Looks like 500ml per minute. I suppose that is too high. I need to get another gate valve to better control the flow. The standard valves from HD are too hard to effect a fine adjustment. I feed the reactor from a manifold off a pump
Poor Man's Nutrients Control - Donovan's Nitrate Destroyer
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Holly molly!. It's a reactor, not a fire hydrant for God's sake!.
Reduce the flow to a fine stream, you should be fine.
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Do share your experience, and pictures as well. Good luck!
Khaotic
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I am using a cheapie valve from lowes on mine, a 1/2 I think it is hard to fine tune but something that could help is maybe tape or clamp a dowel rod or something to and use the end of that to adjust it and then you can take the rod off, I used a wood clamp for mine and it made it a bit easier to fine tune. Otherwise yeah it's hard to get precise movements out of them.
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I am using 3/8" push-connect valve for treated water filter. Adjustment is flawless.
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My chiller went south (tripping RCCB), now I am on evap cooling. My 2' 2-compartments sump (in the store for more than a year) has been put online, removed that dang chiller and installed 2 cooling fans.
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Another Gonipora... Love the color!
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From left to right - iodide/strontium/iron/trace elements/amino/energy/vitality
p/s - these are for my tank volume and roughly estimated daily usage. Do not use the indicated dosage as every tank is different. I have another 3 elements (zinc/potassium/boron) and added occasionally. The last big bottles are corals food supplements (nitrate and phosphate produced by the tank are much more important than these supplements
OK, thanks for the update.
spookisfat
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Thanks for posting this, Donovan Joannes. I put my own reactor into service about 3 and a half weeks ago. This is my first post in this thread, but I've read the entire thread at least 5 times as I was going through my build and initial setup. It was really helpful for me to see the experiences of other users so I just thought I would add some of my own observations in case others might find it helpful. Many of my questions/observations were actually addressed at some point in the thread, but with 20 pages it was easy to let things slip through.
Warning- wall of text:
-Flow really does need to be SLOW for the initial setup. This is discussed several times through the thread. I was targeting 10% tank volume per day, but my tank is 265 gallons, so this had me at 25+ GPD, which was clearly way too high. It took 2 weeks before I saw any nitrate reduction, but I also kept the second chamber open for the first few days just so I could keep an eye on it and get a feel for how it operates before sealing it up.
I went out of town for four days on day 13 (my wife kept dosing the vodka, but did no other maintenance on the reactor). When I returned on day 16, I got my first 0 nitrate reading in the effluent. On my last test before leaving the effluent was still at tank levels (~80ppm). However, the flow had slowed to a drip because of the bacteria buildup, so I cleaned off the inlet/outlet and increased flow a bit (I also let some fresh air into the effluent hose in the process). It was another 4 days (on day 20) before I got another reduced nitrate reading (not sure if that was because of the fresh air getting in, or the increased flow).
After day 20, I started testing frequently and experimenting with dose size and flow rate. Flow rate would continue to drop off due to bacteria buildup, so I was forced to make adjustments just to keep things moving sufficiently. I'm at day 26 now and nitrate reduction seems to depend heavily on flow rate and dosing frequency. I'm back to ~25 GPD now, just because any lower tends to become just a fast drip (I did keep it to 10-15GPD for over a week though). I get anywhere up to 8 hours of 0 nitrate in the effluent after vodka doses of 3-5 mL (smaller doses and faster flow rates both result in less time that I'm seeing 0 nitrate in the effluent. Sometimes it's back to tank levels in 4-5 hours). I've just been using straight vodka for now since I had already been dosing it into the water column, but I'll probably switch over to VSV once my tank gets down into the single digits and things are stable.
-I perceived the most common problem that other users had to be their reactors clogging up once the bacteria became established. I can certainly see this, as I decided to not use media that would limit flow through the reactor. I used almost entirely the small and large ceramic rings, with just a very small zone of matrix and denitrate mixed in right near the end of the second chamber. My first 10+ days I didn't see any reduction in flow through the reactor. Now that it is established, I could see clogging being a very real issue if I had used anything more dense.
-I used a 5/16" ID hose for the outlet and this was probably a bit too large. I stuck a hose barb elbow into the outlet to restrict flow a bit. It is turned upward, so it also acts like a drain trap, keeping a pocket of water in the low point at all times. Since my flow isn't fast enough to keep the effluent hose full of water, this keeps fresh air from getting back into the second chamber during normal operation, or if I turn off the flow through the reactor for some reason.
