New Ca reactor design with pics and drawings

[StirCrazy]

Darren, what are you using for your co2 line into your bubbler? what is the final ID of the hose/fitting as the gass leaves it and enters the water to form a bubble. This is important only to standardize bubble size for co2 usage comparasons so i can see how much more/less efficient yous is than my design (i am guessing yours will be more efficient, mine is a refinment of a twin chamber setup, that should act as one chamber if i did it right )

Steve

[DJ88©]

Standard poly line that I used from the tank and effluent lines. I used what I had around.

The bubble size is only slightly larger than what I had on my old Ca reactors.

I think the ID of the line I used on my old setups was about a 1/16th or less smaller than what I am using now.

[DJ88©]

Front View

[DJ88©]

double.. grrrr

[C_Kritter]

thank you for sharing your awesome design and taking the time to answer all the questions. this is my first time to make and hopefully incorporate a calcium reactor in my tank. just a couple of questions...

i noticed that in your "down flow" chamber, you only have a sponge and drip/ perforated plate that keeps the media from going into the pump. is this enough to keep the media particulates from going into the pump? how will these particulates affect the pump?

in your "up flow" chamber, you did not have any plates or sponges to separate the media from the spray bar. if the pump is turned off for some reason, i assume tht the media will settle down and may go into the spray bar assembly. is clogging a concern?

thanks again for all the time you've devoted to this thread.

[DJ88©]

i noticed that in your "down flow" chamber, you only have a sponge and drip/ perforated plate that keeps the media from going into the pump. is this enough to keep the media particulates from going into the pump? how will these particulates affect the pump?

That is all I have ever used in any Ca reactor I have designed. Anything that can make it through the sponge(two fluval 404 filterpads cut to fit) will not be big enough to affect a pump of that size. Even if a larger sized piece were to get through I doubt it would have an effect on the pump at all. the only thing that could happen it the particle passing through and restricting the flow through the spray bar. So far tho there I haven't seen any particulate matter collecting below the plate at all. Or heard the pump make any odd noises. I ran a similar design on my last two reactors and never had a problem. no pump failures or anything.

in your "up flow" chamber, you did not have any plates or sponges to separate the media from the spray bar. if the pump is turned off for some reason, i assume tht the media will settle down and may go into the spray bar assembly. is clogging a concern?

I haven't ever really thought about it to tell you the truth. The only time the reactor will be off is to replace media. And whenever I do this I usually also do some maintenace on the entire reactor. Pumps included. With the force of the water coming out of those holes as well(pressure) I am not too worried about it. They should remain pretty much self cleaning. I have put enough holes in the PVC spraybar so that even if one or two were blocked it wouldn't have a drastic effect in the long run.

thank you for sharing your awesome design and taking the time to answer all the questions.

Anytime. I am inbetween lectures right now and have the time where I don't feel like studying. So right now I dont' mind answering questions at all.

thanks again for all the time you've devoted to this thread.

My pleasure. This is probably the longest thread I have started.. So I am enjoying keeping it going. (selfish ain't i? ) lol

Good luck with it.

Cheers,

[C_Kritter]

sorry but another question, are the holes in the spray bar all around the pipe or just around the top? thanks.

[Lunchbucket]

where are you getting your foam to put on top of the stand for the media to sit on?

i need to get some that is at least 5.5" the ID of my reactors are 5.5x5.5" and i need foam for them...any suggestoins? i am looking at those foam blocks for wet dry filters but not sure how big they are

Lunchbucket

[yellowtruck75]

This may make me sound stupid and forgive me for that. I understand that the pump creats a constant loop in the reactor but how does water get cycled through out the aquarium? How big of a tank can a reactor of this size handle? I have a 125 reef could it handle that size? Also Do you know what the final costs of the entire project are?
Thanks
Yellowtruck75

[Zander]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
where are you getting your foam to put on top of the stand for the media to sit on?
Lunchbucket

Originally posted by DJ88
(two fluval 404 filterpads cut to fit)

DJ88-
ca reactor looks great! can't wait to set one up myself!

[DJ88©]

are the holes in the spray bar all around the pipe or just around the top?

Pretty much the top half of the spray bar.

how does water get cycled through out the aquarium

I use a mini jet 606. It pushes water into the reactor and forces effluent out. I go into a bit more of a description somewhere else in the thread I think. too tired right now to type. 13.5 hours at school today.. sorry.

sdgtivr6,

Thanks.. for the help with the foam and the compliments..


More pics will be a few days I am afraid.. Very tired. long day. Need to rest my brain. and my body.

nite guys n gals..

[Lunchbucket]

sorry, but anyone know the dimensions of that fuval 404 foam??

i am assuming it is 15 or so tall since the 404's are that big but how wide is it ?

thanks
Lunchbucket

[isildursbane]

In addition to:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How big of a tank can a reactor of this size handle? I have a 125 reef could it handle that size? Also Do you know what the final costs of the entire project are?
Thanks
Yellowtruck75
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DJ88,

I also have been wondering what size range tanks this calcium reactor can handle(would be optimal for)? I have a 90 gallon. What size tank do you have? Also, I have missed what pump you are using/recommend?

