Nitrate removal in 500gal reeftank?

rgsa8892 · 07/04/2018, 09:31 AM

Looking to setup a 500 gal reef with a heavy fish load and wanted to get ideas for nitrate removal without changing water every week. My last setup was 360gal and 120gal plumbed together with nitrate reactor but either the reactor was too small or i didn't have it tuned right cause it couldn't keep up it was 4" pvc about 5ft tall
Been out of the hobby a few years and out of the loop but getting ready to jump back in.

nematode · 07/04/2018, 11:52 AM

I,d try Donovan’s nitrate destroyer
Worked wonders for my 500 g system that had very high nitrates
Search for the tread with that title

Simple to set up worked very well

hkgar · 07/04/2018, 01:41 PM

i assume you are skimming? You might want to consider carbon dosing. It will take awhile to build the dose to levels necessary for control in that large of a system.

It can be done with either vodka or vinegar. Do some searching.

bertoni · 07/04/2018, 02:18 PM

There are a number of DIY nitrate reactors available. I'm not sure how big one would need to be, but a coil denitrator should be practical, and sulfur reactors will work, too, although they consume some alkalinity.

A lot of people seem to be successful with vinegar dosing. It can be automated and seems fairly safe if dosed at a reasonable rate. This is the other approach I'd consider as a starting point.

josephxsxn · 07/04/2018, 03:20 PM

Sulfur reactor all the way.

I built my own for about $150 and I consider it one of the best choices I have made reefing. My nitrates were over 50ppm when I started it and today they are always sub 2ppm; when the reactor matured water going in was 50+ and coming out of the effulent read 0ppm. I do feed heavly so it's never gone unreadable. It does consume alk, I do about 2ml more alk then cal when using 2 part. And it could supress your PH some, the effulent on my reactor is under 7.6 PH but the rate of flow is so low that it's not really an issue.

I tried vodka dosing for months and all I got was lots of cyno.

nematode · 07/04/2018, 04:46 PM

The donovan nitrate gadget is basically carbon dosing, but dosing it into an anerobic environment so that the nitrate removal is much more efficient.
I was able to drop the levels of nitrates in my tank from 100 ppm down to under 10 in a matter of 4 weeks by diverting the carbon dosing I was doing from going into the tank to going into the donovan's nitrate destroyer (which is basically a tube full of some lava rock or other porous material ) with an input and output flowing slowly (~ mls to liters per hr).
No sulfur required to get this to work.

rgsa8892 · 07/04/2018, 04:46 PM

Thanks for replys it will give me a good starting point

bertoni · 07/04/2018, 05:58 PM

You're welcome. Good luck!

07/04/2018, 09:31 AM	#1
rgsa8892 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: bethel park PA Posts: 186	Nitrate removal in 500gal reeftank? Looking to setup a 500 gal reef with a heavy fish load and wanted to get ideas for nitrate removal without changing water every week. My last setup was 360gal and 120gal plumbed together with nitrate reactor but either the reactor was too small or i didn't have it tuned right cause it couldn't keep up it was 4" pvc about 5ft tall Been out of the hobby a few years and out of the loop but getting ready to jump back in. __________________ "always buy the best and you'll never be disappointed" Current Tank Info: 120 reef and 360 FOWLR

07/04/2018, 01:41 PM	#3
hkgar Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Dewitt MI Posts: 5,051	i assume you are skimming? You might want to consider carbon dosing. It will take awhile to build the dose to levels necessary for control in that large of a system. It can be done with either vodka or vinegar. Do some searching. __________________ Gary 180 gallon, 40 gallon sump, 3 250 W MH + 4 80W ATI T5's, MTC MVX 36 Skimmer, Apex controller Aquamaxx T-3 CaRx Current Tank Info: A 2 Barred Rabbitfish, Red Head Salon, Yellow/Purple, McMaster Fairy, Possum, 2 Leopard Wrasses, Kole, & Atlantic Blue Tangs, 2 Percula Clown, 3 PJ and 1 Banggai Cardinalfish , Swallowtail, Bellus and Coral Beauty Angels

07/04/2018, 02:18 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	There are a number of DIY nitrate reactors available. I'm not sure how big one would need to be, but a coil denitrator should be practical, and sulfur reactors will work, too, although they consume some alkalinity. A lot of people seem to be successful with vinegar dosing. It can be automated and seems fairly safe if dosed at a reasonable rate. This is the other approach I'd consider as a starting point. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/04/2018, 04:46 PM	#7
rgsa8892 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: bethel park PA Posts: 186	Thanks for replys it will give me a good starting point __________________ "always buy the best and you'll never be disappointed" Current Tank Info: 120 reef and 360 FOWLR

07/04/2018, 05:58 PM	#8
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	You're welcome. Good luck! __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/04/2018, 11:52 AM	#2
nematode Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Saint Louis Posts: 720	I,d try Donovan’s nitrate destroyer Worked wonders for my 500 g system that had very high nitrates Search for the tread with that title Simple to set up worked very well

07/04/2018, 03:20 PM	#5
josephxsxn Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: DTW, Michigan Posts: 122	Sulfur reactor all the way. I built my own for about $150 and I consider it one of the best choices I have made reefing. My nitrates were over 50ppm when I started it and today they are always sub 2ppm; when the reactor matured water going in was 50+ and coming out of the effulent read 0ppm. I do feed heavly so it's never gone unreadable. It does consume alk, I do about 2ml more alk then cal when using 2 part. And it could supress your PH some, the effulent on my reactor is under 7.6 PH but the rate of flow is so low that it's not really an issue. I tried vodka dosing for months and all I got was lots of cyno.