New DIY Ca reactor

Did anyone notice that a 1/2" fpt x slip fits right over the
thread of the crank like a glove. I refering to the hand-tite cap.

The means that you can connect the 2 chambers from the very top
which also means that you can place the CO2 recirculation tubing at this location with a JG fitting.

I'm also thinking of a 3rd reactor chamber (actually 1st reactor)
so that Co2 gets very well diffused before it comes in contact with the media. in the 2nd and 3rd chamber.

Any thoughts?
 
vmichael
I'm not following you. Wouldnt that fitting be outside the reactor? How would it feed the internals?
I do see that you could use it to hold a bubble counter or something.
 
The "crank" because its threaded accepts a 1/2" FTP coupling x slip. You can now cut off the top of the crank which exposes a hole to the internal but thats ok cause you now have a 1/2" coupling on it which has 1/2" pvc glued to it going to a similar coupling on the other end that attaches to the 2nd chambers crank that has been cut off at the top (preferebly with a true union in between for easy removal). If you had the hand tight in your hand you would see what I'm trying to say.

Because the fitting is now at the very top of the reactor it is much easire and more effectiive in recirculating any unused gases back down to the pump.

This "hand tight" cap is ingenious and has many capabilities which can be retrofitted into it.
 
Got it. The bolt for the compression of the rubber plug is hollow. I see, and you're right- a good top mounting location.
I would guess, though, that the threads are not MPT, but Straight threads like conduit fittings. Otherwise, the taper would cause the nut to jam before tightening down on the plug.
 
The good news is that with the 1/2" coupling completely on the hollow crank shaft, the wing nut that comes with the unit does not need to go all the way up as high as the coupling is in order to release the seal. So you could actually glue the 1/2" coupling on to the shaft and still have the unit functioning as it was intended.

I am taking the best parts of this reactors design and combining it with the best features of the DJ88 reactor (another thread on this forum) using only materials I have on hand to make my own DIY version of a CA reactor. It is starting to take shape very nicely. When it is completed and before it is glued together I will take pictures and post to share with everyone.
 
vmichael, Nice idea, the only problem I see with your idea is that the plastic used on the hand tite cap is nylon, nylon does not glue well to itself or any other plastic, you may just want to drill and tap into the top of the hand tites shaft and use standard NPT threaded pvc fittings to connect them and teflon tape to seal the fittings.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GEBC
 
not even silicone? I was planning on putting a fair amount of silicone on the the top and then screwing on the pvc adapter. Letting it dry and then build on from there?
 
If that dosen't work then I may have to see if I can replace the nylon shaft with one made out of PVC. Bummer!
 
vmichael, you can thread the hole going through the shaft 1/2"npt and just use standard threaded pvc fittings, hand tite also offers the plugs already drilled and tapped.
 
gebc .thank you for the plans for this awsome reactor just finished building it and doing the test run now.just one question how much media does this hold in pounds i want to order the caribsea ARM media for it and don't know if i should get 2 15 lbs containers or the 50 lbs.
Thanks again
Terry
 
Terry, Thanks for the complement, I just use GeoMarine crushed coral, it works just fine and is much cheaper, the reactor holds about 11 pounds of media, you could probably cram about 13 pounds in if you so desire.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GEBC
 
greeneyedblackcat said:
vmichael, you can thread the hole going through the shaft 1/2"npt and just use standard threaded pvc fittings, hand tite also offers the plugs already drilled and tapped.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow "thread the hole through the shaft" ??

You mean on the inside? Where do you find the fittings that hand-tite offers?
 
Yes, geo marine crushed coral is a substrate and does contain aragonite, you can use any brand of crushed coral, I just prefer geomarine. As to the fittings, I get them at aquaticeco.com, they have a hollow shaft that is pluged at the top, you can drill and tap this out if you wish to connect fittings etc, I prefer not to have anything connected to the HandTite caps. I hope this helps
 
Based on the above insight from gebc and some more research I just did. I'm going to mix the an 8lb. container of A.R.M. with the Geo Marine crushed coral. It's all the same stuff anyways the difference being that the A.R.M. has a higher concentration Halimeda sp. (Macro Algae?) YES! Got this info at

http://www.globaldialog.com/~jrice/algae_page/halimeda.htm

Quote
This algae is abundant on rocks and sand and when it dies it breaks up into a fine calcium carbonate sand - in fact most of the beach sand we see in the tropics is made from the dead skeletons of this genus of algae. It has been thought that this algae was responsible only for the sand deposited near the reefs but recent studies indicate that this algae grows elsewhere on the ocean bottom and may be responsible for more sand than we think. In any event, a great deal of work has gone into the study of Halimeda sand banks of the Great Barrier reef.
The coarse sand produced by recent Halimeda die-offs are a good source of organic matter and host to dense microbial colonization. The Caribbean sea urchin, Clypeaster rosaceus, is
one of many animals that will selectively ingest larger particles of this newly created sand for the nutrition - after processing by the urchin the sand becomes finer until it appears as it does
on the beach. More on Halimeda's importance in sediment creation:

Freile, D., Milliman, J.D.and Hillis, L., 1995.
Bank-edge Halimeda meadow, western Great Bahama Bank, and its sedimentary
importance.
Coral Reefs, vol.14, no.1, p.27-33.
Unquote
 
Vincerama2 said:
Are you sure that's a calcium reactor and not a nuclear reactor powered mini jetpack? ;)

V
Click to expand...

That's the same thing the wife said! That's amazing!
 
Last edited:
Vincerama2
Is the only real difference in that reactor that you don't have to run water lines between the chambers? It is essentialy just one chamber but it goes up through the media then back down through right?
 
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