Air/Bubble Noise through recirc pump

[KenO]

For those that have a build up of CO2 in there reactors please read:

If you own a GEO calcium reactor that was built before 2009 (manifold connected to the lid via union) then this design was built to have pressure inside the reactor. Pressure was supplied to the reactor via small feed pump placed in your sump (MaxiJet/Colbalt 600 or Sicce 0.5) and the effluent control via micro ball/needle valve. These models went into production approximately in 1999 BEFORE continuous duty peristaltic pumps were being used in the aquarium trade. If you try to run a peristaltic pump ALONE on these models you will get a build up of CO2 since there is no pressure to compress the intoduced Co2 into the water column. Some users can get them to work normally if a high effluent rate and low Co2 dosing is used. The work around if you must use a peristaltic pump with these models, although we do not recommend this, is to use both a small feed pump (<125 gph) *****WARNING connections must be secure and O-Rings/Uni-seal in good condition******* and a peristaltic pump in the pull configuration. Yes the feed pump will be pushing against the peristaltic pump but at low enough pressure not to damage it. REMEMBER THIS IS AT YOUR RISK AND AGAIN THIS IS A WORK AROUND AND NOT RECOMMENDED BY GEO'S REEF. We do however recommend that you follow the original directions listed on our website with use of only a small feed pump. This pre-2019 design is proven for almost 20 years without any major issues. Our advice is to just use the feed pump. If you choose to use the equipment in a way that it was not designed it is at your own risk.

All GEO calcium reactors built since 2019 (manifold from side) are design to be used with only ONE of the following:
* A continuous duty peristaltic pump in the PULL configuration.
OR
* A small feed pump (<125 gph) such as a Sicce 0.5, MaxiJet/Colbalt 600.

Thank you and I hope this helps.
GEO

Your first sentence says 2009 then you say pre-2019 later on. Which is it. I have a unit I purchased in 2018.

 

[geo]

Your first sentence says 2009 then you say pre-2019 later on. Which is it. I have a unit I purchased in 2018.

If your reactor has the manifold coming out from the side like this it is the current model which is designated as the 2019.

If it has the manifold coming out from the lid like this it is the original model therefore built before 2009:

 

[RandyC]

I too have a pre-2019 configuration Geo 612; two of them actually. Both were bought very early in 2019 before the new 612 version was released (or I just got old stock from an online retailer). I measured the sound increase using a decibel app on my phone and it was an unbearable increase of 7-8 decibels.

I actually just posted this a few hours ago before on how I fixed the problem for my setup last week before I saw this thread and response. Do at your own risk as I'm sure this will void your warranty and probably won't be supported by Geo after the modification.

From: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r...he-rest-of-the-coral-farm.569126/post-7530320

-------------------------
A little DIY action post today. I’ve been sick of the noise that I’ve had from my Geo 612 calcium reactor (Pre-2019 version) for a long while now, but finally got around to doing something about it. My Geo reactors would always end up collecting air/co2 gas which made a crazy amount of noise once the Sicce pump recirculated it. I measured it with my phone and the reactor added 7-8 decibels to ambient noise level. I’ve tried everything that didn’t include physical modifications to the actual reactor. Changed from pulling to pushing tank water, took apart the whole reactor and used liquid Teflon tape and silicon grease everywhere; no matter what I did, air always ended up driving up the noise of the reactor.

Here’s a picture of the pre-2019 unmodified unit (pic from google)

The problem was that air didn’t get much of a chance to get released from the reactor before it was recirculated in the pump. Although the outlet was in the top of the manifold, the outlet was exiting horizontally and in the middle of the manifold. The newer models (sometime in mid-2019) changed the input and output to be at the top of the lid.

2019 Model with input/output on lid

So what I did with the lid was lower the input of the recirculating inlet so the air could collect above that inlet and added an output of the effluent above that point in the lid so the air would definitely exit before recirculating.

To lower the input of the recirculating pump, I used a flexible extension tube that came with the Innovative Marine spin stream return nozzle. It was almost perfect to fit snuggly, but nothing Teflon tape couldn’t fix. I used this solely because I had it sitting around. I’ve seen some 3D printed ones, but this works just fine.

I then used a tap drill bit to add a 1/4” NPT threaded hole to fit a 1/4” John Guest push connect elbow. I used RectorSeal Pipe Thread Sealant to ensure elbow didn’t leak.

