Media reactor vs sulfur reactor

[MICU murse]

I have been battling high nitrates for a while now and my research has led me to sulfur reactors. My question is one derived from laziness and cheapness. Can I use an all purpose media reactor as a sulfur reactor? I recognize sulfur reactors require low flow, i have a t on my return pump with a ball valve, would it be possible to just add one there and only allow a few drops a second through that? There may be some additional component I'm unaware of in a sulfur reactor that prevents this from working. I know some recirculate and that improves their efficiency, but I don't have a particularly high nutrient import rate. If I could use a regular media reactor instead of a sulfur reactor it would save me a lot of money. anybody tried this before or have any insight?

 

[Pife]

I've tried it with out success. I'd just carbon dose to get them lower if they aren't climbing now.

 

[MICU murse]

Ya, I started dosing with vodka a few weeks ago. I've just been slow in my increase for fear of throwing the system out of balance. I'm new so I'm trying me best not to ruin everything haha. No decrease yet, maybe I should be slightly more aggressive in my dosing given there has been no change positive or negative.
When u tried a sulfur reactor did you use a true sulfur reactor or did you use a regular media reactor? How long did you use it, all that good stuff?

 

[MICU murse]

I've tried it with out success. I'd just carbon dose to get them lower if they aren't climbing now.

Meant to hit reply, previous comment aimed at you. Thanks for the quick response.

 

[Pife]

I've tried both types of reactors. The media reactor one wouldn't work. I did use a nice recirculating geo one that worked well but I don't think they are a good way to maintain nitrates anymore. I used it for a year or so.

 

[MICU murse]

What do you recommend? I'm using a protein skimmer rated for 2x my tank size, chaeto and dragons breath, and I bough more filter socks recently and I'm changing them everyday to every other day. I've got xport bio and xport no3 media from brightwell in mesh bags in a low flow area of my sump and I have a moderate amount of live rock in the DT and sump. I'm always open to suggestions, especially those coming from reef2reef and its patrons.

 

[HM3105]

What do you recommend? I'm using a protein skimmer rated for 2x my tank size, chaeto and dragons breath, and I bough more filter socks recently and I'm changing them everyday to every other day. I've got xport bio and xport no3 media from brightwell in mesh bags in a low flow area of my sump and I have a moderate amount of live rock in the DT and sump. I'm always open to suggestions, especially those coming from reef2reef and its patrons.

May I ask how old the tank is?

How high are your nitrates ?

On the fuge, what is your light like and how long do you run it ?

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

There is a pretty good recent thread on sulfur denitrators here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-sulfur-denitrator-working-great.316251/

I highly recommend them and mine works great.

I think the recirculation is likely crucial (not just an efficiency improver), so a regular media reactor may not work.

 

[MICU murse]

May I ask how old the tank is?

How high are your nitrates ?

On the fuge, what is your light like and how long do you run it ?

My tank is only 6 or 8 months old and my nitrates are bouncing b/t 60 and 80 as of late. My fuge uses a SANSI BR30 25W (5k 25 watt led) and it runs about 10 or 12 hours per day. I only recently added chaeto, before all I had was dragons breath macro algae but it seemed too slow growing.

 

[MICU murse]

There is a pretty good recent thread on sulfur denitrators here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-sulfur-denitrator-working-great.316251/

I highly recommend them and mine works great.

I think the recirculation is likely crucial (not just an efficiency improver), so a regular media reactor may not work.

Do you think if I made a diy media reactor I could just slow the flow rate way down and make my own baffles and achieve he same result as a dedicated sulfur reactor? It seems to me like it would have the same effect, but I have no experience with them so I'm not sure if there is some preventative factor in unaware of. I'm definitely leaning towards running one.

 

[ReeferBud]

I've tried both types of reactors. The media reactor one wouldn't work. I did use a nice recirculating geo one that worked well but I don't think they are a good way to maintain nitrates anymore. I used it for a year or so.

@Pife : I'm curious, why don't you think they're a good way to maintain nitrates anymore?