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Skimmer and Ca Reactor up-size project


obrien.david.j

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My recent history:

  • 2020 I remodeled my fishroom, added two 50gal frag tanks, and upgraded the display tank from 120g -> 250gal
  • 2021 kicked my butt with red slime, dinos, chemistry off, tank crash, etc
  • 2022 has been about getting everything back on track, and things are starting to grow like weeds (see my battle with dinos thread if you want to know what i've done)

In all of this, I've kept my favorite skimmer (Reef Octopus Elite INT-200) and my 1990's CaReactor (K2R).   Both are keeping up, but I'm expecting them to be surpassed by tank needs in 2023.   So I'm upsizing.   

  • New Skimmer:  Reef Octopus Regal 300-INT
  • New CaReactor: Reef Octopus CR5000D (8" chamber)

My current skimmer & Ca reactor setup:  (aka, Before)

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Newly created Skimmer box, with skimmer for sizing test:  (still needs overflow holes drilled before install)

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Roughly what the two next to each other look like.   CaReactor placement in fish room still WIP.   

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Phase 1 Success!   

  • Bigger Skimmer Box installed
  • Bigger Skimmer Installed!
  • (also relocated CO2 bottle off the equipment shelf, to the other side of the fish room)

Before upgrading the CaReactor, there will be some cable management done.   That will be phase 2 and 3.

Photos in order.

0. Before, (aka My current skimmer & Ca reactor setup)

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1. Before, Skimmer Removed

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2. Old Skimmer Box, before removal

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3. New Skimmer Box, before filling

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4. After

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Today was New Heater and Cable Management day.   Found I'd killed one of my heaters doing the work yesterday, but I'd already planned a 600W upgrade for it.  So no big deal.

New skimmer is doing well.  Happy with this upgrade progress.

Heater problem statement:

  • I should tell you I have four different EB832 outlets controlling heaters.   
  • Primary (Heat_Tank) is the work horse, with 2nd/3rd/4th all set to trigger 0.3 degrees lower than main.   They were all different wattages.
  • Fixed that.  Heat_Tank is now BRS 600W (although its drawing 700W) - was a 500W finnex
  • Heat_Tank2nd is an existing BRS 600W - was a 150w eheim
  • Heat_Tank3rd is an eheim 200W, sitting in a frag tank for more local heating - keeping same heater, but removed for cleaning today
  • Heat_Tank4th WAS a BRS 600W, but has now been moved to Tank2nd - and nothing is in this outlet.
  • Reminder, my fish room is in an unheated garage

Current state:

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End of Yesterday view:

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Today I retired my trusty K2R reactor, and supersized it.  The new reactor is a beast.  Filled it with at least 4x (or more) media than the K2R reactor would have needed.

Cable/Hose management is not done.  But I want the setup to run for a few days just to make sure I've got it all working.  

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Close up for the Ca & Alk supply system for my tanks.   

  • Blue hose is RO water feed through the Kalk reactor Midnight-7am for auto top off.
  • Red is Ca Reactor feed and return lines
  • Milky white is CO2 gas supply, and the gas recirculation line 

image.jpeg

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  • 2 weeks later...
4 hours ago, obrien.david.j said:

Next step of this project, Install Clarisea roller mat.   New Plumbing arrived today.

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At first glance, I thought you were just re-posting a photo of your avatar, but now I see this is a different set of PVC parts. Gotta love those 3-way wye fittings.  I'm surprised you didn't stick with the same color.  🤣

1001717621_IMG_5275(1).jpg.38eeeaef350da

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I'm replumbing the outflow from my tank, into the skimmer box (bigger box, in pictures above).  Going to send the return water into a new roller mat.    If you look closely, return piping is currently black, so chose for all new fittings to be black as well.   That's the 1 1/2" fittings in the picture.

I'm also replumbing the sump into the tank flow path.  The new box has a notch in the back left corner, so I'll be able to hid the pipes much better.  (and was forced to take out existing return line when the box grew)

This time, I'm installing a Melevsreef reverse check valve inside the tank.   One for each of two returns, 1" plumbing in picture.  (white checkvalves in new plumbing picture, which will get spray painted black.)    This is where the 3-way wye's' are going.     I'm really looking forward to these syphon breaks.  I currently get ~30 gallons of water back flowing into my sump every time I turn off the pumps.

https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2014/12/05/video-melevs-reef-demonstrates-the-anti-siphon-reverse-check-valve/

 

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Nice pickup on the Clarisea, I run the gen3 5000 and love it.  Watch your nitrates and phosphates - mine plummeted when I brought it online which I attribute to part of my dino fight... it never occurred to me how effective it would be.

