New Biodenitrator

[reeferaddict]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b38/lord001/biodenitrator.jpg

Woohoo! Just got it today from an eBay deal - $200...

After getting my nitrates down to 20ppm with 200g worth of water changes over the past few weeks, I will run this on a rubbermaid with old tank water in it until I detect no more nitrites being produced... I'll keep everyone posted. If anyone has had one of these or any experience with one, your thoughts would be appreciated!

[Veng68]

is that a sulphur denit. reactor?

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

[reeferaddict]

Yup it is. I like to keep lots of fish AND SPS... not a great combo when trying to keep nitrates low...

[Ruth]

Cool - let us know how it works for you.

[Veng68]

how much does one of those cost new?

Cheers,
Vic[veng68]

[reeferaddict]

how much does one of those cost new?

Cheers,
Vic[veng68]

A whole hell of a lot more than I would pay! haha... I've seen 'em from $380 all the way up to $500+... it's just a Korralin 1501 Ca++ Reactor with sulfur media and crushed coral... I was thinking about making one, but for $200 I couldn't go wrong...

[Delphinus]

Why run it on a rubbermaid?? Are sort of not-quite-trusting the idea just yet?

I'd just run it on the system, what the heck. If you've got nitrates now, go for it!

I was seriously tempted on one of these too, I still sorta am for maybe a tank down the road. Let us know whatcha think of it!

[reeferaddict]

Tony,

I'm thinking of running it in a rubbermaid until the nitrite level stops reading just because I've recently dropped my nitrates doing water changes and my corals are responding like never before, so I don't want to screw that up.

These things will produce nitrites and nitrates for the first 10 - 21 days so I just want to cycle it on a body of water containing no livestock but with nitrates like my old tank water... this will also give me an opportunity to learn how to dial it in. I have no doubts that it will work when cycled & dialed in, I've read some really encouraging stuff in about 8 different languages on these things.. lol

[StirCrazy]

I haven't hear much about sulpher denitrators, do you have any good links on how it works and what is taking place during the process?

Steve

[Snappy]

I am giving some serious thought to getting one of the Zeovit systems. They are using them at Gold Aquariums with some success. I think it is a similar principle.

[Delphinus]

Steve,

Think of a calcium reactor that instead of had calcium based media, but sulfur based media. Get a slow enough flow through the media, the anoxic zone will host the bacteria responsible for reducing nitrates, and viola, a denitrator for your system.

Here's a blurb Delbeek wrote up on sulfur based denitrators a while ago for AFM:
http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=17592&cid=3802&search

There are also several threads on them over at RC of course, if you wanted to poke around over there.

Greg, I'm not familiar enough with Zeovit to comment whether it's a similar process or not. My gut instinct tells me it's different though, because I thought Zeovit was supposed to be a fairly expensive (as in, ongoing expenses) methodology, including dosing several things, whereas a sulfur denitrator is in the same "set and forget" category as a calcium reactor -- i.e., a perhaps hefty one-time/initial cost, but the ongoing costs are minimal. But again, I'm basing this on ignorance of the Zeovit philosophy so maybe someone who knows the details can comment on whether it's similar or not.

[reeferaddict]

I haven't hear much about sulpher denitrators, do you have any good links on how it works and what is taking place during the process?

Steve

Steve,

As you can see by Tony's response and Christy's link, (which is an excerpt from Sprung & Delbeek's Vol 3.), their use has been being studied since 1991. They require a break in period while the anoxic bacteria colonize and feed on the sulfur during which nitrites are actually produced. After the initial break in period, they will produce effluent low in nitrates, but rich in sulfate and acidic. This effluent is then run through a calcerous substrate which binds some of the sulfate and consumes some of the acid finally returning to the tank with slightly higher calcium & alkalinity values.

That this system works to consume nitrates isn't in dispute, but there are arguments over how much calcium and alkalinity are replenished. Sulfate is also a byproduct of this system, but I have not been able to find anyone who has noticed this to be a problem. Most people offset sulfate buildup with 20% or so monthly water changes which would be a hell of a lot cheaper than the 25% weekly I have been going through to keep my nitrates down. Most people report that the need for water changes is much less and that the significant nitrate reduction does nothing but promote better system health.

The units themselves are ridiculously expensive for what you get. I was going to DIY until I ran across this one on eBay, but if I was going to need a bigger one I would definitely build one myself. It's simply a reverse flow Calcium reactor you feed from the bottom, the effluent coming out the top. Sulfur beads can be had at a winemaking store for under $5/kg and the calcerous material can be any pebble sized calcium carbonate.

