can a sulfur denitrator be dangerous?

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Is the first chamber a sediment filter? The input is where you attach the pump? And the output is the ball valve to adjust the drip rate? Do you have a picture of what it looks like setup?

The top with valves, for degas, I used original in and out from canister setup as an RO system. Had to drill and tap for degas valves on top area. Nothing special. Clear canister for filtering out any particles or detritus build up, before sulfur.

No other picture yet, here's some oysters Pacific oysters from Azul Sol, best for reefs

 

[Thespammailaccount]

The top with valves, for degas, I used original in and out from canister setup as an RO system. Had to drill and tap for degas valves on top area. Nothing special. Clear canister for filtering out any particles or detritus build up, before sulfur.

No other picture yet, here's some oysters Pacific oysters from Azul Sol, best for reefs

Could you please post a picture next time you have it set up hard to follow the layout without visually seeing how it is setup

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Could you please post a picture next time you have it set up hard to follow the layout without visually seeing how it is setup

Shall do

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Shall do

Thank you very much always love a diy project think I will try it on the 110 Fowler and figure out how to use one

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

For now, this is in, same location on opposite side, near the fence is out. Like RO filtration.

I need one more degas fitting for crush coral canister

 

[Thespammailaccount]

For now, this is in, same location on opposite side, near the fence is out. Like RO filtration.

I need one more degas fitting for crush coral canister

Thanks that helps a lot. So basically it is supposed to be run upside down and you drilled the bottom of the canisters to degas each chamber? Out = drip rate? in = attach pump?

 

[GoVols]

Lol
It's an modded RO / flipped 180... ;Woot ;Woot

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Lol
It's an modded RO / flipped 180... ;Woot ;Woot

It’s brilliant

 

[Thespammailaccount]

It’s brilliant. Some manufacturers want a couple hundred bucks for one

 

[tehmadreefer]

@2una did not run his for years before one Nuked his reef and it did not take long to give Bubbacue issues either.

running nitrates to zero isn’t what this is referring to, It’s creating toxic zones underneath a sand bed. Obviously one has to watch the nitrates before they run to zero or yes tank will suffer.

 

[GoVols]

running nitrates to zero isn’t what this is referring to, It’s creating toxic zones underneath a sand bed. Obviously one has to watch the nitrates before they run to zero or yes tank will suffer.

Sorry about that, TMR

I think 2una's released his brew, from inside his reactor, to his main display, while he was out of town.

I stopped those deep sand beds years ago, but they do take a lot of time to build up like that.

If i had the room, those deep sand rotating buckets method, would be a heavy consideration.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Sorry about that, TMR

I think 2una's released his brew, from inside his reactor, to his main display, while he was out of town.

I stopped those deep sand beds years ago, but they do take a lot of time to build up like that.

If i had the room, those deep sand rotating buckets method, would be a heavy consideration.

What is a deep sand rotating bucket method? A remote DSB outside of the display? What made you move away from a DSB? Did you ever have one that got disturbed? The idea of a DSB interests me

 

[GoVols]

What is a deep sand rotating bucket method? A remote DSB outside of the display? What made you move away from a DSB? Did you ever have one that got disturbed? The idea of a DSB interests me

Because sand can bind in phosphates, but I run Bare Bottom now.

Yeah,
Your have buckets of deep sand outside the reef, that build up de-natring bacteria's that gas off nitrates. You use like three buckets and when the first bucket has about termed out, then move the middle bucket in it's place, third bucket moves to the middle, dump old bucket #1 and refill, and place in the third hole.

Rotate and dump the oldest buckets as need be.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Because sand can bind in phosphates, but I run Bare Bottom now.

Yeah,
Your have buckets of deep sand outside the reef, that build up de-natring bacteria's that gas off nitrates. You use like three buckets and when the first bucket has about termed out, then move the middle bucket in it's place, third bucket moves to the middle, dump old bucket #1 and refill, and place in the third hole.

Rotate and dump the oldest buckets as need be.

For every 50 gallons of display water how much sand in a bucket do you think you would need to achieve denitrification?

 

[GoVols]

For every 50 gallons of display water how much sand in a bucket do you think you would need to achieve denitrification?

Not sure.

