I am one of those hobbyists who has always struggled with high nitrate levels (50ppm or higher). I have gone through 7 tank upgrades and/or additions and I have struggled with this in ALL of them. While there are plenty of hobbyists whose tanks thrive at these levels, and plenty of claims that its "just a number", I am forever trying to get my levels down. If there has been a recommendation, I have tried it! My latest quest to lower my nitrate level has brought me to discover a little doo-dad called a Sulfur Denitrator ( Sulfur nitrate reactors. ).
"Sulphur based nitrate reactors implement a process called autotrophic sulfur denitrification. For over 10 years this process has been used to remove excess nitrate from fresh drinking water. Bacteria such as Thiobacillus denitrificans and Thiomicrospira denitrificans inhabit the reactor, under anoxic conditions. Here they oxidize reduced sulfur to sulfate, while reducing nitrate to liberate the oxygen for their own use. These bacteria use residual co2 within the water as their carbon source, so they don’t need constant dosing. This process was applied to seawater on a mass scale in 1994, when French chemist Marc Langouet proposed the idea to the curator of Musée des Arts Africains et Océaniens in Paris (MAAO). Langouet had spent three years testing the method on his own home marine aquariums, and after a broad range of testing at MAAO, the method was put into place as an effective way to rid marine water of nitrate.
Sulfur nitrate reactors use small beads of elemental sulfur in a contact chamber. Water is introduced at the bottom of the chamber very slowly, exiting at the top. As the water slowly rises, oxygen is removed, making the water anaerobic farther up in the contact chamber. At this point, bacteria will use nitrate in the absence of oxygen and by the time the water exits the reactor, most of the nitrate has been removed. The downside to this chemical reaction is that hydrogen ions are released, which makes the seawater more acidic. Most sulfur reactors pass water over crushed coral before returning it to the tank, as the acidic water dissolves the crushed coral and replenishes ph and calcium. Since sulfate is another bi-product of the chemical reaction within the reactor, crushed coral also absorbs this and removes it before water re-enters the aquarium."
After doing some more reading up on this, I think I may give it a shot.
Has anyone else tried this? What was your experience?
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"Sulphur based nitrate reactors implement a process called autotrophic sulfur denitrification. For over 10 years this process has been used to remove excess nitrate from fresh drinking water. Bacteria such as Thiobacillus denitrificans and Thiomicrospira denitrificans inhabit the reactor, under anoxic conditions. Here they oxidize reduced sulfur to sulfate, while reducing nitrate to liberate the oxygen for their own use. These bacteria use residual co2 within the water as their carbon source, so they don’t need constant dosing. This process was applied to seawater on a mass scale in 1994, when French chemist Marc Langouet proposed the idea to the curator of Musée des Arts Africains et Océaniens in Paris (MAAO). Langouet had spent three years testing the method on his own home marine aquariums, and after a broad range of testing at MAAO, the method was put into place as an effective way to rid marine water of nitrate.
Sulfur nitrate reactors use small beads of elemental sulfur in a contact chamber. Water is introduced at the bottom of the chamber very slowly, exiting at the top. As the water slowly rises, oxygen is removed, making the water anaerobic farther up in the contact chamber. At this point, bacteria will use nitrate in the absence of oxygen and by the time the water exits the reactor, most of the nitrate has been removed. The downside to this chemical reaction is that hydrogen ions are released, which makes the seawater more acidic. Most sulfur reactors pass water over crushed coral before returning it to the tank, as the acidic water dissolves the crushed coral and replenishes ph and calcium. Since sulfate is another bi-product of the chemical reaction within the reactor, crushed coral also absorbs this and removes it before water re-enters the aquarium."
After doing some more reading up on this, I think I may give it a shot.
Has anyone else tried this? What was your experience?
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk