Aquarium Engineering ACR

[Dennis Cartier]

It is going to be awhile before I can have my ACR on an actual tank as my sump is delayed. I thought it worthwhile to set it up for a leak test now, so anything can be addressed while I wait for the sump.

I rigged up some pumps and buckets and something for the ACR to sit in in case of leaks. It was good planning on my part expecting leaks. The o-ring that the lid sealed against had a bit of swarf on it and it leaked a lot. Removed the lid, cleaned up the o-ring area and voila, no leaks. Well, no leaks until I was trying to diagnose if the air pump I was using had enough pressure and had one of the CO2 lines off. It was lying on the floor for a minute or two before I noticed the water level in the reactor going down and then the small pool forming. So much for planning ahead.

I wanted to run the reactor with all functions being tested, but the air pump was just not up to the job. Then I remembered that my tank build uses pneumatics and I had a small air compressor on hand to test those with. Problem solved. Everything worked as expected. Bleeding the trapped air (CO2), caused the controller to refill the CO2 reservoir.

While snapping a few photos to document the test. I caught my lab assistant trying to make off with some lab equipment (paper towels) :)

I can hardly wait to fill this baby with Reborn and get it on a tank.

Dennis

 

[Silver14SS]

It is going to be awhile before I can have my ACR on an actual tank as my sump is delayed. I thought it worthwhile to set it up for a leak test now, so anything can be addressed while I wait for the sump.

I rigged up some pumps and buckets and something for the ACR to sit in in case of leaks. It was good planning on my part expecting leaks. The o-ring that the lid sealed against had a bit of swarf on it and it leaked a lot. Removed the lid, cleaned up the o-ring area and voila, no leaks. Well, no leaks until I was trying to diagnose if the air pump I was using had enough pressure and had one of the CO2 lines off. It was lying on the floor for a minute or two before I noticed the water level in the reactor going down and then the small pool forming. So much for planning ahead.

I wanted to run the reactor with all functions being tested, but the air pump was just not up to the job. Then I remembered that my tank build uses pneumatics and I had a small air compressor on hand to test those with. Problem solved. Everything worked as expected. Bleeding the trapped air (CO2), caused the controller to refill the CO2 reservoir.

While snapping a few photos to document the test. I caught my lab assistant trying to make off with some lab equipment (paper towels) :)

I can hardly wait to fill this baby with Reborn and get it on a tank.

Dennis

Thank you for sharing these pics and teaching me the word "swarf." :)

 

[jpas]

You need at least 2 or 3 psi of pressure, ideally around 5psi

 

[callenogal]

is it worth buying this reactor ?

 

[Dennis Cartier]

is it worth buying this reactor ?

I can't say how well the reactor works, as I have not ran mine on a tank yet, only in a controlled test. I expect it is going to work quite well. Others who have theirs already running can speak more to that.

I can tell you why I bought the reactor. The main attraction for me is that the reactor is made out of 100% PVC components rather than the acrylic you find in most other reactors. PVC is a lot tougher than acrylic without a lot of the issues that can befall acrylic (cracking, crazing, etc.). Many of the parts are custom machined out of solid billets of PVC. This thing is built like a tank and comes with a lifetime warranty.

Because these are built to order, modifications are possible, but this also means that they are not typically sitting on a shelf waiting to be sold. So there will probably be a wait for an order to be filled. The wait can seem like an eternity. As long as you are not in a rush, I think they are worth the wait.

Oh, and welcome to Reef 2 Reef!

Dennis

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I have a question for owners of the ACR that already have them in use (@jpas @BrianReefer ), and some comments on how the ACR design has changed since introduction. Mine will not be setup until the spring, but I would love to know the answers before then. I am planning to use ReBorn, which is the recommended media, but other reactors that run at the CO2 solubility limit, suggest that coral based media turns to mush. All the other automated reactors include a venting feature that allows the CO2 bubble to purged and replaced as a way of increasing the sustainable DKH of the effluent. Dastaco goes so far as to use the number of vent cycles as part of its range of level settings.

