$200, my day off, and my new diy calcium reactor!
- Thread starter WmTasker
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I just revamped mine similar to TroyPierce's base design. I used a 3" cap ilo the reducers. I cut approx. 1 1/2" off the bottom of the cap & drilled the center to fit the 1" pipe. Here's what it looks like:
The base has (25) 1/8" holes. I kept the holes to a minimum & as horizontal as possible so that the water would shoot out fast, penetrating deep into the media. I also drilled few holes so that any excess flow would push out from the bottom rim of the base, preventing sediment from collecting in the base.
The base has (25) 1/8" holes. I kept the holes to a minimum & as horizontal as possible so that the water would shoot out fast, penetrating deep into the media. I also drilled few holes so that any excess flow would push out from the bottom rim of the base, preventing sediment from collecting in the base.
You can see here the hole in the pipe to prevent back siphon.
I had to cut off as much of the short tube in the base of the canister to allow flow to pass to the holes.
Here are some picks of it put back together. I used the graduated media w/ the large 1/2" sized media in the 1st half, the medium 1/4" sized media on top, & the small 1/8" media in the 2nd chamber. This way I'm not starting off w/ small media close to the holes in the base that would get sucked back under the base & in the holes during power failure.
I had to cut off as much of the short tube in the base of the canister to allow flow to pass to the holes.
Here are some picks of it put back together. I used the graduated media w/ the large 1/2" sized media in the 1st half, the medium 1/4" sized media on top, & the small 1/8" media in the 2nd chamber. This way I'm not starting off w/ small media close to the holes in the base that would get sucked back under the base & in the holes during power failure.
I did not use the 1" male fitting like TroyPierce. Instead I used a drimel to grind down the top of the pipe to fit snug in the lid. I also used no PVC glue at the pipe to base as the pipe fits real snug.
With this setup using a Mag 7 the bubbles in the 1st chamber are super fine & I can barely see them.
One problem I'm having is that CO2 builds up in the vinyl tube making the pump run dry when the effluent drip is at 90/min. I swapped the Mag 2 I was using for a Mag 7 (same size housing) thinking that the increased flow would prevent CO2 build up, but the problem still persists. I have since increased the effluent drip to 180/min, but my main tank PH has dropped from 8.2 to 7.8 due to undisolved CO2. Has anyone else had this problem & can tell by the pics above what I can do differently to drip the effluent at 90/min w/out the pump running dry?
With this setup using a Mag 7 the bubbles in the 1st chamber are super fine & I can barely see them.
One problem I'm having is that CO2 builds up in the vinyl tube making the pump run dry when the effluent drip is at 90/min. I swapped the Mag 2 I was using for a Mag 7 (same size housing) thinking that the increased flow would prevent CO2 build up, but the problem still persists. I have since increased the effluent drip to 180/min, but my main tank PH has dropped from 8.2 to 7.8 due to undisolved CO2. Has anyone else had this problem & can tell by the pics above what I can do differently to drip the effluent at 90/min w/out the pump running dry?
yellowtruck75
New member
I haven't had the time yet to read through this entire thread but I take it that this design work pretty well?
TroyPierce
New member
Labeled Pictures
Labeled Pictures
ReefRatz, As promised, here's some pix of my CA. I've labeled things to (hopefully) answer your questions. If not, let me know.
Here's the entire CA Reactor
Here's a closeup of the pump area
And more detail on same
Here's the output side. You can see the gray fitting at the bottom for the effluent line.
I put all of the hose connections below the unions so that I can take it apart and clean the canister without having to mess with disconnecting the lines (I'll just turn them off).
Clockwise from the top right (the output side of the canister):
There's a fitting at the top to hold the Controller's pH Probe. I"ll tighten this down by hand only. The controller is a backup. If I loose power or something else goes wrong and the pH starts falling, the controller will shut the CO2 off.
The effluent out will go through a needle valve then into my skimmer. For the incoming tank water, I taped the return line and screwed in a ball valve. I'll connect a 1/4 inch line from that to the Tank Water In connector.
Last is the CO2 line. I'll connect a 1/4 inch CO2 resistant hose between my Milwaukee Regulator's bubble counter and to a point as close to the pump as possible. I adjusted the regulator per instructions before I actually hook it up.
