Brian Prestwood
Premium Member
I've discovered a mod (AKA fix).
As you know, the internal circulation pump pushed water down through a tube that ran down the middle of the reaction chamber. The water then came up through the media. As it turns out that's not such a good design. It lodges bubbles in the media and forces the medium up in the chamber. Since it was mostly my design I'll take the blame.
The fix is simple. Turn the pump over and attached the intake to the internal riser. Thin wall 1/2 PVC fits perfectly over the intake of the RIO pumps we used. Glue a 3/4" length to the pump intake with PVC glue. Fit a 3/4 to 1/2 adapter on the top of the riser and you are almost done.
To finish you'll have to drill a 3/16" hole in the riser near the top, inset a short length of 3/16 ridged air tubing and attach the C02 scavenger tube that runs up to the top of the reactor.
This also solves the problem of media getting into the pump. Put a bit of filter pad on top of the screen at the bottom of the reactor and no media can get into the pump.
Pictures of MARS Calcium Reactor on WebWebMedia
As you know, the internal circulation pump pushed water down through a tube that ran down the middle of the reaction chamber. The water then came up through the media. As it turns out that's not such a good design. It lodges bubbles in the media and forces the medium up in the chamber. Since it was mostly my design I'll take the blame.
The fix is simple. Turn the pump over and attached the intake to the internal riser. Thin wall 1/2 PVC fits perfectly over the intake of the RIO pumps we used. Glue a 3/4" length to the pump intake with PVC glue. Fit a 3/4 to 1/2 adapter on the top of the riser and you are almost done.
To finish you'll have to drill a 3/16" hole in the riser near the top, inset a short length of 3/16 ridged air tubing and attach the C02 scavenger tube that runs up to the top of the reactor.
This also solves the problem of media getting into the pump. Put a bit of filter pad on top of the screen at the bottom of the reactor and no media can get into the pump.
Pictures of MARS Calcium Reactor on WebWebMedia
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