I'm doing another water change tonight to get some nitrate laden water from my tank and get this thing fired up... hopefully when I get back from holidays it will be reading zero and I can put it in the system. I will keep everyone posted. :mrgreen:

Oh ya... from what I've read, ZEOvit kinda works on the same principle but sans sulfur and you have to supply a regular carbon based food source... the pros of ZEOvit are that some trace elements are supplied using this method, but I didn't go too far in depth... I think Ruth was using ZEOvit so she may be able to tell us more.....

[Delphinus]

Hey! *I* provided the link first! Now my feelings are hurt. :p And it's a Q&A from his moonlighting at Aquarium Fish Magazine, September 2004 issue (I have the printed article). He may have talked about them in Vol 3 as well, but I doubt it's in a Q&A format there.

[reeferaddict]

I stand corrected Tony - That Q&A actually formed the basis for what is written in Vol 3, which goes into much greater detail than anything I was able to find online.

Oh, my apologies for not giving credit where due...

THANKS FOR THE LINK TONY!

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

[Veng68]

They have a couple articles on the subject in FAMA (just can't find it right now)

Also check out this article:
http://mars.reefkeepers.net/USHomePage/USArticles/SulphurDenitrator.htm

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

[StirCrazy]

ok I kinda figured thats how it worked but don't you need darkness for anoxic bacteria? or just low O2?

Steve

[reeferaddict]

Allrighty then! I promised updates as soon as I had any...

I did a water change last weekend and tank nitrates were at 20+ ppm ...

I took 20g of old water to seed the reactor outside the system, and set it at a steady drip rate, actual volume not determined as of yet...

Hooked up the reactor Tuesday and so far in 5 days nitrates are already down to <10ppm... I wasn't expecting any change so quickly... Gotta get a nitrite test kit to see if there are any... if not, I'll be plumbing this little godsend into the main system! :mrgreen: Maybe I CAN keep my fish and corals after all! :biggrin:

[reeferaddict]

ok I kinda figured thats how it worked but don't you need darkness for anoxic bacteria? or just low O2?

Steve

Steve - ANoxic = sans oxygen... light plays no part in that.

[StirCrazy]

Steve - ANoxic = sans oxygen... light plays no part in that.

ya I figured that out but it is used wrong..

anoxic is water with no dissolved O2, not to be used for a description of a organism. when talking about bacteria (or an organism) that lives in low or no O2 levels we should use Anaerobic, which means without oxygen. More specifically, it refers to occurring or living without oxygen present.

thats why it has always confused me when people use the anoxic bacteria term as it is not quite right and throws me off.

Steve

[reeferaddict]

Allrighty folks... checked the test water today and it reads ZERO... much quicker than I had even hoped... this puppy is getting plumbed in to the main system tonight, I'm going to run the effluent through my calcium reactor that I haven't been using as well. One bonus is that I have 20g of water that I removed 2 weeks ago from the main system that I can now use again! Woohoo for the salt bill! :biggrin:

[Ruth]

Allrighty folks... checked the test water today and it reads ZERO... much quicker than I had even hoped... this puppy is getting plumbed in to the main system tonight, I'm going to run the effluent through my calcium reactor that I haven't been using as well. One bonus is that I have 20g of water that I removed 2 weeks ago from the main system that I can now use again! Woohoo for the salt bill! :biggrin:

Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress with this little gadget reeferaddict.
I would test all parameters of the "old" water before you re-use it though as in addition to removing nitrates etc. another reason for doing water changes is to replenish some of the other "goodies" like calcium/mg/alk/trace minerals etc. that our organisms use up.

[reeferaddict]

Well folks - it works. 0ppm and holding steady even with my livestock load and feeding regimen. Corals have taken to colouring up and definitely an increase in growth. Water changes have been cut down to 10% or so every couple of weeks and things are looking very vibrant and healthy. The unit was also easy to set up, just gotta keep an eye on the outflow & make sure it's running or you get that wonderful house clearing rotten egg smell... :mrgreen: Definitely worth the $200 I spent on eBay for it... YAY!

[Delphinus]

You were supposed to say "it sucks" so that I wouldn't want one. Thanks a lot! One more thing for me to obsess about and try to figure out how to buy one and get it home without the boss noticing.

Seriously -- very cool info. And yes, now I really do want one. :)

[StirCrazy]

Well folks - it works. 0ppm and holding steady even with my livestock load and feeding regimen.

how tall and what diamiter is that thing?