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2 minutes ago, Krux said:

Nice pickup on the Clarisea, I run the gen3 5000 and love it.  Watch your nitrates and phosphates - mine plummeted when I brought it online which I attribute to part of my dino fight... it never occurred to me how effective it would be.

My NO3&PO4 are running high right now, and I'd love them to come down a bunch.    Punch line, I'm watching and will continue to watch.   Thanks for the input.

Yes, I'll be on a Clarisea, Gen3, 5000.    Had to order the extension arm to fit it in my skimmer box.   Will be dumping into it via the top/middle.  

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5 hours ago, obrien.david.j said:

My NO3&PO4 are running high right now, and I'd love them to come down a bunch.    Punch line, I'm watching and will continue to watch.   Thanks for the input.

Yes, I'll be on a Clarisea, Gen3, 5000.    Had to order the extension arm to fit it in my skimmer box.   Will be dumping into it via the top/middle.  

I too needed the arm, my tank stand door wouldn’t close without it when the feed roll was full.

 

if your nutrients continue to stay high I have a pax bellum n18 you might want to play around with that I had to take offline, that was the other half of my problem 😇

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16 hours ago, Krux said:

if your nutrients continue to stay high I have a pax bellum n18 you might want to play around with that I had to take offline, that was the other half of my problem 😇

Thanks.  I have been wondering about the difference a true algae reactor could make.   I'll reach out if things aren't coming down after install.

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@Krux Thank you for offering your pax bellum n18 (ARID).   This offer caused me to make a change to my setup tonight, after a lightbulb in my head went off.

Started researching what a pax bellum.   BRS has a nice product description, and two things registered in my brain immediately.

Quote

 

Use the ARID with a Calcium Reactor

The Calcium Reactor Feed & Injection Assembly can be purchased separately to allow use with your calcium reactor. It is a compact manifold that threads inline with tubing on the N18, allowing the ARID reactors to be used downstream from a Calcium Reactor (CaRx). By utilizing the ARID reactor inline with your calcium reactor, you gain a synergistic benefit. The ARID reactor removes excess CO2 from the effluent, mitigating the pH-lowering effects of the CaRx on your reef tank, and the macroalgae benefits from a constant CO2 source. This optional kit can increase the growth rate of your macroalgae and with it the nutrient uptake rate and dissolved oxygen production

 

Quote

 

What's Included?

...

30 mL Fe+Mn Supplement
125 mL N+Mo Supplement

 

And the lightbulb in my head goes off.   I've got a dedicated algae grow tank, Why isn't my Ca Reactor output feeding Into this tank.  The effluent is lower pH, it's got some spare CO2 in it.  FEED MY ALGAE First.

And lightbulb #2 goes off.  I dose Iron and Manganese daily, to my main display tank.  Why am I not dosing them directly to the Algae grow tank, so these nutrients are available here First.

Thus, I moved the CaReactor feed pump to the algae tank, and rerouted the return line to dump effluent into the Algae grow tank.   And moved my Iron and Mn supplements to the Algae tank.   (I already have enough NO3, and does Mo weekly + monthly to maintain levels.)

Thank you!

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https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/a-r-i-d-n18-macroalgae-reactor-pax-bellum.html

 

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Absolutely.  There is nothing more satisfying that finding (relatively) free upgrades!

 

I saw about .4 pH difference when I fed the reactor effluent through the algae reactor, I am not sure why that didn't dawn on me over the years either..  I feel like I saw several people doing that back when refugiums were taking off 20 years ago, but I must have forgotten in the interim.  I have seen one local reefer that has their effluent going into a bubble chamber in the sump with heavy airstone turbulence to de-gas the CO2 to similar effect.  He used to run the bigger c36, but I feel like he may have taken it offline.  I will try to pop over there and look at his routing of effluent and report back in the near future.

 

Unfortunately the lack of the buffering capacity the n18 provided, coupled with the basement location of my tank and closed windows in the cold months keeps my pH a little lower than I would like.  I have a kalk reactor that I will throw on at some point, but with the great dino die-off of '22 nuking most of my coral I can't turn my dastaco down any lower and don't have enough coral mass to consume all the alk.  Hopefully this will be resolved shortly.  I do really like that the dastaco has a photo cell that turns down the CO2 when it is dark, that helps a little but I still swing about .3 pH crest to trough. 