Thanks for this awesome post!

isildursbane

[DJ88©]

Hey again guys,

Size this reactor can handle.

From my experience with reactors and the like I'd say this can handle a fair sized system. 100 gallons quite easily. By the way things are looking when I crank up the flow rate to see how it handles the extra water coming in it hasn't taken a lot of increase in the CO2 rate to keep the pH where I like to have it. Usually at 7.0 to 6.9. I can't say for 100% certainty but I can't see any problem with it handling tanks over 150 gallons. But I'd need to test it to make 100% sure. I do know that with the 2 containers of ARM inside and the water volume that is in there it will be capable of handling a high demand system(I go into my thougths about reactor volume and amount of media in an earlier post). It is running so efficiently right now that I have a LOT of leeway before I am maxing out the CO2 being injected where I would have to worry about the excess CO2 leaving into the tank. Even then the best way I have found to help in remiving the excess CO2 is by having the outlet of your reactor going up into your tanks overflow so it will have to travel through over 1/2 the loop of your tank drain/sump return. Giving you an even greater time for the CO2 to be dissipated out of the water. I could be way off with that tho maybe some chemist could let me know if that theory is right or wrong?? I think that the mixing you get from the drop through the standpipe etc woula work great rather than having it just sit in a little box to bleed off. That is how I do it anyways. lol

I wish I could say exactly how big a system it could handle but I don't have a massive one on hand to test it out with. Going by volume and media tho. I'll say pretty big. Sorry I can't help more with that.

Isildur,

A few posts ago I went over all the pumps etc I run on this reactor. I'd usea MAG5 and a mini jet 606.

Because of a severe shortage of time right now I may not be able to answer all the questions unless it is something I haven't gone over in prior posts. I think other than the final few drawings I have covered pretty much everything there is. If there is something I haven't mentioned I'll do my best to answer. If I don't answer it probably means either I or one of my "assistants" lol have covered it. If it is a specific question about a part or something I'll try to help. really. if it is something that one of the guys that are helping me out here with or anyone else can.. GO for it.. the more the merrier. This isn't just my thread anymore.. lol

I am hoping to get some time to finish the last couple of drawings this weekend. In between writing code and doing transform calculus I'll work at them.

Cheers,

[melev]

Yes, I'm just waiting for the final drawings. I figure you'll do a couple more top view drawings perhaps, and then the rest is up to us. I've been reading all along, and bookmarked this thread as well so I can go over it all over again.

The construction looks right up my alley, and I'm beginning to comprehend the workings of it. I'm sure after I've built one, I'm set.

Here's a question: I know of a welding supply where I can get the C02 tank, and refill it later. What I'm wondering is the regulator. What is it that makes this one so specific? Or can I get one from the same place? I see them up for sale in the Used section quite often here on RC, so I guess I just need to know the pressure ratings and outlet sizes????

Thank you for taking the time to explain all of this. As you can see, a number of people really liked it and are wanting to do the same. I saw anothe thread with a very simple round reactor with a powerhead on top, and I've been hemming and hawing whether to make that one or your double reactor... since it is going on a 29g! LOL

[DJ88©]

since it is going on a 29g!

Marc,

That is the size I am putting this one on. Build it bigger than you need. It is easy to dial it back(the reactor) but impossible to make it run beyond it's capacity if you ever go to a larger tank. My sage words of advice.. lol

As far as the regulator goes. I really can't spit out all the numbers right now for some reason. I know you want to be able to set the outlet at or around 0-100 PSI(am I right guys? Brain fart here). And then your needle valve is for the fine tuning. The main side of my regulator goes up to 4000PSI me thinks.. You want to be able to take the high pressure your tank is under(mine is usually around 1000PSI after filling) to a more manageable rate of 10-20 PSI where I run mine. It is this lower pressure that lets you get down to bubbles per minute quite easily through the needle valve.

Hopefully my brain got it right here.. Can't think. lol

I am glad there is such an interest in this thread. I am curious to know just how many are looking at building one and jsut aren't posting.. hmmmm.. Curiouser and curiouser..

Hopefully I'll have drawings for the Venturi and rest of the reactor by the weekend.

Thanks again guys for the kudos.

Cheers!

[pantinor]

I am making some progress on this one. so far the biggest PITA was gluing the pieces in the correct order, drilling the holes for the strainer (not fun), and cutting the 5" circle for the top opening (took me 1 hour). I made diy bulkheads from pvc and used a gasket to seal them at the bottom. plumbing is next. this is the toughest thing I have built so far.

I like what mr quality did with having the effluent fitting at the bottom of the downflow chamber. dont see the purpose in having it go out the top.

thanks for the cool design ill let you know how it turns out.

