I just purchased a reactor for an experiment on nitrate reduction in freshwater aquaria. I got the idea from tweetyfish(Thanks). I have read that this can strip the tank of all the bacteria so it will be a long process. I am gonna start off with little flow and record. Once I see a pattern in numbers I can restrict or increase flow to adjust the levels in the tank. Video is uploading of the set up. To be continued.................

Here is the video! tweetyfish let me know what you think.

http://s1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee460/flippercon/?action=view&current=00050.mp4

Okay just took my water readings and I am a bit surprised on the levels

PH 7.6
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 40ppm
I think its from feeding veggies overnight and not removing it the next morning. I have been slacking on that end and it shows. The high nitrates will help me in the flow ratio and amount of media in the reactor. I am for the first time going to skip a 50% water change this week so I can better judge the levels as they drop or if they rise. I hope my fishies forgive me.

The title makes me think of something out of star trek.

I agree - the higher end nitrate readings will make your evaluation easier. You'll see the results more readily. I think your fishies will definitely forgive you! I'm quite intrigued by this and am eager to see how it goes with your setup. Thank you for sharing!

Movement of the media looks ok. You should see better movement in a few days after the media stops sticking together.
You will not see any reduction in NO3 for a few weeks while the bacteria gets established. So you might want to continue with your current water change schedule until you see the nitrates start to drop on their own.

Sorry if I missed it but what size system and how much media are you using?

What size tank-water volume?

Sorry I was editing while you were typing. The tank is a 125 with a Fx5 and the sump that does 600 gph. The water in the sump is filled to the max which is roughly 25gallons. So volume I would say 140-150g.

This is just my opinion but I think you wili need a bigger reactor with about 500ml to start on that much water volume. Thats what I did with my 180gal. Then I added another 500ml after about 4 weeks. I usually go bigger on most things.
You might get by with what you are using to start with to get the bacteria established but I don't know if you will see any real reduction of nitrates using that small amount of pellets.
Look foward to seeing what happens.

Of course if you tank is lightly stocked you might be ok with that amount. I tend to feed my fish to often.

Well I was being cautious because I heard it can completly strip all bacteria and phosphate from the tank. I don't want to eliminate it which the media does. It's funny I use to wait for nitrate levels to rise and now its the opposite. I am gonna do another water change this afternoon when I get off. I will detest Saturday morning and post the results. Have about 300ml of the media left and plenty of space In the reactor. I saw another type of reactor that had three hook ups to it. It basically looped the pump from sump and had a return with a valve to control the amount of water leaving the reactor. I am going to look for a bigger reactor. If anyone knows of good deals please let me know.

Never heard about stripping bacteria from an existing system. Just growing a different kind of bacteria that use NO3 and PO4 to complete their cycle.
I will try and find some better information about how they export nitrates and post a link. If it's ok to post links on this forum.