 

The n18 was great, and the plumbing was really well thought out, I ran it with the QD's and the injection module, I just didn't have enough of a bio-load to maintain it.  Hopefully it will work on the next tank upgrade.

Edited by Krux
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11 hours ago, Krux said:

I have seen one local reefer that has their effluent going into a bubble chamber in the sump with heavy airstone turbulence to de-gas the CO2 to similar effect.  He used to run the bigger c36, but I feel like he may have taken it offline.  I will try to pop over there and look at his routing of effluent and report back in the near future.

Who's rocking the C36?   I saw this model while researching, thinking... Hmm Hmm.  :)

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Bummer - I miscalculated by 1/4-1/2".   I don't think the roller mat fits as planned.   Good thing I hadn't cut out existing plumbing yet.

I need to feed the rollermat from the top.  Or I think I do.   So got the extension arm kit to separate the roll.  But when "dry" fitting it, I realized that the Uptake side needs the same 3" of space the Supply roll side needs.  And when I place my 1 1/2" pvc into that space, I'm going to bump into one of the rolls.  No doubt about it.

I need to rethink where this can go, and how it fits.

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I may be misreading when you say feed from the top, but inflow goes through the lower elbow on the unit (it looks like you currently have it pointed down and not up) if that is different from what you are describing. 

 

I had alignment issues and went first with silicone tubing, and then to flex pvc to make it work.  While it may not fit your beautiful aesthetic, that could be a temporary workaround.

 

I can take a photo of my shameful sump and how I have it set up when I get home from work tonight if that helps.

Edited by Krux
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1 hour ago, Krux said:

I may be misreading when you say feed from the top, but inflow goes through the lower elbow on the unit (it looks like you currently have it pointed down and not up) if that is different from what you are describing. 

 

I had alignment issues and went first with silicone tubing, and then to flex pvc to make it work.  While it may not fit your beautiful aesthetic, that could be a temporary workaround.

 

I can take a photo of my shameful sump and how I have it set up when I get home from work tonight if that helps.

picture would be awesome.   Lower elbow is pointed down, just because I was planning on capping it.  Dump water straight into the top.   

My overall challenge is my tank is dual 1 1/2" outflows (grey elbows through the wall, pointing to the left, in original photos).   I could Tee them, and bring them down to the 1" rollermat elbow.   I'm trying to make sure I don't put too much back pressure on those 1 1/2" outflows.  There's not much head pressure, not that much vertical height.

I do like your silicon tubing idea.   I'll keep thinking and playing with it.

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You could also just connect one of the outflows and filter half of the water coming through, I do this on my system - when there is too much backpressure water rises in my overflow and engages the overflow drain which achieves the same effect. 

 

The tubing I use is intended for the brewing industry making it food safe.  You can get 1.5" ID most easily from Amazon for about $4 per foot.

 

A single 1" pipe can handle over 12000 gph so unless you are pushing with two A4000 Abyzz pumps you should be fine.  I am jealous of your plumbing!

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3 hours ago, Krux said:

You could also just connect one of the outflows and filter half of the water coming through, I do this on my system - when there is too much backpressure water rises in my overflow and engages the overflow drain which achieves the same effect. 

The tubing I use is intended for the brewing industry making it food safe.  You can get 1.5" ID most easily from Amazon for about $4 per foot.

A single 1" pipe can handle over 12000 gph so unless you are pushing with two A4000 Abyzz pumps you should be fine.  I am jealous of your plumbing!

Brewer supply is a good idea.  Mainbrew in hillsboro, north of hwy 26, is where I exchange my CO2 tanks.   May have to stop by to checkout hose availability.

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  • 6 months later...

Quick update, Needed to replace Ca Reactor Media.

Apparently I have enough corals to chew up most of the main chamber media in ~7 months..   Don't be confused, there is still thin crunchy media in the chamber.  But when I pulled it out, it practically crumbled in my fingers and not much left to put back.   

Replaced with "new" ReBorn.    Got to admit, I really like ReBorn-Original (tm) a lot better than what you can currently get.  It's now smaller pieces.

 

image.jpeg

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  • 4 months later...

What is the pH inside your reactor?  I am using the calcite based Triton/KZ marble chips in mine - not necessarily cheap but they don't really melt fast and they have the lowest phosphate boost of any media according to BRS testing.  The only problem is it needs a very low pH to melt... under 6.

Just a thought if you hadn't looked into it.

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