New DIY Ca reactor

[yellowtruck75]

well how does the reactor work and what size of tank can this babe handle?

 

[greeneyedblackcat]

The reactor was just put into service, it seems to work fine and holds pressure, the system I built it for is about 158 gallons it could probably handle more depending on your calcium load. I will post some updated results after a couple months of testing.

 

[greeneyedblackcat]

calcium reactor test

calcium reactor test

Here is a picture of the pressure test, 10 psi on regulator, 100 bubbles per minute on bubble counter with all pumps running (no leaks).

 

[bergzy]

gebc,

what pump are you using to deliver the water from the sump to the ca reactor?

btw: it looks awesome!

 

[greeneyedblackcat]

Thanks for the complement bergzy, I am using flow from one of my return pumps (i have two running) , I just drilled and tapped a 1/4" john guest valve into the 1" pvc line, all the inputs and outputs on the reactor and bubble counter are john guest fittings.

 

[bergzy]

gebc,

what is attached to the top 4" coupler? it is where the pressure caps fit into and is found sitting on top of the couplers where the recirc input inserts into the top of the first tower and the drain valve of the second tower.

also, what do you think about putting the input of the recirc pump from the bottom of the first tower so that the water column goes from the bottom of the media to the top of the tube then feed to the bottom of the second tower like you have it now?

 

[greeneyedblackcat]

Bergzy, The top is a standard 4" sch40 coupler, i added a 4" thinwall to sch40 adapter because the orignal blue cap setup didnt work so i had to extend the tower for the black pressure caps, you dont need the sch40 to thinwall adapter if you locate the fittings lower on the sch40 coupling you will have plenty of room for the black cap, as to the pump, the output is plumbed to the bottom of the first tower, the water column goes from the bottom of the first column to the top and then feeds the bottom of the second column to the top and then exits the reactor, in both towers the flow is going from bottom to top, do you want to plumb it another way?

 

[H20ENG]

Very nice fabrication!
Does the sch 40 4" coupling fit nice over the styrene cap? Or did you have to machine it? PVC glue for this interface?
Oh, yea, You put loctite on those base screws right?
Great job GEBC!

 

[greeneyedblackcat]

H20, thanks for the complement

The styrene cap fits directly into the sch40 coupling, you glue it in upside down (flat side to the inside of the coupling) the base is a walmart cutting board with 4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ drain grates screwed to the cutting board (I can access the screws from the other side and yes I did loctite them with blue loctite) Thanks again>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GEBC

 

[bergzy]

gebc,

hiya's!

i could not get the 4" cap into the 4" coupler. they fit 'flush' not in one another.

after some 'frustrating' comments to myself. i said, let's email gebc!

 

[greeneyedblackcat]

Bergzy, are you using a 4" thin wall drainage pipe cap, my cap was from home depot and has the brand name NDS on it, they are about 98 cents each, they will fit into the 4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ sch40 coupler and stick out about 1/16ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚, you put the cap in with the flat side towards the center of the 4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ sch 40 coupling, the drain grates have the same brand name.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GEBC

 

[bergzy]

gebc,

did you get those at home depot too? i didnt see any thin walled 4" end caps.

 

[greeneyedblackcat]

reactor

reactor

All the sch40 and thinwall fittings came from home depot, if you cant find them local here is a link to the NDS site http://www.ndspro.com/FittingsResultList1.asp just click on the fittings link , they sell the drain caps in pvc and styrene.

 

[H20ENG]

bergzy,
They wont be right next to each other on the plumbing isle. The thinwall fittings are for landscape drainage and will be with those fittings.
HTH

 

[dvjanes]

Greeneyedblackcat,

Could you please send me a finished copy of your fabrication instructions and any final pictures you may have. I have already ordered the clear acrylic and the Hand tite plugs so far. You did an excellent job fabricating this Ca system. My email address is dvjanes@cox.net. Thank you in advanced.

 

[dvjanes]

Greeneyedblackcat,
Can you also post some pics of this reactor in current operation? Thanks

 

[greeneyedblackcat]

reactor

reactor

Here is the reactor set up and running, I use a peristaltic pump to control the drip rate, the co2 regulator is set at 12psi, needle valve set at 20bpm and drip rate of 900ml per hour. As to the instructions I have a rough guide and some pictures in a WordPad doc if you send me an email I will return the document, My email address is greeneyedblackcat@access4less.net

 

[vic8361]

Greeneyedblackcat
Could you please tell me witch is the right size tap for the john guest fittings.
Thanks,
Vic

 

[greeneyedblackcat]

taps

taps

You can tap the outlet, bubble counter and the recirculation loop with a 1/4"npt, for the pump inlet, outlet and cross over use a Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚npt tap. You may also want to add a john guest valve in the recirculation loop to control the amount of co2 recovered.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GEBC

 

[dvjanes]

Greeneyedblackcat
What model pump are you using for circulation and how has it performed for you?