$200, my day off, and my new diy calcium reactor!

[plomanto]

Its been a while but here is mine....I'll start dialing it in on Sat..
Thanks guys ..

[jasondaven]

I have been looking at this reactor and I am impressed. I am soon to be setting up a 180g. I am curious what volume systems people have used these reactors on. Has anyone used these on SPS specific systems?

[Chrisrush]

I am using this reactor on a 120 + mixed tank. I'm heading towards more SPS, so the demand will be higher.

Chris

[Minuteman]

Whew, took me almost a week to get through all 31 pages... I am considering bilding this reactor or just buying the Coralife 250. I like the idea of building my own, but I think for $130 the Coralife one might be even cheaper... ANybody else know anybody who's used the Coralife one?

3 other questions:

1. I'm not sure which of the internal pipe joints are glued. Obviously they can't all be glued or you would not be able to refill the media. I suppose the joint near the lid is left unglued, but is that the truth.

2. If the CO2 buildup line is put in where the red button is built into the lid and then plumbed into a T where the CO2 feeds the recirc line prior to the pump, why wouldn't the CO2 just push directly to the lid where the button was. Also, how is the CO2 buildup drawn out. Is there any suction on that line from the recirc inlet line?

3. Lastly, why would you need an internal vacuum break? How could there be enough water in here for that to be a concern, especially if the water in and out of the unit are both at the sump?

WMTasker, if you had to do it again, would you buy or build?

[sleizure]

If only I could get this filter housing in Canada!! Anyone feel like shipping one over to me?

[craby]

lbrty9,

1) I used no glue to build mine. If you are using a PVC fitting cut down to make the CO2 dispersal base plate for your standpipe, then gluing that joint is optional but not necessary for mine as it was a very tight fit & the pipe stays in place.

2) You most likely would not want to use a "T" if you install a CO2 recirculation line. Rather install (2) JG fittings just before the pump supply w/ the CO2 line from the CO2 tank after the CO2 recirculation line to keep the new CO2 from going directly to the lid. The only way to be sure that the CO2 will be drawn from the lid down to the pump inlet is w/ the use of a venturi jet as the small pump required for these reactors does not create much suction by itself.

3) The internal vacuum (siphon) break is used to prevent the reactor from draining back to the sump via the feed pump line in the event of a power termination. If the reactor were to drain, upon power reconnection the air in the reactor would cause the recirculation pump to run dry until the feed pump filled the reactor back up (not a good thing). A few other precautions to prohibit the reactor from draining are to use a check valve on the feed pump line & have the effluent line continuously submerged.

HTH
Luke C.

[craby]

BTW, I would build if I had to do it all over again. Not only for the satisfaction of saying I made it, but also the fact that you can throw this thing up against the wall, roll over it twice (not recommended) & it would still keep chugging along. These things are rugged.

[Minuteman]

Originally posted by craby
lbrty9,

1) I used no glue to build mine. If you are using a PVC fitting cut down to make the CO2 dispersal base plate for your standpipe, then gluing that joint is optional but not necessary for mine as it was a very tight fit & the pipe stays in place.

2) You most likely would not want to use a "T" if you install a CO2 recirculation line. Rather install (2) JG fittings just before the pump supply w/ the CO2 line from the CO2 tank after the CO2 recirculation line to keep the new CO2 from going directly to the lid. The only way to be sure that the CO2 will be drawn from the lid down to the pump inlet is w/ the use of a venturi jet as the small pump required for these reactors does not create much suction by itself.

3) The internal vacuum (siphon) break is used to prevent the reactor from draining back to the sump via the feed pump line in the event of a power termination. If the reactor were to drain, upon power reconnection the air in the reactor would cause the recirculation pump to run dry until the feed pump filled the reactor back up (not a good thing). A few other precautions to prohibit the reactor from draining are to use a check valve on the feed pump line & have the effluent line continuously submerged.

HTH
Luke C.

So when you refill the media, the stand pipe is left inside the housing and then as you screw the lid back on it just slides the fittings together?

On the siphon break, even if you install one, assuming the housing contains maybe a quart of water, you'd still run the pump dry upon gaining power for the amount of time it would take the feed pump to fill the water level from where the break is until it fills the entire housing. SO the net effect would be to save the dry run time from the siphon break to the bottom of the housing. How long would it take your feed pump to push that much water into the housing?

Also, isn't the "venturi" an effect rather than a piece of hardware. In this case, you'd actually be drawing a vacuum (or at least area of less pressure) at the CO2 recirc JG fitting and so the water passing by the JG fitting would in essence suck the CO2 recirc gas from the top of the lid?

Thanks for the help!

[craby]

lbrty9,
1) Yep.
2) The water recirculation loop retains water so the pump doesn't initially run dry so that it can self regenterate. The time it takes the feed pump to refill the 1st chamber is dependant on how high the siphon break hole is drilled dictating the amount of water displaced by air & also dependant on your effluent drip rate setting.
3) There is a low pressure area created around the JG fitting if you can have it extend into the recirculation loop via tapping the loop such that the JG fitting extends past the ID of the pipe or pipe fitting restricting flow. This effect might be insufficient to overcome the head pressure exerted on the CO2 trying to be drawn down by the pressure loss. This is hard to evaluate as the lid impeeds inspection of results.