Steve

[reeferaddict]

It's not that big Steve... I believe the Acrylic is 4 or 5 inches in diameter and it's about 18 inches tall... it's a Korralin 1501 Calcium Reactor with sulfur and aragonite media in it. Now that I have one and see how it works I wouldn't hesitate to build my own in the future...

[Quagmire]

So what size pump runs it? and where do you get replacement media? :biggrin:
Ive read mixed reviews about how well they work,but I have a ca reactor sitting around doing nothing.

[reeferaddict]

Hey sorry it took so long to reply...

If you google "Korralin Biodenitrator" you can find all the specs... I feed mine with a Maxijet 1200, but you can use as low as a 600, as long as you have enough pressure to get a constant drip or stream...

As for media... wine shops sell the sulfur beads for cheapest, and the media lasts for YEARS... the 2nd media is just large chunks of calcium carbonate... or you can buy it as "Crushed Coral gravel" at your LFS... this media sits in the top and I've noticed mine has shrunk significantly since I first set it up... but it's cheap too... this is the most cost effective and reliable way to eliminate nitrates... mine has been proof enough for me. :biggrin:

[Quagmire]

Sounds simple enough.So using a ca reactor all a person would need to do is get the 2 different medias,and something to put between them, and a small pump.Sulfer on the bottom,then some sort of divider,then ca media.water flows from bottom and out the top . Is that correct or am I off on something?

[reeferaddict]

You got it all right there! And there's the most comprehensive reading about it in Delbeek & Sprung's Vol 3.... but most of the same stuff is available to read on the net as well... like I said, I found mine easy... might seem daunting but it's simple really... some people prefer systems with dual chambers and stuff... or even to plug into a regular Ca+ Reactor system to make more efficient use of C02 and fewer overall pumps & plumbing...

It's almost too simple... go for it!

[dirtyreefer]

I heard these work awesome. But I also heard that once all the nitrates are sucked out, the bacteria within the media will not have a sufficient food source and basically starve. In other words, you can't really keep one of these babies going for a long time as you'll essentially just be pumping CO2 into your tank.

Also, once you remove your nitrates and your media "dies", you need to go through another cycle (where you have to wait a few weeks to get the effluent's nitrates back to zero) to get it alive and recharged again.

I think for short term, you can't beat using these to remove nitrates but not for long term. I believe that's why these aren't as popular as they really could be if they were a long term solution.

[Quagmire]

But the bacteria wouldn't die all at once,but slowly as nitrates come down.As they die,they in turn will feed other bacteria,all would balance out.Wouldn't this be the same as the other bacteria in our tanks?.There is always some amonia (fish pee,food breakdown)Nitrites,and eventualy nitrates.I would think the reactor would always have a population,but less pop at 5ppm No3 as 100ppm.
I could be wrong,but it makes sense to me.

[reeferaddict]

In a sparsely stocked and fed system I would agree... but my fish are FAT... haha. It works great so far...:mrgreen:

[Delphinus]

Reeferaddict, what kind of flowrate ("effluent" output) do you have running through the unit?

The flow through the media, is it "downflow" or is it "upflow"?

[Delphinus]

Does anyone know, what's the risk of H2S gas being released from a sulfur reactor?

[Skimmerking]

Correct me if I'm wrong here people. If you have a Cal Reactor then you can add half the sulfur and half the arm media or what ever you use for the reactor that you have right.

[Psyire]

Does anyone know, what's the risk of H2S gas being released from a sulfur reactor?


There is this risk. BUT Apparently it only happens if the main circulation pump stops circulating and goes un-noticed.

I am seriously considering going this route on my tank as well. I'm going to go with a different reactor though.. These guys have a good reputation:

www.midwestaquatic.com

(lots of good info on the site, especially in the product .pdf's / site forums)

[Psyire]

Correct me if I'm wrong here people. If you have a Cal Reactor then you can add half the sulfur and half the arm media or what ever you use for the reactor that you have right.

You could convert the reactor yes, but not use it as both. They are similar, but the denitrator does not need C02 injection.

[Manny]

Would you be able to turn a Phosban Reactor into one?

[Psyire]

I don't see why not, might work well on a small system. (less than 100g)

It would probably be better to run 2 phosban reactors in series. One with sulphur & one with the calcium carbonate.

You would have to recirculate from the inlet to the outlet using a low flow pump. Then tee into both lines and run a slip stream from your tank through the Tee'd in lines.