[DJ88©]

I like what mr quality did with having the effluent fitting at the bottom of the downflow chamber. dont see the purpose in having it go out the top.

The reason being for the effluent to go out the top is the with it at the bottom I have found that over time the water pressure inside your reactor will cause the level inside to drop. The weight of the water inside the reactor will force it out faster than it is being pumped in. Even with a valve on the outlet. I had this happen on another design of mine. By having the effluent get forced out the top from the bottom I have no worry of this happening agian. There is a method to my madness. Hopefully you don't have the problems I did.

Looking good.

Keep us posted.

[Mr_Quality]

I have found that over time the water pressure inside your reactor will cause the level inside to drop. The weight of the water inside the reactor will force it out faster than it is being pumped in.

I don't think this has anything to do with water pressure. Assuming the chamber is completely sealed (air & water-tight), then no more volume could exit the chamber than is put into it. The only things being put into it are tank water and CO2, both of which would in-turn displace water. As new tank water displaces old reactor water the chamber would remain filled exclusively with liquid. However if excess CO2 were accumulating inside the reactor, it would also displace water and appear as an “air� gap at the top. I suspect this is the root cause of the decreased liquid volume you have observed in previous designs. If that were the case, your new design (as well as mine) would behave the same way. IMHO Even with the CO2 capture & recovery system you (and I) have, since we would simply catch the CO2 at the top and then pump it back in again at the bottom of the up-flow side.

This being said though, I still love the design and am glad to have copied it!

Mike

[pantinor]

I see what you mean about the effluent leaving from the top. I havent drilled holes for that yet so I'll probably take your suggestion to be on the safe side.

Can you recommend good plastic drill bits, I had the toughest time using regular wood bits when drilling all those strainer holes on the drill press. It was snapping up on me pretty bad each time I broke through the other end of the plastic. plus I dont have enough clamps...

Regarding the gasket material I am going to try a $5 pack of window/door rubber insulating tape. I couldnt find neoprene at lowes and the mcmaster site is way expensive for a sheet of the stuff ($59)! ill see how it goes.

[Cheapreef]

Originally posted by pantinor
Can you recommend good plastic drill bits, I had the toughest time using regular wood bits when drilling all those strainer holes on the drill press. It was snapping up on me pretty bad each time I broke through the other end of the plastic. plus I dont have enough clamps...

Drill a pilot hole 1/8", then use a sharp bit backup up with a piece of wood. I also use a bottle of water and spray it down as you drill. Works like a charm.

Clinton

[DJ88©]

However if excess CO2 were accumulating inside the reactor, it would also displace water and appear as an “air� gap at the top. I suspect this is the root cause of the decreased liquid volume you have observed in previous designs. If that were the case, your new design (as well as mine) would behave the same way.

I had a recirc loop on my old design and the reactor prior to that one. The recirc line has always worked well but it didn't stop the lowering of the water level in the reactor. Once I raised the effluent line to return into the tank in the overflow box the problem stopped. My CO2 rate was never changed or the recirc loop adjusted. Somehow there was a way air was going in. Enough to allow the lowering of the water level. I suspect it was around the check valves I had placed. If there is a strong enough suction into the closed loop I would never see that there was a leak of any sort.

I based my decision on why I placed the return feed where I did on a lot of trial and error. Use it if you like or don't. Just passing on what I have found while trying out all of my ideas and what works best.

Glad you are enjoying the design.

cheers

[pantinor]

Regarding the actual operation of your reactor, how do you get it started, specifically, how do you get all the air out of it when filling it with water?

I guess that you:

-fill it with ARM
-fill it with water to the top
-seal the top
-start the mini pump from the main tank
-start the mag recirc pump
-start the co2 and get the bubble count right
-wait and measure/throttle the effluent PH and flow.

How does extra air get released/bled from the reactor? and what about microbubbles introduced from the mini pump from the main tank?

Thanks much for further explanation. This is probably a basic calc. reactor question not necessarily specific to your design.

[Lunchbucket]

I guess that you:

close

i would

I guess that you:

-fill it with ARM
-fill it with water to the top
-seal the top
-start the mini pump from the main tank
-start the mag recirc pump
- full throttle your effluent line to get all the air out of the reactor. run it like that for about 15 min. then throttle it down to a slow drip. 1 ever couple seconds
-start the co2 and start the bubble count low. wait a day and see what you are running and SLOWLY adjust from there.
-wait and measure/throttle the effluent PH and flow.

Lunchbucket

[saltwaterfishlover]

semi off topic but is in regards to reactors.

which way is "better" for the water to circulate in a reactor?
a) water in the top thru the media and then into the pump and back to the top

b) in the bottom UP thru the media then back into the pump

currently my reactor goes top to bottom but I think it makes more sense to run it the other way and keep the media ummm looser rather than pack it running the other way

thanks in advance
andy