Just got a korallin biodenitrator, will track results here

This is from yesterday 8-26-12 at 11:00 am
First photo is from the drip


This next photo is from the tank


First time using salifert test kits. I did not test PH yesterday.

 

You are going to love those test kits. I use them all the time. Keep us posted on the progress.

 

This is the test results from today at 4:30 pm from the drip only
I decided to just follow the drip until it is at zero, then I will test the tank water as well.

 

Looking good Robwerden. Hopefully you'll start seeing effluent nitrates lower than the tank nitrates.

As soon as the effluent nitrates is 0 SLOWLY increase the effluent rate. When increasing the flow rate, you can get by just checking nitrates. If they are still 0 the next day you can continue increasing the flowrate. If there is a slight increase in nitrates, just let it be and it should catch up.

Do you have to vent the reactor daily? If so, keep on top of it. When it's time to increase the flow, the build up of air in the reactor will lessen.

 

So far there has not been much air buildup in the reactor chamber. I keep an eye on it though. Nitrites dropped a good bit from my last test, so I think reaction has begun. Ill be testing tomorrow, so we will see if there is more drop.

What freaked me out was the high nitrates being pump out. That to has slightly lowered as well. I only slightly understand the nitrate cycle, so I may have freaked out for no reason.

 

The biodenitrator has to cycle. Like I mentioned earlier, the pain is starting it up. Just like biopellets, it takes a few weeks to cycle/break in. Just like everything else in this hobby, patience is best ;D

Don't worry too much about the effluent nitrates as you are at a very slow rate (probably still at 2-3 drops a second). Plus, looking at your pictures, the effluent nitrates are at least now the same as the tank nitrates.

Biodenitrators work with anaerobic bacteria. It's not necessary but I was running mine with an ORP probe. I'll try to find the post from another forum if you want but there was an "ideal" negative ORP to run. I want to say it was -170 and range being -100 to -250. I think if you go beyond -250 you get more hydrogen sulfide and that rotten egg smell. I was trying to run an additional feed pump on my ReefKeeper to increase flow if ORP fell below -250. It was more hassle then help ;D So, I just depended on nitrate readings coming out of the reactor.

 

Todays result on Nitrite from the drip It seems like it is definitely lower each test.

 

Tested this morning from the drip.
The reactor water inside the chamber had quite a bit of cloudiness to it this morning where before it was clear. There was also 1/4 " air pocket at the top. So something is happening.
I tested from the drip No2 and No3 this time. The No2 looks like it is at 0.5 and the No3 looks like it is about 50
According to the directions, at this point 1 week in, I am supposed to reduce the drip to 1 drop every 2 seconds and then measure again in 24 hours to see if the No2 is zero and the No3 in the tank is higher than the No3 from the drip. This crucial test will determine if the reactor is removing No3. So tomorrow we will see if the results show our first reduction in No3.

 

is this similar to the aquapure denitrator? Just curious since I have never seen one of these in operation, just online videos.

 

From what I know, the Aquapure and the biodenitrator work completely differently from each other. The difference is, the aquapure must be maintained over the long run by buying and injecting biological liquids of some sort to maintain the bacterial colony that denitrifies the water. The biodenitrator is supposed to work for 2 years before the media must be replaced.