Sulphur Denitrator

jaws789832 · Jun 3, 2016

Anyone use a sulpher denitrator on their system? I was thinking about getting one and want to know the pros and cons. Some basic information on my system. I have a 120 gallon with a 38 gallon sump (About 120 gallons total water volume). I do 25 gallon water changes every 2 weeks. I do overfeed probably but I like seeing my fish fat an happy.
params are:
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 25
phosphate 0
alk 7.8
calcium 450
mag 1400
ph 8.1-8.3
temp 77.5-78.5

I run gfo and carbon reactors
I have a refugium with cheaeto that doubles about every 2-3 weeks

My problem is I am having problems growing sps and I think the nitrates are the cause. My LPS and softies grow great and all the fish and nem are happy. My monti is the only sps that seems to grow. All others just remain the same or some actually die. I thought adding that reactor would get my nitrates in check and help the situation as I probably wont change my feeding or my husbandry. I feel 50 gallons a month wc is more than adequate for a tank this size and any more would just be a waste of salt. As far as feeding, My fish all get along really well and I would like to keep it this way. They are breeding and all seem really happy so I don't want to mess that up.

Heres a few photos to show what I mean.

I run radions 14k setting at its peak. Lights are on for about 12 hours total with 3.5 ramp up and ramp down. I have 7 fish total:
Powder brow tang
yellow tang
6 line
2 tomato clowns
and 2 blue reef chromis

I feed a varied diet
1/4 sheet nore/day
3x per week LRF herbivore blend
2x per week LRF with blackworms
2x per week Live blackworms
Once a week I add about 1/2 teaspoon af live hatched brine shrimp
and twice a week I put in some reef chili

My nitrates have been slowly creeping up over the last 6 months and even moreso since I added the powder brown which was the last fish I put in. I thought getting the nitrate reactor would counter this, any suggestions?

jaws789832 · Jun 4, 2016

No one has tried it huh? Weird, seems to be all the craze. Even Marine depot did a video on it recently

tj w · Sep 18, 2016

Have you tried it yet? I know this thread is a few months old but I'm looking into it as well because I'm having the same issues you described. My nitrates are over 100 right now.

locito277 · Sep 18, 2016

I'm adding one to my set up. From the research I've been doing it has to cycle in the reactor. You won't see change for about two months. Once it's running you may have to find a way to add nutrients as it does a very good job at reducing nitrates. The Koralin denitrator I purchased supposedly
Does not require feeding the bacteria. Others do require feeding

hope this helps until someone with first hand experience chimes in.

tj w · Sep 18, 2016

Thanks for sharing, I look forward to watching to see how it works for you. I may go ahead and order one as well.

greg 45 · Sep 18, 2016

I have also been in the heavy feeding club. Nitrate's were blood red on the test's. With a 1200 gallon system bio pellets clouded the tank water changes useless . After the bio pellet crash I spoke to Bill Wann from Aquarium engineering and we went over the issue at hand. I ordered a sulfur reactor from his company. To say the least we built a relationship and purchased some extra equipment. IMO sulfur isn't violent as pellets they kick in and kill. Sulfur on the other hand is there for the long haul with no drama. Like stated above I feed heavy and have the reactor to keep me under 10 yes I can get to zero but I like some room for error.
Happy Reefing Greg

tj w · Sep 18, 2016

My lfs guy just told me I'd be better off with biopellets. I'm kinda torn. He said the risk isn't worth it with the denitrator reactor. Not sure what he means. I'm still going to do plenty of research and see.

locito277 · Sep 18, 2016

Does the LFS carry the Denitrator? Maybe his profit is less on that than the biopellets. Haven't really heard any horror stories as of yet with the denitrator

Dumaurier7 · Sep 18, 2016

I use a Korallin de-nitrate, with 10 fishes my nitrates are undetectable .

nitrodude · Sep 18, 2016

I have a 400g shark/fish only tank.
I feed handfulls of raw shrimp at a time.

Needless to say, nitrates are always a problem.

I setup a large calcium reactor converted to a sulfur reactor a couple months ago and theres already been a large decline of nitrates. They are still high but much lower then when i started.
I used a gallon of sulfur media and a couple cups worth of pond matrix on top of that for bacteria to colonize. The reactors effluent then goes to arm media in another chamber to try and raise the ph back up some before going back to the tank.

Key is to set it up and leave it at a slow drip for a couple weeks without messing with it. Then sloooowly turn the drip rate up.

This however, wont do anything for phosphates. You will need to run gfo to get that down or biopellets, or carbon dosing, etc.

Palmetto Reefer · Oct 25, 2016

Jaw789832,
We have very similar systems...I have a 135 gal. DSA mixed reef which I setup last January. I have been reefing for a decade and this was my third upgrade as I started with a 55 gal., then 90 gal., and now the 135 gal. My 55 gal. ran bio-balls which lead to nitrates in the 30-50 range. On my 90 gal. I tried bio-pellets but could never get my nitrates below 10-20. On my current setup I wanted to get a ULNS so that I could try my hand at SPS. I set up a Skmiz Calcium Reactor as a Sulfur Nitrate Reactor about 6-7 months ago. I tested my water this past Sunday 10/23/16 and my parameters were:
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 3 (NYOS Test Kit)
nitrate 5 (Red Sea Test Kit)
nitrate effluent from reactor 0 (NYOS Test Kit)
phosphate 0.025 (NYOS Test Kit)
alk 8.4 (NYOS Test Kit)
alk 8.3 (Hanna Checker)
calcium 430
mag 1320
ph 8.4
temp 77.0-77.5

The Skimz calcium reactor was very easy to set up as a Sulfur Nitrate Reactor (just look at the manuals for each and it's easy to figure out). Skimz Nitrate Reactor is the same as their calcium reactor less a few pieces-n-parts. It hasn't been a set-it & forget-it reactor as everyone told me it would be. You constantly need to monitor and adjust (if necessary) the effluent drip rate. Don't misunderstand me, it isn't a huge deal, but it is something that needs constant monitoring and adjustment. I usually check mine daily when I feed. I seem to have mine "Dialed In" as my nitrates have been holding below 5 for 4-5 months now. During that timeframe I had the following fish bio-load: 1 - anularus angel, 1 - clown tang, 1 - naso blonde tang, 1 - yellow tang, 1 - blue hippo tang, 2 - clownfish, 1 - four line wrasse. I feed daily and heavily (1/2 sheet of nori, some flake & pellet daily). I have just recently reduce my fish bio-load as I plan on changing/adding some different fish. I gave away the blonde naso,, blue hippo, and yellow tang. I have always been able to maintain softies, LPS, zoas, and some sps (like monti).

I am currently running Seachem Phosguard & Matrix Carbon in a reactor. I have previously run Rowaphos, Bulk Reef GFO & ROX.8 Carbon also, but I like the fact that the Seachem products are spheres which tumble better for me in a reactor, and there also not a messy as Rowaphos or GFO.

The only issue I have with my Sulfur Denitrator is the smell. It wasn't initially noticeable, but recently it has become more noticeable to the point that I am considering switching to Red Sea's NO3PO4-x simply because my setup is in my bonus room and the smell (think egg salad sandwich) is beginning to be distracting. I am truly torn though because the Sulfur Denitrator has been very effective at controlling my nitrates to the point that I was just about to start adding some SPS. If you want something that definitely works at reducing nitrates, I can definitely say a Sulfur Denitrator will work.