Make your Cheap Fluidized Reactor!

[ostrow]

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...Product_Code=CI-00022&Category_Code=Clearance

All you need are 2 3/8" threaded to barbed fitting, a ball valve to control the input, a piece of 3/4" pipe about 5" long, and a piece of filter floss to wrap around it at the top. Feed off your return pump or with a small maxijet or equivalent.

Total cost under $15 and it will work better than a Phosban reactor and you can use more media. I use mine for Purigen. Could use Chemi-Pure in there, or carbon, or phosar.

 

[JNye]

wow talk about wierd, i just was at the plumbing supply house yesterday and saw some of those with the 3/8 thread and thought, those are perfect, except they were 40 dollars each, just getting ready to shoot the filter guys an emial about acquiring 2-3 cheap. i love that you can mount them, throw a shutoff on em, and basically put whatever whenever in em. thanks.

 

[ostrow]

yep. Had mine running Purigen since IMAC. Just swapped out the Purigen for the first time since then. Perfectly fluidized, no clumping at all.

 

[MrMexReefer]

I have 3 of these sitting around from an RO i never used.... do you have pics of your setup? Ive been meaning to install a phosban reactor.

 

[ostrow]

Hard to get pics. The 3/4" pipe goes down the middle, from where the water enters, so that it has to rise up through the media. It takes the water down. The floss/foam has to wrap around it at hte top to prevent media from getting into the output.

That's all.

 

[BreadmanMike]

How long have you been running purigen? I've been thinking of running it, but I'm cautious about if it really works as advertised.

 

[ostrow]

NOTHING in this hobby works as advertised. Except for muriatic acid. And that doesn't count.

I've been running it since IMAC. I ran it before that and it would turn into a solid brick like the Phosban, etc, iron-based phosphate remover does.

In the cannister it stays fluidized better. Does it do anything? Well, I don't see much cyano anymore and some nuisance algaes have gone away. Pretty sure I'm not doing any harm with it.

 

[BreadmanMike]

Cool, I'll give it a try.

And you're definitely right about nothing in this hobby is as advertised.

 

[JRaquatics]

Lets see some pics. Is this like DIY Kalk reactors that use the RO container?

 

[ppurcell]

I'm not sure this would be suitable for a kalk reactor though. I don't see any way to periodically stir the media to ensure the water stays saturated.

Except for that, as Joel said, I think you can use these cannisters for most any media, including as a second chamber for a calcium reactor. I ran two 10" filter chambers in series for a year as the second chamber on my reactor. I wouldn't get too hung up on the size of the thread on the lid. You can adapt most any thread down to a size that would be useful for your application. Worst case you can always put in a threaded plug and then tap a hole in the plug that is the size you need provided you are decreasing the size.

 

[ostrow]

Yeah, what Phil said. I'll try and shoot a pic but it won't look like much!

 

[~ChrisB~]

Could you have used a refillable cartridge? I am considering this, and would like to set-up a 3 stage with refillables.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...re_Code=PA&Product_Code=K-CFRA&Category_Code=

Thanks,
Chris

 

[ostrow]

Tried that. Have to remove the paper filter material on those on both ends and that ain't easy. They get clogged in a day if you don't. That's #1. I got from Jose a modded cartridge that had a plastic disc with slats cut in it instead of that paper material. But that clogged fast too (I'm not as good at this hobby as Jose. Wait, I'm nowhere NEAR as good).

So, that's that.

 

[~ChrisB~]

Ok cool. I'm off to cut some PVC then. So basicaly you place the floss over the top of the PVC, then place it into the cartridge, then fill the outside with whatever you are running right? So the PVC is empty, but the cartridge is full right?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[ostrow]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11306312#post11306312 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BOTR
Ok cool. I'm off to cut some PVC then. So basicaly you place the floss over the top of the PVC, then place it into the cartridge, then fill the outside with whatever you are running right? So the PVC is empty, but the cartridge is full right?

Uh, no. Floss not on top of pvc. PVC you press up into the water inlet into the cannister. Wrap floss/foam (I wrap floss around a long piece of foam), around and press up into the top of the cannister so that when water exits into your system from the cannister, no media can squeek through.

 

[~ChrisB~]

Ok, I got off my lazy butt, and took a look into the canister. Basicaly as long as you have filter floss covering the end of the PVC then you're ok. The 3/4 fits snuggly into the top? Then you put the floss on the bottom of it? Either way I'll figure it out tomorrow afternoon when I assemble the darn thing.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[~ChrisB~]

Maybe a pic of the tube, with the floss/foam in place? Probably a pian in the butt now though, thanks for the idea.

Chris

 

[ostrow]

Man, Chris, you are worse than I am! Pic coming.

 

[ostrow]

I don't care how equipment looks in the fish room or I would have trimmed the material. But you see the idea. You need to wrap it around the inside of the top of the cannister, filling the whole area so nothing but water exits the thing.

 

[fishkeeeper]

that is a great idea going to have to get one will make a great second chamber on calcium reactor