Large aquaripure needs restart?

John... I have a large Aquaripure denitrator that I need help getting back on line.

History--I have a 135 gallon mixed reef with hair algae outbreak. 45 gallon sump. I purchased your denitrator (large) approximately 3 years ago, it cycled in about 6 weeks and has worked fantastic up until about 6 months ago.

My tank has about 175 pounds of live rock, 2 inch sand bed, PO4--0, pH--8.3, SP GR 1.0255, TEMP, 78.5, mg 1250, super skimmer

10% water change every week, Ca 440-500, dKH 10.5, Ca reactor, drip kalk, Metal halide and actinics.

I have only missed one dose (15ml) vodka per week, in 3 years.

My nitrates are ~25 in tank and ~25 effluent from denitrator.

I don't overfeed and have 8 fish, corals in tank.

I have bio-balls (they are coming out today).

There are been a very strong sulfur smell from tube the last 6 months. The exit tube weekly gets clogged and I blow it out (not back into unit.) My family smells the sulfur when they enter room.

I fear I have had the flow rate too slow (2-3 drops per second) which may have failed to give bacteria sufficient nitrates to work on. I have reread all your literature and, yes, it appears I should have 6 or more drops per second running. How do I get it eating nitrates again?

What has happened and how do I fix it? Help!!

I too am curious. I have had mine for only two weeks. I have adjusted the flow and maintained it to 1/2 once per 18 seconds. I find that I have to adjust at least twice a day!!!! Suppose to be every couple of days. The effluent is exactly the same as the water going in. From what I can tell there is absolutly no differnce!! I hope I have not wasted $300.00!!!!!!!!! I am injecting 15 ML of vodka every 4 days. sg 1.026, ph 8.3, nitrate 30, ca 450, mg 1350, DKH 8.4, phosfate 0, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, temp 78 F. 120 gal reef w 40 gal sump 175 lbs of live rock 1 inch of argonite in main tank. 2x 250 watt MH 20k 2x 65 watt Blue Actinics, 2x 65 watt 50/50s

turk--I would not worry--2 weeks is way TOO early for denitrator to have cycled...you could easily have to wait 2 months, but it is worth it...my problem is I depended too much on "don't worry...denitrator will automatically take care of it" mentality. Adjustments...check every morning and forget it...it will vary in its output daily and you can sit all day and watch it...

Coralreefer, Have you heard anything from John about your Re-Start?

I e-mailed this customer back the day he e-mailed me. I just didn't get the forum message right away.

NOTE: the coat hanger trick ONLY applies to the older solid acrylic models. On the newer canister style models this is NOT an issue.

"Well, I believe you can easily get it back on track. It seems that the flow got a bit clogged and has been running too slow. This would cause the odor and poorer performance. Once fixed you shouldn't have any problems.

Do the following, "If you are following the directions to adjust the denitrator correctly it should always be able to get a strong flow when the flow valve is wide open. It is important to open the flow valve completely and then immediately decrease the flow to the correct rate each time you adjust it (every 2-3 days.) Bacteria can build up in the narrow tubing and this will clear out the tubing and valve of any bacterial build up. It will also let you accurately gauge the flow since when you check the flow rate the end of the outflow tube may be partially empty giving the appearance that the flow rate is less than it actually is.If the outflow has completely stopped even when the flow control valve is wide open then the outflow tubing and flow valve needs to be cleaned. Simply unscrew the outflow tubing and flow control valve and rinse it in hot water and blow on it until it is cleared. If that still doesn't clear it you can take a wire coat hanger and push it down into the outflow a few inches. Just make sure to do this to the outflow only and not the inflow. Also be careful not to lose any of the little pieces when you unscrew the outflow tube."


Again make sure you do the coat hanger thing!!!!


Let me know if you have any questions."

And Turk86 ... DO NOT adjust the flow rate more than daily as per the manual. It is OK for is to slow down a lot, especially at first. This WILL help it cycle.

Hi, I have 125 gallon saltwater reef and fish tank. I've had the aquriupure for almost 3 years now but, stop using it when my pump broke. It was on stand by for over a year with all the remaining fluid in the aquariupure. I recently bought a new pump and I want to restart the aquaripure. What should I do to get it back going again?

I presume you mean the Aquaripure pump broke? If so I would recommend you get the replacement pump and also the bacterial culture found on the other products page Other Products

It would have been better if you emptied and dried out the Aquaripure but if it has been sitting stagnant for a year then you can empty it out and then rinsed it out. After you rinse it out for a while it will be ok to hook it back up as long as there are no very bad odors from it. If it has been dormant for a year then it shouldn't be a problem.

The only problem can arise if its been completely dormant for 1-3 months and it has not been emptied out and dried. In those cases unusual bacteria can build up and when it is quickly rinsed out they will die causing very strange and foul odors. Not like rotten eggs or sewage but more like death, a bacterial death.

Just keep a nose out for any strange bacterial death stench but if you do not smell that then it's fine. If it's been a year then it should not be a problem, I am just addressing this for other customers. The bacteria in your unit will be long dead so that's why replacement bacterial culture will help speed things along. If you empty and dry out the Aquaripure then this eliminates any potential issue with bad bacteria dying in the Aquaripure.

Thanks John for the quick reply. I've rinsed out the aquaripure under running water in my bathtub for more than 6 hours. The first 3 hours of rinsing, a foul smell of rotten eggs (sulfur) stanked up half of the house. The next couple of hours the smell went away. Went to work got home and rinsed it up again but i can still smell a little bit of sulfur. I guess i have to keep rinsing untill the smell of sulfur is gone. My next question is, once the smell is gone how do I epmty out the remaining water in the aquaripure? Do I just tip if over upside down? I have the older acrylic system. That thing is very heavy once filled, i hope i dont damage anything internally. Can i restart dosing the system with vodka instead of the bacterial culture that you sell? Thanks again for your help.

A little sulfur smell is ok, that's not what is the main concern. That is why you rinse it out though. If you smelled an awful death smell then you would want to dry it out for a couple of weeks as well as rinse it out. From what you describe you do not have this, if you did you would immediately know it. You just tip it over in a tub to empty it. Internally there is not much to be damaged in it, the weight is all water and it can handle it internally. Just be careful not to drop it or hurt yourself picking it up, etc.

It will cycle without the bacteria and just using vodka but it will be a lot faster with the bacteria. It will take about 8-12 weeks to cycle without the bacteria and the bacteria will generally cut that time in half.

Thank you soo much for the advise. When you say "dry it out", how would i do that? I cannot open the system? I'm sure if I drain the water upside down there will be water left in there. Just to be in the safe side. I will dry it out anyways for a couple of weeks and then rinse it out just in case there was any harmful bacterial that would cause death to my existing fish and corals? My tank is fully stocked right now and my nitrate is at 30-40 up and down. I've been doing a 10 percent water change once a week for the last 6 months but, i want to lower my nitrate down to 20 that's why i want to re start the aquaripure. Thanks again!