You can see the inlet in the middle is lower than the John Guest elbow (the small hole), the effluent output, so air should now exit the main reactor to the secondary reactor chamber without any air being sucked into the recirculating pump.

One of the 1/4” push connects on the manifold now needed to be plugged up and John Guest makes these great stem plugs that give a nice clean look. You can see a whole plug sitting on top of the lid.

And here’s another shot of the new elbow in the lid.

So far so good. Quiet as can be and visually looking at it, the reactor doesn’t look like it’s collecting any air at all. No leaks so far either. Hoping this is a solid fix.

Part List
- 1/4” NPT tap (I actually used a 1/2" step drill bit to drill the 7/16" hole and not the 7/16" drill bit included with this tap to make the initial hole before using the tap. I find it much easier to use and less likely to crack the acrylic versus switching out standard drill bits from smaller to bigger).
- 1/4” NPT thread John Guest Elbow
- 1/4” John Guest plug
- RectorSeal Pipe Thread Sealant

 

[implusebuy]

For those that have a build up of CO2 in there reactors please read:

If you own a GEO calcium reactor that was built before 2009 (manifold connected to the lid via union) then this design was built to have pressure inside the reactor. Pressure was supplied to the reactor via small feed pump placed in your sump (MaxiJet/Colbalt 600 or Sicce 0.5) and the effluent control via micro ball/needle valve. These models went into production approximately in 1999 BEFORE continuous duty peristaltic pumps were being used in the aquarium trade. If you try to run a peristaltic pump ALONE on these models you will get a build up of CO2 since there is no pressure to compress the intoduced Co2 into the water column. Some users can get them to work normally if a high effluent rate and low Co2 dosing is used. The work around if you must use a peristaltic pump with these models, although we do not recommend this, is to use both a small feed pump (<125 gph) *****WARNING connections must be secure and O-Rings/Uni-seal in good condition******* and a peristaltic pump in the pull configuration. Yes the feed pump will be pushing against the peristaltic pump but at low enough pressure not to damage it. REMEMBER THIS IS AT YOUR RISK AND AGAIN THIS IS A WORK AROUND AND NOT RECOMMENDED BY GEO'S REEF. We do however recommend that you follow the original directions listed on our website with use of only a small feed pump. This pre-2019 design is proven for almost 20 years without any major issues. Our advice is to just use the feed pump. If you choose to use the equipment in a way that it was not designed it is at your own risk.

All GEO calcium reactors built since 2019 (manifold from side) are design to be used with only ONE of the following:
* A continuous duty peristaltic pump in the PULL configuration.
OR
* A small feed pump (<125 gph) such as a Sicce 0.5, MaxiJet/Colbalt 600.

Thank you and I hope this helps.
GEO

I had the same issue on a pre 2019 cr818. Fixed it by following manufacture suggestion to pressurize using a small tunze pump fitted with a 1/4 John guest fitting. When i moved i put the cAclrx in the garage and built a manifold with a 1/4 John guest fitting and opened the ball valve wide open and that is working as well. I use a kamoer fxstp pump to pull the effluent out and into the tank. I don’t think there’s a need to rip your reactor apart and reseal it or drill holes and void whatever is left of a warranty. Just get a small pump to feed it and be done with it Now of i could only get the kamoer to quiet down....

 

[RandyC]

I had the same issue on a pre 2019 cr818. Fixed it by following manufacture suggestion to pressurize using a small tunze pump fitted with a 1/4 John guest fitting. When i moved i put the cAclrx in the garage and built a manifold with a 1/4 John guest fitting and opened the ball valve wide open and that is working as well. I use a kamoer fxstp pump to pull the effluent out and into the tank. I don’t think there’s a need to rip your reactor apart and reseal it or drill holes and void whatever is left of a warranty. Just get a small pump to feed it and be done with it Now of i could only get the kamoer to quiet down....

For my situation, it’s a maintenance thing. I have multiple tanks and three geo calcium reactors set up. So it’s three less pumps to clean regularly and worry about clogging, three less cords to manage, three less apex power outlets to take up and three less pumps to suck up a little bit of power.

Even if I only had one reactor, I’d probably still do it anyway. I think it’s a low risk fix and it costs around $10 to get the parts and the tap bit. And it takes less than 30 minutes to do the whole thing.