I am now the proud owner of 2 Nitratereductors...........I still water change all tanks once a week/every second week (depending on the aquarium) but i think they are a great addition. They keep my nitrates as low as possible in between my regular cleans.
had one of these and boy dos the gas that it makes stink
Hi Mark, the reason for your nitrate reductor smelling is because of the redox potential.
"With a redox potential control, the function of the Nitratereductor can be optimised and the reliability can be
increased.
The optimal working point of the Nitratereductor can be determined by a measurement of the redox potential.
Denitrification and redox potential
The redox potential is a parameter which can be measured electronically. The value is a measurement for the
equilibrium between reducing and oxidising reactions in the water.
The redox potential in the aquarium itself is kept at plus 200 - 400 mV (Millivolt). This high redox potential
indicates, that oxidation reactions dominate over reduction reactions. Oxidation reactions are biochemical
reactions, where a substance is oxidised, e.g. by oxigen.
A negative redox potential indicates the absence of oxigen and is lethal for most aquarium inhabitants.
The biochemical conditions in the Nitratereductor differ completely from those in the aquarium: Nitrate has to
be reduced to nitrogen gas. This is only possible if there is no oxigen dissolved in the water.
The redox potential is low or even negative. The ideal range is between -50 and -250 mV.
If it exceeds -50 mV, the denitrification reaction may stop at the nitrite stage!
If it falls below -300 mV, all the nitrate is reduced. The bacteria then start to use sulphate. This is a very
undesired process because the end product of this reaction is Hydrogensulfide. Hydrogensulfide (H2S) is toxic
and smells very strange like fouling eggs.
If a little bit of Hydrogensulfide is entering the aquarium, this is not critical. It is immidiately oxidized to
sulphate. The closed version of the Nitratereductor causes no problems with bad smell.
Control of the Nitratereductor.
The Nitratereductor can be controlled by the rate of feeding or the flow rate of water:
If the redox potential exceeds -50 mV or even gets positive, the dosage of food (Denimar tablets) can be
increased or the flow rate decreased.
If the redox potential sinks below -300 mV, the feeding can be reduced or the flow rate increased.
If you work with the Denimar tabs, you should keep the flow rate constant and vary the food supply. If you
work with Deniballs, you should vary the flow rate."
If all else fails...........Read The Manual (as boring as they are, this one is quite a good read)
, this explains why yours was smelling
Instructions here -------------->
http://www.swelluk.c...nstructions.pdf