DIY Sulfur Denitrator

[JohnL]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5#post12632975

[skippyreef]

I think that a one liter weighs 2.2 pounds. I think it is the same conversion as Kilograms to Pounds. I need about 5 pounds for my tank volume.

The whole glue thing was a lot easier than I thought but I think it is because I had the applicator and took time to do a little homework on DIY pages for acrylic projects. I am going to work on this some more this coming week.

[Black71gp]

YEA SPLIT!!!!!!!! lol... congrats...

this is a really easy project...

good idea mike with the 6" hole saw... scribing the acrylic..

[skippyreef]

I think that it will make for a better seal and more stable reactor in the end. I ahve to figure out how to keep the bit from drilling through though. I might take it off and jsut clamp the acrylic bases down to stabalize them. I think that will work best for me.

[wizsmaster]

weeeeee .. it's a split.

and WEEEEEEEEEEEEE i got my Lamotte test kits in today ... nitrate was one of them.

0.25 !!!!!!

i tested 2 times to make sure. didn't bother testing the effluent .. i don't think that will be necessary, do you?!

As far as the Alk .. it has taken a nice dip down ... sitting right now at about 4.7 (84ppm) .. i my calcium is high, and the aragonite & GenX media is getting used well.

[djfrankie]

Finally a split!!!

It was taking forever to post my answers to questions here

Wizmaster:

No need to...You've had yours running for a while right?

How does Lamotte measure nitrate levels?

How are you adjusting your Alk levels?

djfrankie

[wizsmaster]

oh i know .. i was just poking fun ..

I'm currently not adjusting my alk .. i do have a kalk reactor sitting around thats not hooked up, and a gal of each ingredient of randy's 3 part.

[djfrankie]

Originally posted by wizsmaster
oh i know .. i was just poking fun ..

I'm currently not adjusting my alk .. i do have a kalk reactor sitting around thats not hooked up, and a gal of each ingredient of randy's 3 part.

I knew you were....LOL

Seriously how does Lamotte measure nitrate ions?

Do you find it really accurate to warrant the extra expense?

djfrankie

[wizsmaster]

I've got a few fellow reefers that have had the LaMotte test kits, they like it, and find it accurate. I've only done a few tests the new Alk/Calcium & NO3 kit ... and i like it as well. I've had the PO4 kit, it seems pretty accurate & easy to use.

[wizsmaster]

Here is al ink to the proceidure manual for the LaMotte NO3 test. No drops to count. Easy to use.
http://www.lamotte.com/pages/common/...truct/3319.pdf

[djfrankie]

Originally posted by wizsmaster
Here is al ink to the proceidure manual for the LaMotte NO3 test. No drops to count. Easy to use.
http://www.lamotte.com/pages/common/...truct/3319.pdf

No counting drops is good news!!!

djfrankie

[kcress]

Dang.. I pulled out my spare power heads and they have, like, square outlets or multi-gapped, adjustable, O-ringless inlets.

Off to the LFS. All the same and worse. They had one that would be trivial to plumb in - "Warning! Unit must operate completely under water".

[Steve 926]

Here is a chart to help with media conversion amount's
It's a free download.

http://joshmadison.com/article/convert-for-windows/

Steve

[wizsmaster]

Originally posted by djfrankie
No counting drops is good news!!!

djfrankie

Yes, very much so. Which one are you using? API?


Which Nitrate test is everybody using here?

[skippyreef]

I have the salifert for Nirtrate and a Hanna meter for my phosphates. Is the Lamoote more accurate than the salifert?

[kcress]

djfrankie; What exactly did you use to glue the CPVC to the Maxijet 1200?

[Steve 926]

Originally posted by kcress
djfrankie; What exactly did you use to glue the CPVC to the Maxijet 1200?

My build was a bit different with a Phos ban reactor, but I used this for the cpvc & Maxi- jet





The cleaner / primer will give the MJ a better surface for the cpvc to adhere to

Steve

[saltydog64]

Originally posted by wizsmaster
weeeeee .. it's a split.

and WEEEEEEEEEEEEE i got my Lamotte test kits in today ... nitrate was one of them.

0.25 !!!!!!

i tested 2 times to make sure. didn't bother testing the effluent .. i don't think that will be necessary, do you?!

As far as the Alk .. it has taken a nice dip down ... sitting right now at about 4.7 (84ppm) .. i my calcium is high, and the aragonite & GenX media is getting used well.

wiz.........your right the split is a big deal, as it shows just how much interest there is in this subject and without dj it never would have happened so a GREAT big THX to him.