[Delphinus]

Hi Mike, that's actually my plan (to convert one of my unused Ca reactors into a sulfur reactor). The Korallin units actually have the same model #'s as their calcium reactors which tells me it's the same units, just plumbed a little different because there's no CO2.

Psyire - I was looking at those Midwest units -- they look good too. Premiumaquatics has them in case you (or anyone else) is looking for a vendor. They carry both the Korallin and those (unless I have my brandnames mixed up -- they have another one besides the Korallin at any rate).

So H2S is only a concern in the event of a power failure or pump stop? Hmmmmmmmm ... I need to do more reading. The problem is ... well .. H2S is some seriously nasty stuff. Reducing the nitrates isn't worth dying for!

[andresont]

Hi Mike, that's actually my plan (to convert one of my unused Ca reactors into a sulfur reactor). The Korallin units actually have the same model #'s as their calcium reactors which tells me it's the same units, just plumbed a little different because there's no CO2.

Psyire - I was looking at those Midwest units -- they look good too. Premiumaquatics has them in case you (or anyone else) is looking for a vendor. They carry both the Korallin and those (unless I have my brandnames mixed up -- they have another one besides the Korallin at any rate).

So H2S is only a concern in the event of a power failure or pump stop? Hmmmmmmmm ... I need to do more reading. The problem is ... well .. H2S is some seriously nasty stuff. Reducing the nitrates isn't worth dying for!
I think you will notice the rotten smell long before it may become dangerous, unless of corse you are away from home,
I also wonder how bad is the clogging issue (drip rate reduction) that some people reporting (in the above provided links)
At any rate this is exitining to be able to feed corals and fish better diet and still have low No3.
Does anyone knows where to buy media in Vancouver?

[Pansy-Paws]

I would argue that this is the only way to go for nitrate reduction on large systems. I initially went with two Phosban reactors to test the concept for myself, before committing to a larger unit :razz:

Seeing the test reading of zero nitrates out of the reactor was like magic after struggling with nitrates for a year (we overfeed and that's not going to change ... so we know the source). Doing religious weekly 50 gallon water changes for 2 months steady still only took nitrates from 40 ppm down to 30 ppm, and skipping one week would put us back to the start.

With a DIY reactor based on the Phosban design (two 6" x 36" cylinders), we took the nitrates to zero in 4 weeks on our 500 gallon FO system.

The rotten egg smell can create the occassional "Annacis Island" :redface: as my wife calls it, but can be masked with some burning oils until the flow rate is corrected (too low of a flow rate creates H2S). For those who've driven over the Alex Fraser bridge on a muggy summer day, you will understand the reference to Annacis Island :lol: :lol:

[Delphinus]

Holey mondo reactor size though! Is there any good reading as to how to size a reactor effectively against a total system volume? Or is it mostly guesswork?

Also is there any mechanism to determine an optimal flowrate through the reactor? How long does it take for the smell to go away after adjusting, if indeed you start off too slow? What kind of flowrate do you have on your reactor?

[Psyire]

From what I know, flow rates depend on bioload. It is slightly different for everyone. The .pdf file for the Midwest unit explains how to set your drip rates. (they also cover how to find the optimal flow)

Thanks for the input Lyle, now I really want one. lol

[Pansy-Paws]

Delbeek and Sprung Volume 3 suggests that the volume of sulphur beads be 1% of the water volume. This book was absolutely the best source for information as I was researching and setting up my reactor.

I have 4 gallons of beads for a 500 gallon system, so a little under 1%. To start off, the flow rate needs to be extremely slow (this is very tricky unless you have a nice system like reeferaddict with fine controls - if Korallin had a much larger unit I would have seriously considered that). The drip rate for starting is in the range of 1 drop per second per half gallon of sulphur :biggrin: - that's tough to regulate in a DIY design!

Once cycled (mine took about a week), flow can be increased to around 1 gallon per hour per gallon of sulphur. The flow range seems to be quite forgiving, unless you can't get the flow fast enough due to constricted tubing ... hence my Annacis Island situation. As the nitrates dropped, I found I needed to increase the flow rate into the 8-10 gallon per hour range. I upgraded to a Mag 7, and still needed to redesign the plumbing with 3/4 inch PVC to get the necessary flow.