My tank is a 265 gallon FOWLR that I set up about 10 months ago. I started dosing vodka right from the start since I had success with nopox on a previous tank, but nitrate still continued to climb as time went on. It was around 80-100ppm, which doesn't seem to bother the fish, but I do keep other inverts (snails, shrimp, crabs, etc) which don't handle nitrate, plus nuisance algae continues to be a real problem. I'm optimistic that this simple reactor is going to be the solution. Again, thanks for posting this!
Warning- wall of text:
-Flow really does need to be SLOW for the initial setup. This is discussed several times through the thread. I was targeting 10% tank volume per day, but my tank is 265 gallons, so this had me at 25+ GPD, which was clearly way too high. It took 2 weeks before I saw any nitrate reduction, but I also kept the second chamber open for the first few days just so I could keep an eye on it and get a feel for how it operates before sealing it up.
I went out of town for four days on day 13 (my wife kept dosing the vodka, but did no other maintenance on the reactor). When I returned on day 16, I got my first 0 nitrate reading in the effluent. On my last test before leaving the effluent was still at tank levels (~80ppm). However, the flow had slowed to a drip because of the bacteria buildup, so I cleaned off the inlet/outlet and increased flow a bit (I also let some fresh air into the effluent hose in the process). It was another 4 days (on day 20) before I got another reduced nitrate reading (not sure if that was because of the fresh air getting in, or the increased flow).
After day 20, I started testing frequently and experimenting with dose size and flow rate. Flow rate would continue to drop off due to bacteria buildup, so I was forced to make adjustments just to keep things moving sufficiently. I'm at day 26 now and nitrate reduction seems to depend heavily on flow rate and dosing frequency. I'm back to ~25 GPD now, just because any lower tends to become just a fast drip (I did keep it to 10-15GPD for over a week though). I get anywhere up to 8 hours of 0 nitrate in the effluent after vodka doses of 3-5 mL (smaller doses and faster flow rates both result in less time that I'm seeing 0 nitrate in the effluent. Sometimes it's back to tank levels in 4-5 hours). I've just been using straight vodka for now since I had already been dosing it into the water column, but I'll probably switch over to VSV once my tank gets down into the single digits and things are stable.
-I perceived the most common problem that other users had to be their reactors clogging up once the bacteria became established. I can certainly see this, as I decided to not use media that would limit flow through the reactor. I used almost entirely the small and large ceramic rings, with just a very small zone of matrix and denitrate mixed in right near the end of the second chamber. My first 10+ days I didn't see any reduction in flow through the reactor. Now that it is established, I could see clogging being a very real issue if I had used anything more dense.
-I used a 5/16" ID hose for the outlet and this was probably a bit too large. I stuck a hose barb elbow into the outlet to restrict flow a bit. It is turned upward, so it also acts like a drain trap, keeping a pocket of water in the low point at all times. Since my flow isn't fast enough to keep the effluent hose full of water, this keeps fresh air from getting back into the second chamber during normal operation, or if I turn off the flow through the reactor for some reason.
My tank is a 265 gallon FOWLR that I set up about 10 months ago. I started dosing vodka right from the start since I had success with nopox on a previous tank, but nitrate still continued to climb as time went on. It was around 80-100ppm, which doesn't seem to bother the fish, but I do keep other inverts (snails, shrimp, crabs, etc) which don't handle nitrate, plus nuisance algae continues to be a real problem. I'm optimistic that this simple reactor is going to be the solution. Again, thanks for posting this!
OP
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Hi @spookisfat (I thought you are spookyfast, but no... 
. Just kidding
Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, the denitrate or matrix do have tendency to clog if too thick. I have been mentioning this throughout the thread. For every inch of this stuff, drop a ring or two in the middle of that layer. Too thick it will rearrange it self and form a dense layer. For a new builder, you can experiment what I mean by rearranging themselves. Put a layer of pumice stones and tap the reactor slowly, you will see that layer squeezing themselves tighter.
I also had warned everybody that if your initial nitrate level is high, the amount of bacteria is massive at first, with high possibility of clogging if pumice stones is in place. Users with straight rings and balls throughout the reactor might not have this issue. Once nitrate is low, clogging is very rare, if it does, stopping carbon for a day or two will solve the problem. So, if you use pumice stones, make sure it's a thin layer with a few rings in the middle, and the next layer shouldn't be pumice again.
