calcium reactor

[sparky52]

Hey everyone, I am looking to buy a calcium reactor for my 180, I built a diy one based on Sanjay Joshi's design, and I am ready to smash it with a sledge hammer The problem with this design is that over time (days) the excess co2 air bounds the effluent tube and stops the reactor from having any output, of course if you are running the thing with a very high out flow this is avoided, but I do not need a billion drips per min., I have tried everything and redesigned it several times, I have had it with DIY crap, so please don't try to talk me into any other designs......I just want your opinions on who makes the best reactors and why. The features that are most important to me are some type of co2 recirculation so gas is not wasted, a PH probe port would be nice, ease of reloading, And most importantly it must be very tuneable.I want the best of the best, I am sick of this piece of crap!!!!
Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Detri]

I really like the Shuran line. They are small and do ALOT of gallons. You may be good to use the Jetstream Pico.

 

[bc_slc]

If I was going to purchase one, I would get a GEO reactor. I DIY mine based on DJ88's design on Reefcentral.

Mat

 

[DonW]

Most co2 build up problems are cause by the reactors input and output not being plumbed properly with the correct feed. Different configurations require different I/O. No matter whether you buy a $1K deltec or have a diy your going to have problems until you learn how to plumb the I/O. Post a pic of your reactor, I'm pretty sure the problem is a easy one.
If you really want to spend the $$ and have the space then Deltec if you dont have much space then Schuran. Both are great, but both have their share of I/O bugs that are easily cured just like a diy.

Don

 

[oliver]

Bang for the Buck

I spent my moneys on a Korallin. I am very happy with the performance. I feed it with a maxi-jet 1200.

 

[sparky52]

The reactor is identical to Sanjay Joshi's design, so if it is a plumbing issue I guess it is not the best design to DIY....I think i will try to duplicate the deltec.

 

[DonW]

The reactor is identical to Sanjay Joshi's design, so if it is a plumbing issue I guess it is not the best design to DIY....I think i will try to duplicate the deltec.

If this is the design your using, sucking the output should cure the co2 build up.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/s/b/sbj4/aquarium/hardware/caco3_reactor/diy-caco3.html

 

[sparky52]

I have tried everything. Trust me, I'm not this fed up because I have not tried everything..what I need is a way to seperate the excess gas from the effluent and recirculate it. I know deltec and shuran do it but from the pics ive seen i cant tell how they built the gas/water seperators. I tried adding a second reaction chamber, moving the outflow all around, reversing the flow.....it is getting old.

 

[DonW]

I have tried everything. Trust me, I'm not this fed up because I have not tried everything..what I need is a way to seperate the excess gas from the effluent and recirculate it. I know deltec and shuran do it but from the pics ive seen i cant tell how they built the gas/water seperators. I tried adding a second reaction chamber, moving the outflow all around, reversing the flow.....it is getting old.

There is nothing wrong with the design in the link I posted. If you had a pari pump hooked up backwards on the outlet and controlled the inlet there would be negative pressure and no gas accumulation. Unless of course you using way to much co2.

Don

 

[sparky52]

why would I want to use an extra pump. I will just buy or build a better designed unit. I dont think 10 bbm (1/8 inch bubbles) is too much, do you? I would like to build a reactor that has the abillity to recirculate undissolved gas like the Deltec's or Shuran's, but i need to see how they are doing this, how they construct and plumb the gas water seperator. I think Joshi's design is great if you are using a high enough effluent flow rate, but i'm not so it's back to the drawing board.

 

[DonW]

why would I want to use an extra pump. I will just buy or build a better designed unit. I dont think 10 bbm (1/8 inch bubbles) is too much, do you? I would like to build a reactor that has the abillity to recirculate undissolved gas like the Deltec's or Shuran's, but i need to see how they are doing this, how they construct and plumb the gas water seperator. I think Joshi's design is great if you are using a high enough effluent flow rate, but i'm not so it's back to the drawing board.

I think your missing something. You need a feed pump no matter the brand or diy. Your not going to get slow effluent flow out of a deltec or a schuran without feeding it properly. Your diy will bennefit from negative pressure as does the schuran. The deltecs do fine with small pumps like a aqualifter or positive pressure. At 10bpm you have really slow effluent rate and are not going to get a consistant slow rate out of any reactor fed improperly. The recirc loop is just a hose stuck in the top of the reactor the runs down to a venturi at the pumps inlet. It does help but is by no means a cure. The problem with most reactors is very slow effluent rates. Most people buy reactors thinking they can just slow them down then speed them up as the tank grows. This simply is not the case unless you pay close attention to how the feed is plumbed.

Don

 

[sparky52]

Yes I do have a small pump feeding the reactor, I thaught you meant a pump on the return side...I misunderstood, I do agree that the problem is my slow flow rate, while my tank is loaded with coraline I do not by any means have a excessive demand for calcium, but I can not keep it above @370-380 without a reactor, I do regular water changes @15% each month.I replace all evap. with kalk via a kalk reactor/reef filler set up. Maybe I can increase the effluent rate? Im only going by the rates that everyone has suggested to me. What do you think? By the way thanks for your help.

 

[sparky52]

After looking at the deltec on their site I see what you mean by the recirc. system....pretty simple I was making it more complicated than it really is...I think I will do another mod to my DIY and increase the pump size to the unit..what size pump would you recomend, right now I just have a small power head about 80 gpm? I dont want to have an oversized pump and have to restrict it too much you know.

 

[liveforphysics]

My feed my own reactor design with a siphon feed from a tiny little airline tucked down deep into the display. No pumps, and nothing could be more reliable. My first couple reactor designs would accumulate CO2, and it sucked. What fixed it was keeping the outlet tube starting just 1/2 the diameter of the horizontal top tube in the circulation loop. The current design is immune to these problems by design, and requires only 1 simple powerhead for circulation through the loop.

It also costs about 50-80$ in parts, is increadibly relable, has no seals to fail and leak, is simple to tune, cant dangerously drop pH, and holds my Ca rock solid around 420ppm.

So, if i personally wanted to buy a pre-made Ca reactor, I would buy one that included these above design features. Unfortunately I dont know if any comercial designs do.

 

[DonW]

After looking at the deltec on their site I see what you mean by the recirc. system....pretty simple I was making it more complicated than it really is...I think I will do another mod to my DIY and increase the pump size to the unit..what size pump would you recomend, right now I just have a small power head about 80 gpm? I dont want to have an oversized pump and have to restrict it too much you know.

80gpm or 80gph? Id use a aquamedic peri pump, no power head. First try hooking the outlet of the reactor to the suction side of the pump with a tiny valve on the inlet side of the reactor. This will PULL water through the reactor / negative pressure. You should easily be able to get 20ml min output.
If you can get a steady output of around 20 ml you can just adjust the co2 to slow down the alk.

Don

 

[sparky52]

Thanks Don, yeah I meant 80 gph whoops.