So anyone using ReBorn notice any issues with media breaking down?

Have you noticed any fall off in the DKH after a few days from startup (where non-CO2 gasses may have accumulated in the gas bubble)?

Ok, so changes in the ACR since launch. Looking at the photos of my unit and others in the thread, the lid appears to have undergone some revamping. Mine is a 8" unit and my lid screws directly on the threads of the reactor where as others appear to use a collar from a union (or something similar). This gives a lower profile lid, with the hoses exiting from the side rather than vertically from the top.

The units are now coming with Sicce pumps. Mine has a Sicce Syncra Silent 2.5 integrated.

The biggest change is that the controller is now separated into two boxes and the external solenoids on the side of the reactor are no longer used. The added box is a valve module that contains the solenoids and valves required to operate the unit and becomes the main point of hooking up tubing to and from the unit for CO2 and effluent. The CO2 solenoids have doubled up for redundancy and the effluent valve has been changed to a different non contacting type. Bill mentioned that plans were in the works to upgrade the existing units to this new controller design. So if you have the old external solenoid setup, you may want to contact him to get details on this.

Those are all the changes that I can see from comparing my units to others that have been posted.

Dennis

 

[jpas]

Hello Dennis,

The new valves are not based off traditional solenoids, they use a pinch type valve which has proven to be more reliable in the saltwater environment as of the fluids & gas are fully contained

At the top of the reactor is a float valve that recirculates the buildup of CO2 from the top of the reactor back into the flow. There is a lot of flow gas flowing in this reactor, I’m not sure if this contributes to the media not getting mushy. I have not measured the pH of the effluent so I can’t comment on that.

I believe Bill is upgrading all of the solenoid type reactors to the new valve box. You should contact him & ask him.

I have been using the Reborn media with no issues of it turning soft. I have been running it for around 6 months. I switched to the new valves around 6 weeks ago.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Hello Dennis,

The new valves are not based off traditional solenoids, they use a pinch type valve which has proven to be more reliable in the saltwater environment as of the fluids & gas are fully contained

At the top of the reactor is a float valve that recirculates the buildup of CO2 from the top of the reactor back into the flow. There is a lot of flow gas flowing in this reactor, I’m not sure if this contributes to the media not getting mushy. I have not measured the pH of the effluent so I can’t comment on that.

I believe Bill is upgrading all of the solenoid type reactors to the new valve box. You should contact him & ask him.

I have been using the Reborn media with no issues of it turning soft. I have been running it for around 6 months. I switched to the new valves around 6 weeks ago.

Thanks for the feedback on the media. My unit is already equipped with the newest valve setup and I was just mentioning it for the benefit of others.

It would be interested to know what the dKH of the effluent being produced is. I would expect these units to be able to produce effluent in the range of 65 - 75 dKH. Anyone trying to measure theirs, you will need to dillute the effluent 1:9 to bring it down to a range for most test methods. Then multiply the test result by 10.

Dennis

 

[RSnodgrass]

Bump for info needed:
- Can anyone update on dkh
- Current version dimensions (footprint and height).
- Noise level, would anyone mount this under a standard in a quiet office? Relative to a normal skimmer volume? What about solenoids, do they make noticeable 'pop' sounds when operating? Hissing of co2?

 

[jpas]

Bump for info needed:
- Can anyone update on dkh
- Current version dimensions (footprint and height).
- Noise level, would anyone mount this under a standard in a quiet office? Relative to a normal skimmer volume? What about solenoids, do they make noticeable 'pop' sounds when operating? Hissing of co2?

My alkalinity is stable at 8.6

I don’t have dimensions right now, I’ll measure it later today

the noise level from the pumps is very low, however the valves do make a click sound that is pretty loud but bearable. The is really no CO2 noise.

