Who all is running a calcium reactor?? Iv been considering adding one to my set up… Just dont know to much about them… I know what they do I just dont know which brands are good… and where do you get the CO2 tank filled and what does that cost?
I think Shawn (logans_daddy) is probably the one you want to talk to about that.
I bought a 10lb CO2 tank. I pay $10 to get it filled at a welding shop and it lasts for about a year. I have a GEO and like it, but i would go the DIY route if i were to do it again. The most important thing IMO is to use a ph controller. I would not rely on a bubble counter, it can be a real PIA to dial in.
thats not bad at all…
how easy are they to dial in? right now im using a Aqua medic Quad to add top off water, and 2 part… and so far its been a pain to keep dialed in… iv been trying to boost the 2 part but is getting pretty tedious. verdict_in
With a controller, there are very easy because you wont have a bubble rate to set. You simply set your contoller for the correct PH for the media your using. It will keep the effluent at the desired PH by turning your solenoid on and off. The only part you need to dial in is your effluent drip rate.
How much do you spend on media?
I spent $10 about 2 years ago >LOL<
Are you serious? Wow, I might start looking into these guys.
My bad, $18. I bought this
when i first set up my reactor. The level has probably dropped about 2-3". I still havent had to breakdown and replace the media yet.
Shawn - what do you figure the cost of a DIY calcium reactor to be?
I have a PH controller but nothing to control. And my tank is sucking the calcium up like a chocolate shake at a weight watchers meeting.
my tank is sucking the calcium up like a chocolate shake at a weight watchers meeting.
lOl
hmmmm, not sure. Havent built one yet. Having the ph controller is a big plus! Ill try and list some of the more expensive components to give you a ballpark.
Reef grade quality regulator package(needle valve, dual psi guages, solenoid) - $150
CO2 tank - $80 Brand new 10lb hobby tank
Water pump - $20 Most commerical reactors come with an eheim, but i would probably use a MJ1200.
PVC - ? This is all going to depend on what you want. Do you have to see into your reactor? Do you want to “easily” get into your reactor? We can use standard pvc and probably do it for $30 or we could special order clear pvc, orings, nylon nuts and bolts and try to come a little closer to commerical reactors but it will cost you.
We could piece the regulator together and save a lot of money. A quality needlevalve really doesnt matter if you use a controller. If we did it piecework through an industrial supply comapny instead of hobby distrubutors we could probably do it for $50 instead of $150. Im sure you could shave a lot of money off the tank as well. I would look into paintball tanks. The would need to be filled more often but it would be very compact.
Compact would be good. So would $50 instead of $150.
Just a thought, we’ll have to work out specifics later.
I’m faily sure you can find 24oz. paintball co2 bottle, and I know for sure you can find 20oz ones (I even think I have one). Perhaps look on craigslist to find a used one?
I would imagine that even a 20oz should last the average reefer 3 months or more without a refill.
i should be receiving my new reactor this week…i have planned to pretty much document everything possilbe with pictures, for sort of a step by step to calcium reactors kind of thing. I’ll let you guys know how it goes.
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:11, topic:1007”]
We could piece the regulator together and save a lot of money. A quality needlevalve really doesnt matter if you use a controller. If we did it piecework through an industrial supply comapny instead of hobby distrubutors we could probably do it for $50 instead of $150. Im sure you could shave a lot of money off the tank as well. I would look into paintball tanks. The would need to be filled more often but it would be very compact.[/quote]
Thats what I’m thinking…
Shawn, when you get the tank filled does it fill up to ~800 psi (tank) pressure and just sit there until the tank is almost empty or does it get filled then as it is used the pressure drops?
i should be receiving my new reactor this week...i have planned to pretty much document everything possilbe with pictures, for sort of a step by step to calcium reactors kind of thing. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
cool, that should answer a lot of people’s questions
Ian- i think this would be more your area of expertise, but my understanding is that the regulator is what allows us to dispense the CO2 at less than tank pressure. The one guage indicates the pressure of the CO2 tank and the right guage indicates the pressure of the CO2 being dispensed. As far as i know, the regulator is factory set and im not sure how to adjust it if needed.
Yea, I’m just wondering how the tank pressure reads. I’m wondering if the tanks are filled enough that liquid CO2 is in the tanks or not. Most CO2 tanks are filled and stay at 800 psi until the liquid is gone, then they drop from 800 psi to 0 as they empty.
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:11, topic:1007”]
PVC - ? This is all going to depend on what you want. Do you have to see into your reactor? Do you want to “easily” get into your reactor? We can use standard pvc and probably do it for $30 or we could special order clear pvc, orings, nylon nuts and bolts and try to come a little closer to commerical reactors but it will cost you.[/quote]
Perhaps you could send Glenn a PM and ask him if he happens to run across any of the parts you need. I know he always has scraps laying around.