Aquaripure denitrator - Page 2

Tony Detroit,
Are you adjusting the flow on your sulfur denitrator to target a certain nitrate reading, or is zero the goal? Do you still do regular water changes with the denitrator? I think your's has been going about a year, right? Have you had to add sulfur?
Thanks.

DeNITRATOR

So, is the midwest still working ok for you? I'm waiting to make sure before I plop down the dough. I missed the one on E*AY.

i have been using the aquaripure denitrator for about 3 months and occasionally it gets clogged but all i do is push air up the out take tube and it works or sometimes i just let it be and it will resume on its own. anyways my point is that my nitrate level went from over 100ppm to <10ppm and i have not had to clean off any algae on my glass or anything else.i know some ppl that are using the sulfur denitrator but they were only satisfied for the first several months but then they were unhappy and they kinda wish they invested their money into the aquaripure denitrator. i have done a water change in a while and all my water peramators are with in normal ranges. in addition, i have a lot of big fish, 9+ inches, for my 150 gal tank and i couldnt be more satisfy with the aquaripure denitrator anymore since my fish are not getting sick anymore.

The best biodenitrator on the market:: Korallin BioDenitrator with Eheim Pump
It uses sulfer pellets. Germany has been using it for years.

Dr. Reef

Would the Koralline denitrifier by too powerful for a 12 gallon or 24 gallon? If so, can you suggest something that would be more appropriate? THanks

Working beautifully. Zero nitrates. The PH of my tank had been creeping slightly lower because I have the large model XL denitrifier on a 125 gal tank and I return the effluent back to the display tank instead of aerating it in a sump.
Midwest suggested that I remove half the sulfur and add calcium media so I now have a 1/4 sulphur 3/4 calcium mix and the PH has gone back to 8.1-8.3.

Other than changing the sulfur/calcium mix to 1/4-3/4 the only other maintenance that was needed involved injecting water into the inlet hose, with the syringe they provided to prime the pump. I've had to do this one time when I noticed the flow was slowing and suspected the small plastic tubes were getting blocked up. About a 1' string of white gunk came out and flow returned to normal.

If you haven't yet done the water change I wouldn't. If you are getting the sulfur denitrifier from Midwest their sulfur comes prepopulated with freeze dried bacteria. With that high a nitrates you'll have your nitrate reduction started within a week. The higher the trates in the tank the quicker the sulfur denitrifier "seasons."

I have not tried this myself, but I have read that in a small tank it can be effective to spread a small amount of sulfur pellets at the bottom of your sand bed to create an area in the tank for sulfur denitrification.

I can adjust the amount of sulfur/calcium to suit my tank size and bioload with my Midwest model. The less denitrification you need the less sulfur you would put into the canister.

it sounds to me like these machanical cures for nitrates are not that effective .nitrates at 50ppm to me are quite high to my standards i freak if they hit 25 although weekly water changes are tedious and time consuming they are vey beneficial to your tanks if your biological filtration cannot compensate for such bioloads.i keep heavily stock tanks feed 3 times daily weekly water changes 25% on a normal testing my nitrates are below 25ppm ammonias .20 i run proclear wet dries and protien skimmer i dont use nitrate sponges. for those that use filter media such as amonia nitrate phosphate and carbon pads these should be changed weekly this will help reduce the build up from leaching back into your systems.

I have a heavy stocked tank. The filter system is all enclosed within the tank (Seaclear System II ) It uses bio balls but is great at converting wastes and supplying oxygen so I keep them intact. The only real drawback of this system is the end Nitrate result. Even with alot of live rock it could not keep up. I would do weekly 30% water changes to keep the nitrates low, but even with that the were creeping higher and higher as You can only reduce them so much through dilution. As I do not have time to mix my own and do not have a R/O filter I would purchase water from my LFS. At about a dollar a gallon, it sure added up!! I purchased and installed the small unit 18 days ago. At installation my nitrates were above 50ppm but not up to 80ppm, my test kit parameters. My tank nitrates as of today are at 10ppm with no water change. I did do a 10% change today just to add fresh water and will always do this small water change by choice. Even with the 30% changes my tank would not go below 20-25ppm. And within a few days they were on the way higher. It has been great to watch this unit work, and I know soon the Nitrate level will be at or close to zero. ALL the tank inhabitants are showing thier appreciation for the reduced nitrates and also cheering from no water change shock! If you are serious about the condition of your reef...this is a must have piece of equipment. I just wonder what I will continue to do with the time it would take to do the weekly water changes...? Guess I will just open a beverage and enjoy the view instead of the tedious work involved!!

What kind of denitrator do you have?

I have the small sulfur unit from midwestaquatic.com Great customer service from Rick, he knows how to run his business!!

Packer, I e-mailed Rick and he contacted me quickly with info on the sulfur unit. They are pricey, but look easy to connect and if they work are worth the $$.
I tend to overstock my tanks because there are just so many beautiful fish to choose from. I keep adding tanks for livestock because I cant pass up the next fish and cant part with the ones I have, though my LFS is great and will give me store credit for anything I want to trade-since they know I take super care of my critters.
My nitrates are not that bad, even with 10 fish in my 75 gallon. They stay around 12.5 and I have a BTA, snake polyps, colonial polyps, candy cane coral, lots of snails and shrimp-nothing ever dies-they are all healthy as can be, but I do frequent water changes, feed lightly, have lots of live rock, a top notch skimmer and a canister for mechanical filtration. I would still like to see my nitrates lower though.
Thanks for the tip. Thats what this web site is all about.

Do any of you keep clams? I read that clams love nitrates and was wondering if you had clams and then used a denitrator what impact that had on them?

I had 200+ nitrate with a Crocea and Derasa clam. I was concerned about how the clams would react to falling/zero nitrates. I read that clams fed on nitrate, and my lighting is probably on the low end of acceptable for the Crocea, so I watched them closely. It seemed to me that they both are opened or extended more, and the Crocea's color has become a little more vivid. No ill effects, I assume this is because even though my nitrate readings are zero the system is still producing nitrate that the clams / liverock / DSB / denitrator / are consuming and the Clam's main food source is light.

I will second that. I have two clams in my tank. Both seem to look a bit better also since the nitrates have dropped to about 5ppm. My thought is that they do well in the real world without nitrates, so why not in a tank?? They get what they need from other sources and really dont eat nitrates, I think its that they can handle higher nitrates without ill effects.

Sulphur

Dear all, may i know if the sulphur in my DIY denitrator is supposed to turn black (*well... actually someone from the LFS said it would) and mine only has a tiny little bit of black on the bottom areas even after locking the water in for 2 mths!

Any ways to hasten it so that I can put it to good use?

(*someone also suggested wrapping or putting the chamber in a very dark area to possbily hasten the process)

T.I.A

Hey offshore, do you still use the Aquaripure Denitrator? I was wondering if its still working for you?