Simple DIY Calcium Reactor

[rcmike]

Hello Everyone,


I finally got around to building a calcium reactor. I used a clear house water filter housing I got at Lowes.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=21326&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

Here is the bottom of the tube I made to go inside the housing to the bottom. It is a 3/4" female adapter then a 3 3/8" diameter acrylic circle with a hole cut in the middle than a 3/4" threaded to 1/2" slip adapter screwed down tightly to sandwich the acrylic. I drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom of the pipe and in the acrylic to allow water to flow through them.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=21330&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

This is the top of the tube. It is connected to the bottom with 1/2" pvc. It is a 1" coupling and a 1" to1/2" bushing. I cut a groove in the 1" coupling and put an O ring I found that fit it over it to seal it into the inside top of the housing.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=21327&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

Here is the reactor hooked up and in opperation.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=21332&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

I had the pump pushing the water up through the media but I had to turn the pump way down to keep the media from lifting in the chamber so I simply turned the filter around so the water is being pumped down through the media. I am using cheap crushed coral media and it seems to be working fine. I still need to fine tune it but it is working well.

[thereefgeek]

Nice job. Simple, yet effective!

[skeletor]

yeah nice job there rcmike.

I like the reverse flow idea (bottom to top) but you mentioned the media was floating all about the place.. do you think some type of plastic screen would work to hold the media down ? although, looking at the pics of the lid you might get a CO2 bubble in there no matter which way it flows..

how much media does it hold ?

also, what do you estimate this little baby cost to make ?

thanks
-skeletor-

[rcmike]

Thanks guys,

I had thought about putting something on top to hold the media down also. The Mag 3 is pumping the water pretty fast through it and seems to be keeping any bubbles that would form stirred up. It is hard to see in there though. What happens if a bubble forms exactly? This is the first calcium reactor I have had so I am still learning.

I didn't measure how much media it held but I would say about 5lbs. worth.

It was under $100 for just the reactor and pump with no CO2 stuff.

[Dman]

I made the exact same one.
300CDN start to finish.
It ran my 50 gallon chock-o-block with SPS like a mad scientist:D
there's a pic of it HERE (http://groups.msn.com/dereksaquarium/equipment.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=17)
I have just torn it down last weekend and am considering selling the housing and internal components.
Dman

[Dman]

rcmike,
Check and make sure that there is no pressure relief valve or if there is one that you've successfully covered it.
Don't learn the hard way. I thought nothing of mine, completely slipped investigation. 6 months later, chock-o-block of SPS turned into 4 day death waltz of RTN and the loss of 22 spieces, 4 clams and the disposal of 80 pounds of LR.
oh how I miss them (http://groups.msn.com/dereksaquarium/fullfrontevolution.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=35)
Dman

[rcmike]

Hello Dman, Actually I saw a picture of yours and that is what gave me the idea. I had been thinking of using some sort of canister filter or something but the water filter is much easier. Mine has a button you can push that lets out air. I took it apart and it is a screw with a washer around it and a spring to hold it closed screwed into the button. It looks like a stainless steel screw. What was yours made of? I will probably take it apart and cover it to make sure. Your housing looks like a different brand than mine. I got a Culligan one. Thanks for the heads up!

[Dman]

rcmike,
I used to work at a company that dealt with the company that made the filter housings. The housings are for a company called Rainfresh. I have seen the Culligan ones up here in Canada, but as I managed to get this for a extremely reasonable price, that's the way I went.
As for the pressure relief valvem mine is made out of brass, yikes. If you look at the picture of the unit running (the first pic I posted) you can actually see it.
When I assembled this unit I had only been in the hobby for about 8 months, that's probably why I missed it in the first place.
Dman

[kmk2307]

Brass = copper, right? I think you guys are very clever! Thanks for sharing!

Kevin

[Dman]

Kevin,
You got it. Not only copper, but a bunch of other nasty metals as well. It was a very, very costly oversight on my part. And one that will never, ever be repeated.

[kmk2307]

Dman,
Thank you for the info. I'm very sorry to hear that!

Dman & Mike,
Where did you get your CO2 equipment for this reactor? Mike, do you use a bubble counter? Dman I see yours. Where did you get it? Do you guys have any advice for someone who is thinking about being a copycat and building a reactor of this design?

Thanks!!
Kevin

[Dman]

Kevin,
I picked up my CO2 bottle from a fire extinguisher company. They converted them from fire extinguishers :D
The regulator I picked up from a beverage supply house, cost me 35 bux CDN, so look around.
The bubble counter came froma company called MOPS (www.mops.on.ca) and was dirt cheap.
And the needle valve I had kicking around, go figure? But there are places to get really nice ones for cheap. If I run across it again, I'll post the info here for you.
I think the trickiest part of this design was finding a way to put it all together in a compact and functional way, as the housing needed to be stood up and with the round housing there wasn't much co-operation.
Dman

[pmui]

Question: Does a calc. reactor require the C02 components? Will it work w/o the additonal CO2 eqipt.?

Peter

[Dman]

pmui,
It seems to be the safest way to lower the pH to the desired level. Unless you know of a better way to do this, I would certainly be all ears as the CO2 component is not cheap. Actually it's the most expensive part.
Dman