Multiple smaller dosage is surely the best, especially the first few weeks. It works fine with a bigger dosage once or twice daily, but when you test after dosing lapse for few hours, the bacteria has recovered from hangover, hence the almost same or slightly lower than DT nitrate. If you have auto doser it will be a huge plus for you. Keep the bacteria in extended drunk mode, the fried nuts (nitrate) will be consumed as fast as the vodka.
Last but not least, congratulations for the successful destroyer. What is your current "fried nuts" level?
. Just kidding Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, the denitrate or matrix do have tendency to clog if too thick. I have been mentioning this throughout the thread. For every inch of this stuff, drop a ring or two in the middle of that layer. Too thick it will rearrange it self and form a dense layer. For a new builder, you can experiment what I mean by rearranging themselves. Put a layer of pumice stones and tap the reactor slowly, you will see that layer squeezing themselves tighter
.I also had warned everybody that if your initial nitrate level is high, the amount of bacteria is massive at first, with high possibility of clogging if pumice stones is in place. Users with straight rings and balls throughout the reactor might not have this issue. Once nitrate is low, clogging is very rare, if it does, stopping carbon for a day or two will solve the problem. So, if you use pumice stones, make sure it's a thin layer with a few rings in the middle, and the next layer shouldn't be pumice again.
Multiple smaller dosage is surely the best, especially the first few weeks. It works fine with a bigger dosage once or twice daily, but when you test after dosing lapse for few hours, the bacteria has recovered from hangover, hence the almost same or slightly lower than DT nitrate. If you have auto doser it will be a huge plus for you. Keep the bacteria in extended drunk mode, the fried nuts (nitrate) will be consumed as fast as the vodka.
Last but not least, congratulations for the successful destroyer. What is your current "fried nuts" level?
spookisfat
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It's down around 50 now, maybe just slightly under. It's definitely making progress. I've been using both API and Salifert tests and they're in agreement. It was almost up to 100 before putting the reactor into service. It has a lot of water to turnover so I figured it would take a couple weeks to really get it down. That's one reason I wanted to get the flow back up around 25GPD, if it would work at that rate. It was working great at 10-15GPD, but that would have taken weeks to get the levels down. As you said, frequent dosings seem to be the key.
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@spookisfat, yes free flow vodka is better with a lot of "fried nuts" on the table. Once nitrate is low, reduce the frequency of vodka dosage, otherwise the bacteria will go nuts!. Have some vodka for yourself once nutrient is low.
spookisfat
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Haha, sounds good. I'm actually almost out of vodka... probably should pick up something from a little higher shelf than what I buy for the fish tank!
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If it is for you, get the good stuff. I bought a USD5 vodka for the tank, enough for a six month party for bacteria.
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No time for full write up at this moment - but I'm excited to show my results. Tank water on left, denitrator output on right. Had to increase flow due to the god awful stench that filled the house. The stench is gone now that I incerease flow slightly.
THANK YOU for getting me well on my way to a tank with a normal nitrate level.
With permission from you @Donovan Joannes - I'd like to do a write up for my local forum on how I followed your instructions and built this.
THANK YOU for getting me well on my way to a tank with a normal nitrate level.
With permission from you @Donovan Joannes - I'd like to do a write up for my local forum on how I followed your instructions and built this.
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OP
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No time for full write up at this moment - but I'm excited to show my results. Tank water on left, denitrator output on right. Had to increase flow due to the god awful stench that filled the house. The stench is gone now that I incerease flow slightly.
THANK YOU for getting me well on my way to a tank with a normal nitrate level.
Glad to hear your success. It is my great pleasure to help reefers looking for a cheap denitrator. Finding the best dosage and flow is your next target, to keep whatever nitrate level you are aiming. Shouldn't be that difficult, you know all the drills already. Cheers!
Khaotic
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I thought I'd post an update on the reactor I built on my 300ish gallon system, it's 50ish inches of 3" PVC with all marine pure style bio balls. Been working flawlessly since I set it up and I just got test kits(I know shame on me for not before) I have undetectable nitrates in my system. I feed about 2 cubes worth of frozen a day, have 8 clowns, a tang, a foxface, mandarin, and a goby. Use reef roids powder like three times a week, coral frenzy twice, and random use of pellets/flakes. I dose 5ml vodka to the reactor, and 1ml into the water column a day. Last week I put a skimmer on the system but it's rated for like 75g so it's not having much of an affect.
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Hi there mate!. Nice to hear your fantastic result!. Congrats and welcome to the club. I would recommend you to stop dosing into water column since your nitrate is un-detectable. We need some nitrate for our tank to flourish.
