fishiefish Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 http://cgi.ebay.com/Denitrator-Calcium-Reactor-and-Phosphate_W0QQitemZ200227409264QQihZ010QQcategoryZ46310QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem do any of you know about these or have any experience with them, so much cheaper than a reactor if it works(scratch)......would love some .02 on this.thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I know that there are people that have more experience at theses than i do but I am not sure this works as stated. One of the key ingredients for a de-nitrator is the lack of oxygen & slow drip rate needed for the anerobic ( i hope that is right) bacteria to break down the nitrates. The unit appears to have an open top & by the looks of it would flow way too much water to perform correctly. Just my .02 Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreenthumb Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I know that there are people that have more experience at theses than i do but I am not sure this works as stated. One of the key ingredients for a de-nitrator is the lack of oxygen & slow drip rate needed for the anerobic ( i hope that is right) bacteria to break down the nitrates. The unit appears to have an open top & by the looks of it would flow way too much water to perform correctly. Just my .02 Dave I use a biodenitrator and I couldn't have put it better myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 For the record I have never used a Ca reactor, so I know very little about them. Denitrators, well, I know a bit about and IME that thing is a rip off. Even for the very not so handy DIYer's you can make something that is better for a ridicoulsly low cost. I made mine out of a 2 liter bottle, a Rio 90, some airline hose, and a large jar of Seachems denitrator. Basically I used the venturi attachment with the Rio to pump a small amount of water through the airhose. I drilled a small hole in the screw top of the 2 liter bottle just large enough for the airline. Then I fed the airline through the hole so it reached the bottom of the bottle, and used superglue to seal it water tight.. The I filled the bottle with the media and screwed the top back on. The I used a hot nail and poked some holes in the top of the bottle. The pump pumps water to the bottom of the container so the water flows through the media and then out the holes in the top. Worked like a charm. Total cost was less then $30 not including the media. When it came time to change out the media, every 6 months or so for me, I would reuse the top and just get another 2 liter bottle of pop. If you are more handy you can use an acrylic tube and plumb in a pump to circulate the water in the tube the same way it would in a recirculating skimmer. IME flow through the reactor moving the media is not detrimental, however you do not want a large amount of water moving through the reactor if that makes sense. I don't use the reactor anymore, these days I just use a packet of sugar every few days, but if you want a reactor. . . IMO it is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 2, 2008 Author Share Posted June 2, 2008 what? a packet of sugar? I was following along great till you threw that at me...lol your going to need to explain to me how a packet of sugar is replacing a reactor...what size tank you have? thank so much for your inputs guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 a little sugar in your tank will reduce your nitrates over night. Add too much your tank will get foggy but even just a pinch will reduce your nitrates. It is a carbon source for the bacteria, so the bacteria go nuts and "Eat" the nitrates. TOo much though and you get a bacteria bloom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishiefish Posted June 2, 2008 Author Share Posted June 2, 2008 wow I'm in awe of the wisdom...thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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