I to use the LaMotte line as they are very accurate and easy to use. Just a thought on your result(s), you mentioned 0.25 ppm, did you convert or was that the direct reading ? if direct as you know you must convert Nitrate-Nitrogen to Nitrate which all here use.....therefore 0.25 X 4.44 = 1.1 ppm Nitrate, a very good result for sure, just my thoughts on this

Dick

[saltydog64]

Originally posted by skippyreef
I have the salifert for Nirtrate and a Hanna meter for my phosphates. Is the Lamoote more accurate than the salifert?

skipp.................read my recent reply to wiz......yes the LaMotte are very accurate, and I continue to use them, however for our work here zero = zero and the Salifert line are more than accurate for this project. One thing we all must keep in mind is with both kits (LaMotte and Salifert) Nitrites will and do intervere with the test results for Nitrates and also all must observere the expireation date on all kits.....an old dated LaMotte kit is way I'm here in the first place

[saltydog64]

Originally posted by djfrankie
I knew you were....LOL

Seriously how does Lamotte measure nitrate ions?

Do you find it really accurate to warrant the extra expense?

djfrankie

dj.............I am a little late on this one but any how, the LaMotte Nitrate test kit reads in Nitrate- Nitrogen ( the final result is the reading X 4.4 to obtain Nitrates in ppm) and obtains this result by first converting the Nitrates to Nitrites by an acid reaction and then is read on a comparator for results, very accurate to be sure but final results can and will be influenced by Nitrites so all should be aware of this.

Dick

[kcress]

Thanks much Steve.

[Bruno3047]

I've read through this thread from the beginning and I must congratulate everyone who has successfully built and run one of these DJ Denitrators, and wish better future results to those with a little less luck. Hang in there.

And, of course, props to djfrankie for starting this thread and knowing exactly what he wanted to accomplish and how to go about it, right from the start.

And, also of course, I have a few questions.

Steve 926 - I think your design will work beautifully in my soon-to-be 60-gallon set-up. Can you offer any details at all, beyond the pics that you already posted, that could help me duplicate your model?

djfrankie - First, thanks again for sharing your brainstorm with us.
So you now have the unit running with no recirc pump, just the flow from your tap-in from your return pump.

What do you think the consequences would be if a unit, built out of a phos-ban reactor with just a gas release valve out of the top and a return outlet an inch or two below were allowed to run on a newly set up system with no recirc pump?

There would be no urgency to get the unit cycled so I'm wondering if the recirc pump would be necessary in this case.

I understand, of course, that I would have to wait until my tank was fully cycle through the nitrification process before adding the DJDenitrator so the bacteria would have food to proliferate.

Any help would be much appreciated
.

[djfrankie]

Thanks guys for helping me answer some of these questions, especially saltydog64!

Also, thanks to all for the great comments. To say the least, they're very encouraging

djfrankie

[djfrankie]

Originally posted by Bruno3047
djfrankie - First, thanks again for sharing your brainstorm with us. So you now have the unit running with no recirc pump, just the flow from your tap-in from your return pump.

What do you think the consequences would be if a unit, built out of a phos-ban reactor with just a gas release valve out of the top and a return outlet an inch or two below were allowed to run on a newly set up system with no recirc pump?

There would be no urgency to get the unit cycled so I'm wondering if the recirc pump would be necessary in this case.

I understand, of course, that I would have to wait until my tank was fully cycle through the nitrification process before adding the DJDenitrator so the bacteria would have food to proliferate.

Any help would be much appreciated
.

I'm assuming, correct me if I'm wrong, that you will be installing this sulfur reactor in a new system with zero or very low nitrates form the get go.

I think if you start it off this way you shouldn't need a recirculation pump. Please wait until your tank has completely cycled before adding the sulfur reactor into the equation.

Again this is totally dependent on individual systems as no one system is identical to the next. Your bioload, feeding habits and maintance schedule will dictate wether you will need to add one later on or not.

There is a big difference between bringing nitrate levels down in an old mature tank and just "maintaining" them low in a new setup.

I have currently removed the unit from my tank since I wanted to experiment a little further with it.

For example, I wanted to check:

1- How well the midwestaquatic media was holding up inside the reactor. (excellent)

2- Check exactly how much bacterial slime was accumulated in there as well. (very little no none)

3- Keep and eye and document how fast my nitrate levels start accumulating now that the unit is off. (in progress)

4- See how long it will take to cycle the unit when installed back into the system now that the media has been washed and stored in a sealed container. (not tested yet)

Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck!

djfrankie

[djfrankie]

Originally posted by saltydog64
dj.............I am a little late on this one but any how, the LaMotte Nitrate test kit reads in Nitrate- Nitrogen ( the final result is the reading X 4.4 to obtain Nitrates in ppm) and obtains this result by first converting the Nitrates to Nitrites by an acid reaction and then is read on a comparator for results, very accurate to be sure but final results can and will be influenced by Nitrites so all should be aware of this.

Dick

Thanks for the info...that's what I suspected with Lamotte.

Again...nitrites will interfere with all nitrate test kits since they all convert nitrite to nitrates first. This should not be a concern with a tank that has already cycle, but it will be evident while "cycling" a sulfur reactor, as others have already noticed.

djfrankie