I'm making sure my tank paramaters are where they should be now and will fire this up this coming week.
Labeled Pictures
ReefRatz, As promised, here's some pix of my CA. I've labeled things to (hopefully) answer your questions. If not, let me know.
Here's the entire CA Reactor
Here's a closeup of the pump area
And more detail on same
Here's the output side. You can see the gray fitting at the bottom for the effluent line.
I put all of the hose connections below the unions so that I can take it apart and clean the canister without having to mess with disconnecting the lines (I'll just turn them off).
Clockwise from the top right (the output side of the canister):
There's a fitting at the top to hold the Controller's pH Probe. I"ll tighten this down by hand only. The controller is a backup. If I loose power or something else goes wrong and the pH starts falling, the controller will shut the CO2 off.
The effluent out will go through a needle valve then into my skimmer. For the incoming tank water, I taped the return line and screwed in a ball valve. I'll connect a 1/4 inch line from that to the Tank Water In connector.
Last is the CO2 line. I'll connect a 1/4 inch CO2 resistant hose between my Milwaukee Regulator's bubble counter and to a point as close to the pump as possible. I adjusted the regulator per instructions before I actually hook it up.
I'm making sure my tank paramaters are where they should be now and will fire this up this coming week.
TroyPierce
New member
I read that the bubbles in the skimmer will remove any CO2 in the effluent. The AquaC 180 has a JG fitting for this.h20cooled said:
Tom McGeehan
New member
TroyPierce - Do you have any more detail on the fitting you are using for your pH probe. You say the controller is a back up, where do you have your main controller?
Thanks.
Thanks.
TroyPierce
New member
Tom, The probe fitting was purchsed from Automated Aquarium Systems. It's designed to hold the 1/2 inch pH probe. Thier price is $12 each and a minimum order of $25. You can get the same thing a heck of a lot cheaper from McMaster-Carr and maybe even from your Home Depot. There's mention of it in previous postings in this thread.Tom McGeehan said:
Basically, the holder is a rubber ring that is compressed when you tighten the nut. You need one that's sized to hold a 1/2 inch probe.
I mentioned hat the controller is backup. Properly adjusted, the CA shouldn't need a controller. If you tune it to your system, the volume of the effluent out and the bubbles should be in balance. But knowing that nothing ever goes as planned for long, I bought the controller (the Milwaukee controller) to shut off the CO2 if the pH ever falls below a set point. This way, if I'm not home and it hits the fan, at least I'm reasonably confident that the system will be shut down.
I was thinking the same thing but since I'm using a Mag2 there shouldn't be any turbulance or fluidizing going on. If it looks like there will be, I can either remove some of the media or put in one of the filter discs from my Eheim Canister filter.
After taking the pix, I was gonna hook it up and do a test run but I noticed that the screw-in PVC connection to the pump was cracked on the back side. Once I rebuild that piece, I'll do a system test to see if there's any problems.
TroyPierce
New member
Not sure if it's the same problem but I had something similar happen when I was static testing before I drilled the holes. In my case, there was air in the system and it would collect until some point and then hit the pump.craby said:
Stopping and restarting would cure it but I found that I needed to get the air out. That's when I modded the red button (instead of siliconing it shut). I use it to purge the air while filling the system. I also tilted the reactor slightly to encourage any trapped bubbles to collect in the top where they can be expelled with the red button.
It might be that your bubble count is too high for the CO2 to be disolved and it's collecting in the top as well.
TroyPierce
New member
Not sure if it's the same problem but I had something similar happen when I was static testing before I drilled the holes. In my case, there was air in the system and it would collect until some point and then hit the pump.craby said:
Stopping and restarting would cure it but I found that I needed to get the air out. That's when I modded the red button (instead of siliconing it shut). I use it to purge the air while filling the system. I also tilted the reactor slightly to encourage any trapped bubbles to collect in the top where they can be expelled with the red button.
It might be that your bubble count is too high for the CO2 to be disolved and it's collecting in the top as well.
Good luck licking this. If you find what's causing it, please share your solution.
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