Brandon maybe able to help you out.

this is my honest take on the matter: its the remote deep sand beds in buckets plumbed before the display that get the most consistency on performing the way you want

the ones up under tons of fish loading vary so much we have to do crazy stuff to make 40 out of 40 tanks behave. but those bucket remote ones are ideal/untouched, and not loaded with detritus every day 24x7

every entrant in our thread was an attempt of a classic performing dsb in a display tank, out of these thousands of posts I feel best stating the remote ones/slower input might really be doing true measurable denitrification. add a sandbed to a plumbed 5 gallon paint bucket done creatively/flow tank water across it to the display tank.

there are tanks that added sand in the classic way, stacked rocks and got low nitrates but its just not the majority. in dealing with patterns and more than one tank we see sandbeds are mainly detritus traps unless planned and balanced carefully.

*a large tank with a tiny fish load, and dsb in the display, meets arrangements as well but usually large tanks get swarms of fish and ride the bell curve hands off for years but one unlucky turn in that time + sandbed waste = all the work we're addressing.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Not sure.

Brandon maybe able to help you out.

Cool beans. Yes the old tank/rip clean guru

#brandon429

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Just trying to get some clarity on the subject. I was under the assumption that they could be risky but was told by someone that they were perfectly safe. If they are safe do they really work as good as they say they do?

IMO, they are not a high risk device. I've never actually heard of anyone who personally had an issue.

They may be tricky to use, and I prefer other methods, but fear of hydrogen sulfide is not one of the reasons I don;'t like them.

 

[jasonrusso]

I run a big sulfur denitrator on my fowler/predator tank. My nitrates were way over 100. My lionfish kept dying suddenly (they don't like nitrates over 40).

I put the reactor online last February. It took some tweaking and physical mods, but by June, my nitrates were 10. This is a 225 gallon dirty fowler with a puffer and eel.

The sulfur smell is non hazardous. The fatal amount of hydrogen sulfur is orders of magnitude higher than the odor of the sulfur.

So basically, you will smell the sulfur long before it kills anything. I have smelled the sulfur because I had the flow too slow.

I'm now dealing with cyano because I crashed the NO3, but I have high PO4. I highly recommend a sulfur denitrator. I tried to set one up on my reef tank but the NO3 wasn't high enough to get it to kick

 

[Mr. Azwell]

Can the gas produced from the sulfur be dangerous to your health if inhaled?

Under the wrong (or right) conditions a sulfur reactor can produce some H2S gas, which is highly toxic.

 

[Belgian Anthias]

A sulfur denitrator can be dangerous only if mismanaged by the user. Because of the high risk for human error, we do not advise sulfur denitrators to be used in a live support system.
In principle the produced gasses are N2 but if not managed correctly most of it may be H2S but for sure you will be able to tell the difference.
In most cases when it goes wrong the effluent flow rate is very low which means the danger for the tank is limited. This because such denitrators are managed as it where carbon based denitrators and are kept anoxic. This leads to very high possible nitrogen removal rates at high nitrate levels and very poor results at low nitrate levels. One can only remove what is supplied!
For example, a 1000l reef tank producing 1ppm nitrate daily . To lower the nitrate level on must remove >1000 mg nitrate daily. We desire a nitrate level of 2ppm! When the system contains 40ppm nitrate the daily flow rate must be at least 25l/day, depending on the nitrate content of the effluent. no problem! If the tank contains only 4ppm nitrate the flow rate must be at least 250l daily 0 nitrate effluent to remove the same daily production. To bring the nitrate level to the desired 2ppm the flow must be doubled to at least 500l daily 0 nitrate effluent. This of coarse if the daily nitrate production stays steady at 1ppm daily. 1ppm daily is not that much, if the daily nitrate production increases to 2ppm the denitrator must be able to handle a daily flow of the total tank volume. The fact a lot of users aim at 0 nitrate in the effluent increases the risk for human error and for stimulating sulfate reduction considerably. it is very important nitrate is available in the reactor. And very important if the reactor is kept anoxic, the quantity of oxygen to be removed increases with increased flow.
Just to show such a denitrator must be big enough!
As such device is kept anoxic the flow rate can not be managed to follow the nitrate content and can not be increased to remove the daily nitrogen overproduction daily. In most cases, the denitrator will reach its limits long before the desired level of 2ppm is reached. If not recognized such a reactor is easily mismanaged.

Using BADES-reactors or BADES-biofilters this is easily manageable, BADES reactors are not kept anoxic. There is no need for the reactor to be kept anoxic for stimulating Biological Autotrophic Denitrification using Elemental Sulfur ( BADES). There is no need for a reactor as the process takes place in any normal nitrifying biofilm

Everything about using BADES. ref: http://www.baharini.eu/baharini/doku.php?id=en:badess:start&rev=1589450735