[sleizure]

I just spent saturday going for a drive to the good old US of A to grab one of the housings. Lots of different stuff available than up here in Canada!

If I was not able to get a QuietOne1200 Pump - what would be a suitable replacement for it?

Cheers, Dave

[RicoJ]

daveatwinterpeg,

Have you tried Big Al's?

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/p...tegory_id=2283

[WmTasker]

Things are certainly going nuts here. I redid my reactor this week. I put the water tight cable holder on the reactor to insert my pH probe. I must say that this work great. I also removed all the ribs of the lids to stop air from getting trapped. This reactor was really easy to take apart and clean. Another good feature of this reactor.

Have I missed any good upgrades to the reactor lately? Anyone?

[WmTasker]

plomanto

Nice looking reactor

[rioreef]

The design of these units attempt to diffuse the input water and CO2 at the bottom of the canister through various means and then taking the effluient off the top.

Now while searching for commercial versions of a calcium reactor I came across some designs that looked similiar to this attempt with additional components such as sponges but, also to something else...a Phosphate Reactor!

Has anyone taken a look a these to see the potential use as a DIY calcium reactor? For the price that some are paying for the filter housing it would cover the cost of a Phos Reactor that has all the 'internal' components for diffusion. Modifications to the input and output connections...add a recirculating pump with the CO2 input mods and it looks like a calcium reactor. Add a second Phos reactor for a second chamber for additional CO2 utilization would be simple also.

Am I wrong in thinking this? Seems like a viable solution.

Chris

[CIMulation]

I was thinking the same thing!

[rioreef]

Anyone have info on the input and output fittings on Phosphate reactors? Are they intergrated into the cap or are they seperate and threaded in and at what size?

[impur]

Most of the time those PO4 reactors have a smaller body. I think it would work on smaller tanks. But you would need 2 or 3 added chambers to make it effective on a larger tank.

[TroyPierce]

Originally posted by rioreef
Anyone have info on the input and output fittings on Phosphate reactors? Are they intergrated into the cap or are they seperate and threaded in and at what size?

I have a PhosBan 150 (older style) and it has two half inch hose barbs at the top that appear to be glued in. The top is held in place with ten nylon screws.

As Impur mentions, it would be good for a nano tank but I don't think you'd get enough media to work with anything larger. As to Cost, I know they're cheaper now but I paid about $40 for it. I paid $60 or so for the larger canister so unless you have a Phasphate reactor laying around, it's not gonna save you a lot.

One of the nice things about my PhosBan Reactor is that it's a HOB. I was thinking of using it as a second stage for my Tasker CA reactor.

[rioreef]

As far as the size, Two Little Fishes Phosban Reactor is 17.5*4.5 inches. Is this not comperable in size to the filter housing people are using here?

Take a look at the deltec phosphate reactor (model FR509, page 2) and the reactor chamber of their calcium reactor (model PF509, page 2). Comparison of base models. Looks the same to me except for fittings at the top, even the size specs are the same, rate at 120 US gal. Price of a Deltec reactor prohibits it as a start point for a DIY calcium reactor though.

My point is the commercial vendors are using them.

[TroyPierce]

I measured my PhosBan 150 reactor and with the HOB 'lip', the top IS about 4 1/2 inches. As I mentioned, the newer ones may be different from mine.

The tube itself is 3 inches in diameter by 11 3/4 inches long. The whole house canister is 5 inches in diameter and 10 inches tall. The PhosBan is 83 cubic inches in volume and the other canister is 196.3 cubic inches, a little over double the volume of the PhosBan Cylinder.

The Calcium Reactor you referenced shows that this DOES work. I don't know how large a tank you can really use it on since I've never heard of this brand.

With the CA reactor I built using the whole house chamber, I really think it's being stretched on my tank - 120 Gallon with 30 Gallon Sump.

[wakefreak33]

I have a Two Little Fishes Phosban reactor 150 and It is not the claimed size at all. I just measured it and it is 12" tall and has a diameter of 3.25". It is alot smaller than the chamber we are using.

[TroyPierce]

rioreef, please don't get me wrong, if you have a small tank with a moderate calcium need, your idea is right on the money. Give it a try and let us know how it works for you. If it does, that's great, if it doesn't, you're really only out the cost of t reactor and a little tubing.

[rioreef]

Troy,

This is the info I am looking for to see IF this would be a viable solution. Possible not, maybe for a small tank though. Wonder if two daisy chained would work?

Anyways, what is the going rate for the house filter at Lowes?

[TroyPierce]

Originally posted by rioreef
Troy,
Anyways, what is the going rate for the house filter at Lowes?

Don't know the current rate but I paid between $60 and $70, I think. I know it was cheaper than two PhosBan Reactors.

You do have me thinking though. I'm sitting here looking at my Two Fishes reactor thinking about making it my second stage...

[impur]

Originally posted by rioreef

Anyways, what is the going rate for the house filter at Lowes?

$55 at Lowes