The smell can last 2-4 hours before the increased flow gets the H2S under control. It can seem like a long time when you have the rest of the family staring you down :redface: :redface: :redface:

[Pan]

I think you will notice the rotten smell long before it may become dangerous, unless of corse you are away from home,
I also wonder how bad is the clogging issue (drip rate reduction) that some people reporting (in the above provided links)
At any rate this is exitining to be able to feed corals and fish better diet and still have low No3.
Does anyone knows where to buy media in Vancouver?
as long as you can smell the h2s your ok :)

[Delphinus]

Lyle, are you recirculating through the media, and feeding with a separate pump, or are the flowrates you're describing (8-10 gph) refer to the only flow through the media? I sort of get the sense you're not recirculating .. I was thinking I'd still recirculate, much like how a calcium reactor works .. or is that not the recommended approach?

[Psyire]

From what I understand you must recirculate. All the reactors are built this way, and then they have a slip stream through them from the Aquarium and back. (some people use a siphon, some people use a pump)

[Delphinus]

Thanks, that's what I thought too. If you read the "DIY" instructions that Caribsea puts out though, they just have it as a single-pass basis and it sort of sounded like that's how Pansy-Paws does it too (I could be reading it wrong?). I guess that way works too, but to me anything that requires contact time is always better to have it on a recirculating basis.

Well sounds like I'm set then .. I just need some media. I'm gonna have this online within a couple of days (just as soon as I can get my hands on some media!). :cool:

[Psyire]

I believe it is this recirculating that helps remove the oxygen from the water to create the anerobic zone. (more effective)

[Delphinus]

Yes I agree that makes more sense. Like I said though the DIY instructions Carib-Sea talks about looks like single-pass to me, .. you can easily replicate the anoxic zone with a slow enough flow without the recirculation, but I agree it seems easier to do so with recirculation. If the channel was long enough I guess you could get away with it. But anything I would want to build I would want to make it as recirculation because anything that increases contact time cannot help but help.. whether it's a skimmer, reactor, heck even my Phosban reactor I'd like to modify and make recirc.. it just makes sense to me. :)

[Pansy-Paws]

Given the height of my design (36"), I only have a single water flow thru path, no recirculation.

As indicated, with a slow enough water flow, the anerobic zone can be established.

[Delphinus]

So I got to the point where I was on the phone to my LFS, asking them to bring in some LSM, and again, the topic came up.. "You realize there's a risk of H2S right?" Aaannnnnd..... arrrrrggggh, there we go, once again, I thought I had made a decision and was going to follow through on it, and here I am, second guessing myself all over again.

Here's my thought ... when I was a summer student I had it absolutely drilled into me how bad H2S is. You can smell it at 1ppm, at 10ppm you can only be exposed safely for 10 minutes at a time (I forget how long you have to wait in between) and I think it's instant-loss-of-consciousness at 100 ppm (it may not be 100ppm, I don't remember. At some point though, you can be dropped instantly with one breath).

Soooooo ... seriously, what are people's thoughts on this? I've even posted this question in Randy Holmes-Farley's forum on RC (although he's not online this week). Keep the tank area well-ventilated?

I may be overly paranoid but one thing I remember is that H2S is heavier than air, meaning anyone closer to the ground is at higher risk (think: pets and small children). Although I need to reduce my nitrates I can't do it if I'm risking the wellbeing of family and pets (or the tank itself).

Maybe Zeovit's the way to go after all ... I don't know ... argh, there I go, second-guessing myself again. :(

[ed99]

I don't have any experience with the biodenitrator but can I do know a little bit about H2S from the job. 10 ppm is the maximum concentration you can be exposed to during an 8 hour work day, so H2S is not a great risk at that level, but with the smell at that level your wife and family may be! 100 ppm will cause watery eyes, respiratory problems and nausea, and 200 ppm gets you close to the death range within hours. Above 500 ppm your life span is minutes and at 700ppm death is almost immediate. It is nasty stuff and kills a few people in the oil industry every year.

As you mention, H2S is detectable at very low levels but is very toxic and will collect in low spots so for me personally it's a piece of equipment that I would only use if the worst case H2S production rate is low, the area is well ventilated to the outside and you can check up on the equipment frequently.

[Delphinus]

Ok those numbers are a lot higher than what I thought they were. I was an oilfield worker as a summer student but those days are long behind me so my memory was clouded. I would think 700ppm would be hard to do, even playing with elemental sulfur, i.e., one would notice the smell @1ppm long, long, long before.

[ed99]

I agree, and with these things I'm sure you're dealing with pretty low volumes produced. The danger is the accumulation if the tank equipment is in an out of the way place in the basement like mine is.

[Pansy-Paws]

Having used a denitrator with 4 gallons of LSM, I'm not really concerned on the toxic front. For one thing, if this was an issue for this application we would be seeing warning labels up the ying yang, and would have confirmed lawsuits from the US. If that was the case, I doubt that Caribsea and Korallin would still be marketing their products ... too much liability given our litigious nature (ever notice how many warning labels are on ladders these days :smile:).