 

[RSnodgrass]

Sounds like it's 11" x 20" default size with another 3" or so where the pump is.

I did speak to Bill and said there's no issue putting foam in the solenoid box (new unit) to really muffle them.

What regulator are people using for this? Doesn't sound like an expensive one is needed.

 

[Dan Rigle]

Hmm, interesting. While I was mulling over ordering one I wondered if it operated by using the duty cycle of the feed solenoid compared to the CO2 solenoid. I asked Bill if this was the case, and did the ACR threfore require a stable PSI for the CO2 (like a dual stage regulator). He laughed and said I was over complicating it.

I can't wait to get mine to see how it works.

Dennis

Wow

 

[Dan Rigle]

I've ran one for about 3 months. A stacked, auto. I've modified it several times after failures in controller. Pinch solenoid ruptured hose first, then moisture in co2 ck valve.drained 20lb gas, now purging unit every 3 days to keep stable ph in rx and effluent. I can get strong dkh on a heavy demand system but not very automatic currently.
Not shocked, as automatic and me disagree often

 

[RSnodgrass]

As an FYI as long as this thread got bumped, it's undergone several improvements and iterations since Feb, mines arriving tomorrow.

 

[Dan Rigle]

I'm running 10 lb psi co2 currently. Seems to hold a better ph range then lower. Much higher may cause leaks at rx . But higher lbs psi pressure does put more co2 in vessel and should raise effluent dkh. Purging old gasses seems necessary with this design and have heard rumours of a purge solenoid being talked about. Starting with the unit bleed out, and fresh co2 injected will show good #s, but as time passes, effluent dkh falls, and effluent/reactor ph rises.

 

[RSnodgrass]

I'd say it's still definitely a new product as parts are still being tested, changed, etc. as Dan alluded to. Also still have some long wait times, so for those impatient anticipate several months.

Functionally I've heard about several company improvements going on to help with delays, automation, etc but there's still a backlog of people wanting one and hard to predict how much it will help yet.

 

[Dan Rigle]

As an FYI as long as this thread got bumped, it's undergone several improvements and iterations since Feb, mines arriving tomorrow.

Yessir
I'm on v2 solenoid pack and no issues in a few weeks in this box. The concept . The theory. I believe it can work great. I believe it changes the school of thought on carx a bit. But I believe a few more tweaks are needed. It unit is built nicely and made to last. The electronics etc...jury still out imho

 

[DangerDave]

My mechanical and electrical boxes both filled with tank water a couple weeks after i received my 8 inch acr, which was in January or February. Bill replaced them and all has been well since. I'm running 12psi on my co2 (at least I think it's 12 psi, it's a cheap regulator) and all is working as expected since. It's an 8 inch reactor supporting about 430 gallons over my display and 4 frag tanks. I'm currently running it at 8/100. It's supplemented with about 5 gallons a day of kalk (mostly for PH due to the environment of the fish room), and a trident with 2 part to control any swings.

 

[RSnodgrass]

My mechanical and electrical boxes both filled with tank water a couple weeks after i received my 8 inch acr, which was in January or February. Bill replaced them and all has been well since. I'm running 12psi on my co2 (at least I think it's 12 psi, it's a cheap regulator) and all is working as expected since. It's an 8 inch reactor supporting about 430 gallons over my display and 4 frag tanks. I'm currently running it at 8/100. It's supplemented with about 5 gallons a day of kalk (mostly for PH due to the environment of the fish room), and a trident with 2 part to control any swings.

That sounds like a fun system to have!

 

[ca1ore]

It's supplemented with about 5 gallons a day of kalk (mostly for PH due to the environment of the fish room), and a trident with 2 part to control any swings.

Though I’m running a different brand of CaRx, I think this is a sensible way to keep levels stable. Kalk helps a lot during hermetically sealed seasons and trident controlled dosing is solid. Never could work out an acceptable way for trident to directly control the CaRx.