card points to add an additional cell.