New Ca reactor design with pics and drawings

[schwaggs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6417444#post6417444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bc_slc
Thanks for the insight vmichael...very helpful, lol.

Anyone out there with practical experience with the O-rings or could you reference where within the 45 page previous thread this info was covered. After reading 20 pages of it last night, and having read it in the past as I constructed my reactor 10 months ago, I did not come across the answers to my questions.

I find that if you put a bead of dielectric grease on both sides of the gasket, it seals with MUCH less pressure. DO NOT use regular grease or vasiline as they are petrolium based and bad for your system. Use dielectric grease used on automobile spark plugs and electronics available at your local auto supply store.

 

[schwaggs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6425351#post6425351 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by m8298
Thanks for the answers schwaggs. So, the 1/4" elbow in the middle, on the bottom is the output. It looks like you also added a second plate and sponge on the input side, if that is the case, did you still use a spray bar?

I built mine a little different than DJ's original. DJ's original is kind of on stilts with the pipe entering the bottom of the reactor chamber. When I built mine, all I did was build a double box guled to the base. I glued in 1/4" by 1/2" strips that egg crate with filter floss sits on both the up and down flow section. I assembled all the exterior plumbing parts on with the pump and used that to mark where to drill holes in the side (below where the strips are glued) for the entrance and exit bulkhead. In other words, DJ's original has an area below the upflow and downflow that is not filled with water. My modification has the entire box filled with water. Does that make sense?

NOTE: The strips must be glued in before assembling the double box. Also, it is way easier if you drill the bulkhead holes and install the bulkheads before assembling the double box too...

 

[m8298]

How cool. I was contemplating using egg crate instead of the one plate. And I did wonder why DJ just dropped the media directly on the spray bar.

I am also debating if I want to bother with putting a PH probe in-line, or if I just want to drip the effluent into a cup or speciman box and put the probe in that.

Thanks for the help schwaggs. I'd like to see more photos of yours. I like the changes you've made.

 

[scbasser5]

Just curious, does it make any differance if the spray bar is covered or you use the egg crate?

Schwaggs did you make your chambers taller than DJs? My whole box is full of water. The stilts underneith are not part of the height of the box per the sketches.

 

[schwaggs]

I would put the pH probe for the pH controller inline. If you don't, it won't be able to accutatly control the pH inside the reactor.

I built mine as tall as the sheet of acrylic I bought from Home Depot. 18" I think.

I didn't make a spray bar. The water just flows into the chabmer under the eggcrate and up from there...

 

[TAMU Reef]

What size CO2 tank do you guys suggest? I have a 58gal tank.

Thanks,
TAMU Reef

 

[melev]

I have a 20lb bottle, and SeanT has a 100lb bottle. Many use the small 5lb bottles, and these fit under your tank usually.

 

[spryde]

Tagging for reference.

SP

 

[DJ88©]

Shawn,

At the bottom of the thread below the quick reply box there is a link saying subscribe to this thread.

By clicking this you will save a link to this thread within your MYRC area of the board and be able to find it easily at a later date. Due to the size of threads like this one, many people are following them and when someone posts a tag like yours they will come back and see nothing has been added when they get an email notification about someone posting to the thread.

just a friendly FYI.


[tagalong]

 

[TAMU Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6667088#post6667088 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
I have a 20lb bottle, and SeanT has a 100lb bottle. Many use the small 5lb bottles, and these fit under your tank usually.

Melev,

How big is your tank and how long between fillups do you average?

TAMU Reef

 

[melev]

How large? Well, I guess it is maybe 8" in diameter and about 24" tall. I've never had to refill it yet, and have been using it for about a year. I have a feeling the needle will drop from 1000psi to 0 in one day, since that needle never seems to budge.

 

[TAMU Reef]

Thanks for the info, on my earlier post I guess I should have phrased it better..... How big is your aquarium???? HA!!!!

TAMU Reef

 

[schwaggs]

I have the 20lb bottle and it has lasted 18 months so far. Mine was pegged above 1000 too, I just recently noticed it was starting to head down below 1000 now... It's been running on a 90 for a year and a 210 for 6 months.

 

[salreus]

Are people still making these? I finished the whole thread. From start to finish. Wow, now that is a lot of reading. But I have learned so much in the process. Heck, after reading half of it, I felt I could answer a lot of the questions that kept popping up....
Anyway, i was interested in making one of these myself.

I found a web company that sells cell cast sheets and they will cut them for me/us. Below is the price I was quoted. Ok, the cut list was for 3/8". I am guessing that these woudn't work correctly for 1/4". I am guessing some pieces would have to be smaller. Or maybe not.

"Prices are for each piece, should there be more than one."
1/4" 3/8"
6 3/4" x 7 1/4" $1.72 $2.23
7 1/4" x 17 3/8" $4.40 $5.70
7 1/4" x 16" $3.92 $5.08
6" x 19 5/8" $3.70 $4.79
8 1/2" x 9" $2.51 $3.25
2 3/4" x 7 1/4" $ .75 $ .97
3 1/16" x 7 1/4" $1.02 $1.32
Holes drilled in the Top Flange $ .25 per hole.

Let me know if anyone is interested in the contact info. I found these prices very cheap considering some of you used scraps. This worked out seems cheaper than the scraps.

 

[hans1976]

Those prices are good. If you go with the 1/4", the pieces will probably have to be bigger.

We recently built 5 of these as a group. When we used the pre-defined cut list, we found some errors. We ended up having to cut some of the pieces and add to others. The biggest area we found to add to was the flange. We found there was not enought of a lip to hold the 1/2 bolts on the flange. Some of us ended up having to use 1/4 SS bolts - others added on.

CTARS Calcium Reactor Build

 

[melev]

Hey Jeff, that's pretty neat. The page isn't Firefox friendly, btw. I'm still waiting on a couple of slides to appear. The site is a tad slow.

 

[hans1976]

Thanks Marc, I will let the IT folks know.

 

[melev]

Jeff, ask them to fill in the text for each image as well. That would really improve the page, which appears to be unfinished at first glance.

 

[salreus]

Jeff, you used 2 diffuser plates? I assume the second diffuser is over the spray bar? I assume this serves the same purpose as some of the people that built a box with holes instead of a spray bar. And can you tell me more about the deflection you added to the top flange.

Thanks,

sal

 

[hans1976]

Sal,
You are right, the second diffuser serves the same purpose as a box with holes instead of a spray bar.

The deflection was added to help trap excess Co2. One of our members did that a year ago and it worked well, so we adopted it.