I'll definately concede that for industrial settings, this can be serious stuff. However, Delbeek and Sprung devote 7 pages to sulphur denitrification, and only a couple sentence mentions of hydrogen sulfide smell as an issue, mainly around the ambience impact of a smelly living room. The chemical reaction from Holmes-Farley shows:

2 H2O + 5 S + 6 NO3- ---> 3 N2 (gas) + 5 SO42- (sulphate) + 4 H+ (hence slightly acidic effluent and the reason for calcareous material after the sulphur)

so no H2S is emitted in the primary reaction, unless the flow is too slow and secondary chemical reactions occur. As you mention Tony, the 1 ppm level will provide ample nasal warning before the level can rise to dangerous levels (which I doubt is even possible ... as this application has been used in Europe for over 10 years on some massive aquariums).

Also, with a recircuation system, the volume of sulphur would be much less than even I'm using.

[Psyire]

H2S can be smelt in concentrations as low as ppb (parts per billion). It definately is a gas that is not something to laugh about. I happen to work in an oil/gas plant where we have vessels containing 800,000 ppm. (yeah, more than enough to kill a small town off)

That being said, I do not think these reactors have the ability to make it in such high concentrations. Perhaps maybe if it were to go for weeks on end without being noticed. (pump failure) And then you opened it up to atmosphere, but even then I doubt it. Just keep your nose out of it and clean it in the bathroom with a fan on and you'll be fine. Kalk or Carbon dust is probably more harmful to your lungs than the small dose of H2S these would give off. If you are diligent and check your equipment regularly, I don't think there would be a problem.

There was one person on a forum who's reactor stoped recirculating and was sending H2S into the tank. His fish developed lesions and his corals didn't look so good. Once disconnecting the reactor things cleared up right away. (I believe he may have lost one fish) So in a sense you should be able to spot the problem before it becomes serious. Just think, his fish didn't just suddenly die, and the LD50 would be super small for fish compared to a human. (body mass)

I am on the verge of ordering a unit from Midwest Aquatic...

[Delphinus]

Cool. I looked at those and if I wanted to buy a unit I'd probably consider one of those. However I seem to have a collection of unused calcium reactors (I seem to have at least 2 that I'm just sitting on) on top of the one I have in use ATM, so I think I'll just convert one of those for now. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work. Might need to go to a bigger reactor when I get the 280g going but that's down the road anyhow, and I wouldn't mind DIY'ing something at that point anyhow.

Anyhow good luck with yours. :cool:

[Psyire]

Yeah, I think that is a good bet. If I had a few calcium reactors lying around I'd probably do the same.

I'll post my findings/results in this thread. (if I buy one)

[Farrmanchu]

My LFS started running a couple of them, and I think it IS a Ca reactor. He's been playing with one, and now runs it with bottom half sulpher, thin foam divider, top half Ca reactor media. There's an ORP probe in the top, and the ORP is controled by the output flow. It's putting Ca into the system, and dropping the Nitrates also. He's super horned up for these things, think's they're the cat's a$$. He says that once the Nitrates are down to 0, the output will be almost fully open, then gets opened all the way so the bacteria don't die, they may diminish, but continue to pull Nitrates as they're produced. AND the unit has an impact on Phosphates also, not huge, but noticeable.

[Psyire]

Pansy-Paws, Where do you get your sulphur media from? Wine shops like posted above? or somewhere else?

[Psyire]

I thought this excerpt should be posted here:

When dissolved in water, the smell depends strongly on pH (which determines how much is in the volatile, hence "smellable," H2S form). Humans often can just detect hydrogen sulfide odors when the concentration is above about 0.029 ppb in freshwater. In seawater at pH 8.2, where only 6% of the sulfide present is in H2S, this odor threshold is likely higher, perhaps on the order of 20-fold higher (0.6 ppb). Fortunately, that threshold is below the lethal limit of many aquatic organisms (usually above 5 ppb; sometimes as high as 50,000 ppb), so odor often can be detected by humans before hydrogen sulfide rises to acute, lethal concentrations in reef aquaria.

Taken from here:

H2S & Reef Aquarium:
Randy Holmes Farley

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/rhf/index.php

[Pansy-Paws]

I got my sulphur media from J&L ... in the form of Caribsea LSM. Never thought of wine stores at the time, probably much cheaper if you can find it.