Comments: Regarding a previous comment that it doesnt work - you mentioned you needed to clean the media freq. This is why it didnt work to reduce nitrates. Once setup, you dont open the reactor + expose it to oxygen. If you do, you kill the anaerobic bacteria (which reduce the nitrates). If the media was full of algae + waste - your drip rate was too low for too long. Adjusting the drip rate is essential until the reactor is fully colonized (4-6 weeks). Once colonized, you can speed up the drip rate + you dont have to adjust it much anymore (set + forget, well sort of). However, always check its output for nitrates, pH, Alk, and Ca since they are affected.