Aquaripure...Lab Rat

flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Okay...I will be the lab rat. I ordered the Aquaripure today. I have been dosing vodka to bring down my nitrates for 3 weeks and I worry about how safe it is to do it, and then I also have to use MB7 with it. The MB7 isn't sold in any of the stores here so I have to order it and pay shipping, 5.5 capfulls (according to the bottle) a day for the dose my tank needs, and a bottle doesn't last long.
The Aquaripure is vodka dosing but it sounds safer, since we have storms where the power goes out in the summer time, I don't want to chance it if I don't have to. I figured I will be the lab rat, nobody else has decided to try it. I read lots of reviews on Aquaripures site but nobody I know has ever used one. This will give us the answer to if it really works or not and if it's worth it.
I will post my nitrate readings on this thread and anything else about it. I ordered the medium unit for up to 130g tanks..That should more than be enough for my 90g with the sump/refugium water volume. I'm going to do a nice water change just before I hook it up, I did a small one today already. LOL...a necessity since my SG was 1.030 and I didn't believe it until I got the refractometer, I assumed my hydrometer wasn't working right but it was.
I have no idea how the SG got so high.
 
kiefers

kiefers

Active Member
okay then.... we finally have thread on this contraption. I am interested on how this device will work, will follow ya flower. What was your last trate reading?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiefers http:///forum/thread/385846/aquaripure-lab-rat#post_3385903
okay then.... we finally have thread on this contraption. I am interested on how this device will work, will follow ya flower. What was your last trate reading?
40+ I put the + there because it's darker than 40 and lighter than the 80 which is the next color up on the API test chart. A couple of hours after dosing vodka it goes down to 20 but by the next day it's right back up.
The 7 fish, 2 serpent stars and 1 cleaner shrimp in this 90g tank are thriving, not a thing has died, I have had these same fish for years and I only feed two frozen cubes of rinsed mysis shrimp a day and an algae sheet. All the mysis is eaten within one minute, and the two tangs and angel fish nip the algae sheet all day and it's gone by nightfall. Once a month if nothing has died I feed the two serpent stars a small chunk of raw shrimp...I watch them take it so I know they get it and it doesn't rot in the tank.
I have a sump/refugium... lots of live sand and rock, I seeded the tank with copepods, amphipods and little two toned bristle worms. I don't know where the nitrates are coming from except the fish themselves. The Aquaripure will let feed the tank constantly instead of the once a day feeding of vodka I do, so maybe it will work to allow me to rebuild this tank into a SPS reef...My dream tank.
I don't have any algae except coraline..the few corals I have look great. The tank looks like all is well but I have these high nitrates.
I think the critters in there are used to the NO3 being so high..I can't put any new coral in because it dies within days.
 
cryptics

cryptics

Member
I was talking with BTLDreef about this last night. The API Nitrates kit always seems to read high. She suggested I get the seachem one.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Good luck, Flower. I hope it works out for you. You've been through heck and back with these pesky nitrates. Currious...what do you mean by this product is vodka dosing but safer? We live on a peninsula down here where high winds and tropical storms are always lurking in the shadows. Vodka dosing is a risk that I'm not willing to take with possible power outages.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/385846/aquaripure-lab-rat#post_3385936
Good luck, Flower. I hope it works out for you. You've been through heck and back with these pesky nitrates. Currious...what do you mean by this product is vodka dosing but safer? We live on a peninsula down here where high winds and tropical storms are always lurking in the shadows. Vodka dosing is a risk that I'm not willing to take with possible power outages.
Well we never have SO FAR been out of power more than a few hours. I was not dosing vodka then...now I am, and I think it was you that mentioned the power going out and it being a serious bad thing when dosing. There were some bad storms here the other night and I was worried. The Aquaripure doses only the container and not the entire tank so only the little drip is without oxygenated water...at least that's how I understood what I read.
You feed the container vodka once a week...and reviews sware it works so I will give it try and be the lab rat.... if it works on my tank it will work on anybody's tank..the guy who makes it will be very happy with maybe lots of new customers if not...well then, I have done my part to keep this community safe from a scam.
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
Denitrators are not new, I can remember back when I joined here in 2006 a big Denitrator fad... Back then I was considering getting one so I looked into the hole thing. The pH of the water coming out the filter is low and has to be raised before you let it back in to the DT some tanks don't have any trouble with this others do. The filter has a low flow and most Denitrators control the oxygen level through this flow of water and the bacterias use of oxygen, this is the first part that can be hard to deal with adjusting the flow to control oxygen. The low flow of water through the filter limits how much can be treated so Denitrators have been big in the past but if you feed the bacteria you can get better performance but the hard part is to know how much to feed because any thing feed that is not used by your intended bacteria will be used by something. Also the low flow through Denitrators allow bacteria flocks to clog the tubing up and this has been the big killer of these filters as the filter clogs you have to keep adjusting the flow and finally restart the filter when you run out of adjustment.
But don't let me mislead you, I have never used one because of all the negative comments I have read in the past, and who knows maybe they have overcome all the difficulties of controlling a Denitrator ...
 
