Well at (5) litres capacity how fast would you recommend I run the effluent
and what feeding schedule for vodka only
and what feeding schedule for vodka only
Deltec Nitrate Reactor
- Thread starter Just Toby
- Start date
ar0wan;4585582; said:
The vodka needs to be a mix of 75% pure RO with no mineralisation added and then 25% Vodka.
All of the units, no matter what volume, seem to suggest 4ml in the a.m. and 4 ml in the evening as a starting dose and no new water feed for the first 3 days but keeping the circulation pump running and keep the dosing level the same. Then on the 4th day you need 1 drip effluent back to the tank per 3 seconds and leave like that for 2-3 days and then increase te drip rate back to the tank by no more than 25% increments....any more and the higher oxygented water will crach the system.
You keep testing the drips and if nitrate free you can increase the rate a little and then leave for 3 days.
I have just upped my vodka dose by en extra ml in the evening and this has dropped the redox right down and made the drips milky which is a sign of low redox, I am now upping the drips to maintain a steady redox.
The level of vodka mix dose is 11ml for 1.5 litres per hour but it is a bit test and see.
The deltec site has brilliant pdfs to help you.
I hope all of this makes sense.
My tank is now at a steady 25ppm and the reactor is not even recording on the various nitrate test kits I use (salifert brand new included) I think the tank will reach 5 ppm in a few weeks as the drip rate is rising all the time.
Just an update.
The water out of the deltec is now at full flow and the water coming out is always 0ppm. It has been a long journey to balance this.
The ph has dropped to 7.5 in the tank from 7.8 average and this is due to the low ph coming out ofnthe deltec. I have an aquatronica monitoring this with visual and audible alarms in case it drops more.
I had to miss 10 days of water change due to a frozen drain on the tank and happily the nitrate did not go above 40ppm. I am now back to water changes and auto changes and I hope that I will now hit a constant 10-20ppm.
The water out of the deltec is now at full flow and the water coming out is always 0ppm. It has been a long journey to balance this.
The ph has dropped to 7.5 in the tank from 7.8 average and this is due to the low ph coming out ofnthe deltec. I have an aquatronica monitoring this with visual and audible alarms in case it drops more.
I had to miss 10 days of water change due to a frozen drain on the tank and happily the nitrate did not go above 40ppm. I am now back to water changes and auto changes and I hope that I will now hit a constant 10-20ppm.
Very cool, Sounds like it may be a bit too involved for me but something to keep in my mind for the future
It is a bit of a faff to set up and get running but once stable they are ok, it is quite expensive and they take a bit of room up but low nitrates to me are well worth it.
Just Toby;4576503; said:
The above the tank algae scrubber is doing really well. It is oversized for the tank so it does not seem to be growing the massive amount of algae the way the other one pictured is. I think there is not enough food for the algae as the nitrate levels have been almost not noticeable (below 5ppm) and the water is cleared up significant. I thought the tank was pretty clear before I put the scrubber on it, but it is really crystal clear now.
The cool thing is, the only issue I WAS having with the scrubber being above the tank is, it was making the water look greenish (because of the algae and light), but since the algae has covered the surface of the scrubber stream, the light from the scrubber is not getting to the tank so it is not making the tank look green anymore.
Overall, I am really happy with the results that I am getting from my algae scrubbers and I have not done a water change on either tank in quite some time.
I will say that they do increase water evaporation. I have not built an enclosed scrubber yet (that will be the next project) but I think that will greatly decrease the evaporation problem. I could see how it could be a problem in a completely enclosed stand.
If I build the fish house then the monster tank will run a scrubber....I just cannot think of how to run a neat and quiet one without evaporation problems in my oak stand (it has the biggest sump for the size of cabinet and there is literally no room under the tank.
I have been thinking of having a new hood built that would allow pothos to grow out, tunze make a nice box for growing mangroves in and that would adapt well "google for tunze stick in a box"....I think 3 of those neatly in the lid would be a good addition.
I have been thinking of having a new hood built that would allow pothos to grow out, tunze make a nice box for growing mangroves in and that would adapt well "google for tunze stick in a box"....I think 3 of those neatly in the lid would be a good addition.