kiefers

kiefers

Active Member
with all this said Flower, just keep an eye on it daily. Document ANY changes..... Remember, your the lab Rat here. write down concerns from the posters and document everything..... not like you have a full plate anyway huh? lol.... Keep in mind, you may get some flack and genuine concerns, just let it go and continue with your experiment, the greatest scientists delt with critisisms and concerns. Keep it up
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///forum/thread/385846/aquaripure-lab-rat#post_3386076
Denitrators are not new, I can remember back when I joined here in 2006 a big Denitrator fad... Back then I was considering getting one so I looked into the hole thing. The pH of the water coming out the filter is low and has to be raised before you let it back in to the DT some tanks don't have any trouble with this others do. The filter has a low flow and most Denitrators control the oxygen level through this flow of water and the bacterias use of oxygen, this is the first part that can be hard to deal with adjusting the flow to control oxygen. The low flow of water through the filter limits how much can be treated so Denitrators have been big in the past but if you feed the bacteria you can get better performance but the hard part is to know how much to feed because any thing feed that is not used by your intended bacteria will be used by something. Also the low flow through Denitrators allow bacteria flocks to clog the tubing up and this has been the big killer of these filters as the filter clogs you have to keep adjusting the flow and finally restart the filter when you run out of adjustment.
But don't let me mislead you, I have never used one because of all the negative comments I have read in the past, and who knows maybe they have overcome all the difficulties of controlling a Denitrator ...
Thank you so much for this heads up...I will know what to look for. I have researched all over and have never read this information. LOL...Maybe it's best I didn't until now.
Keifers, I will be keeping a very close eye on my PH and comment on any and all changes, I will do my best to be the best Lab Rat..

I have a sump and it seems to really help with mixing water and air for the tank, I never considered the unit itself. There is already a perscribed amount to feed so maybe they have at least figured out that much. I have a PH booster which I have used maybe 2Xs since I purchased it (I hope it won't matter being old) Should my PH drop do you think I should use it or is there a better method to keep it stable? I already use a pinch of Alk booster in my top off.
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
I would hope that you could aerate the filter water enough to not need to adjust the pH. I would adjust the pH the way you are accustom to doing, so not to make things worse. Only if alk was low, if the alk was high then you would need more gas exchange to let the gasses made by the bacteria exit the water.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///forum/thread/385846/aquaripure-lab-rat#post_3386241
I would hope that you could aerate the filter water enough to not need to adjust the pH. I would adjust the pH the way you are accustom to doing, so not to make things worse. Only if alk was low, if the alk was high then you would need more gas exchange to let the gasses made by the bacteria exit the water.
My alk is always within the safe range on the API test kit. ..LOL so that's the best I can do with the info you just gave me.
The filter comes with a warning to make sure the water is oxygenated since what comes from the filter has no air in it at all. I plan to have the filter drip in the overflow chamber coming from the DT then overflow into the return chamber. I figure that going over the baffles and up to the surface before being emptied into the tank should do. I have an awesome skimmer, the Aquaripure guy says I won't need it but it does oxygenate the overflow water from the DT before going into the return chamber.....What do you think??
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/385846/aquaripure-lab-rat#post_3386357
My alk is always within the safe range on the API test kit. ..LOL so that's the best I can do with the info you just gave me.
The filter comes with a warning to make sure the water is oxygenated since what comes from the filter has no air in it at all. I plan to have the filter drip in the overflow chamber coming from the DT then overflow into the return chamber. I figure that going over the baffles and up to the surface before being emptied into the tank should do. I have an awesome skimmer, the Aquaripure guy says I won't need it but it does oxygenate the overflow water from the DT before going into the return chamber.....What do you think??
I think you have a good plan. I would log any testing you do to see how well it works.
The way I understand it is oxygenated water goes in one end bacteria quickly convert it into carbon dioxide in the form of carbonic acid this lowers pH. When it comes out the other side the co2 exits the water. The hope is you get very little lowering of pH and enough filtration to make it worth doing...
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiefers http:///forum/thread/385846/aquaripure-lab-rat#post_3386382
sounds like a plan.........why not just put an air stone in the sum to supplement for the O2
LOL...No air stones are allowed in a SW tank...something about tiny bubbles hurting the fish getting into the gills...I can have air bubbles in the SH tank only. I have plenty of CO2, not only from a boiling surface on the top but also from the refugium and sump. My skimmer does pretty good too, but I'm not sure I'm supposed to use it with the Aquaripure...It says I won't NEED it...nothing about I shouldn't use one.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/385846/aquaripure-lab-rat#post_3386466
LOL...No air stones are allowed in a SW tank...something about tiny bubbles hurting the fish getting into the gills...I can have air bubbles in the SH tank only. I have plenty of CO2, not only from a boiling surface on the top but also from the refugium and sump. My skimmer does pretty good too, but I'm not sure I'm supposed to use it with the Aquaripure...It says I won't NEED it...nothing about I shouldn't use one.
From what I understand it's yes and no. The issues don't typically arise from the use of air pumps but more rather using compressed gas to deliver oxygen well above saturation levels to the point where very fine micro bubbles become compressed to the point that the water becomes milky looking and the micro bubbles aren't able to dissolve or escape to the surface. Unless you're witnessing clouds of micro fine air bubbles suspended in the water column then using an air pump shouldn't be a problem. I think this holds true for fresh and saltwater fish but since saltwater is denser than freshwater the micro bubbles will become compressed even smaller maximizing coalescence.. I'd be more worried about salt creep from the bubbles bursting at the surface. Sorry to take the thread off topic.
 
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