Aquarium Engineering ACR

[Crashjack]

OK, so my 8" ACR arrived this past Wednesday. Shipping was some of the best I've seen. Double wrapped in bubble wrap, taped tight and the shipped in a much larger box filled with popcorn. I think it could have been dropped out of a plane and it would have been fine. Comes in 3 separate pieces. The cylinder, the cap and the board. This is a beast. I can honestly say I've never owned anything aquarium hobby oriented that is as sturdy and well constructed as this reactor. So far the reasons behind being able to provide lifetime warranty are pretty obvious. There's also some minimal traces of water in the unit so I assume it's been pressure tested (who does that?).

The one thing it DID NOT ship with is a user manual/instructions or a schematic. Nothing I can find on the site or on the net to provide direction. What I have found are a few pictures that show an assembled unit. Even though the unit shown it somewhat different that the one I received (has some upgrades not shown on the older unit) I think I have the lines that interconnect the cap to the cylinder/solenoids like they should be. The real quandary is the computer board itself. there are 4 wires to connect.
*Power supply is a given.
*One wire is a 2 prong twist lock that connects to a sensor in the cap.
*The other 2 connect to the solenoids but which wire to which solenoid is not clear.
And of course how to program the unit.

I have an email and phone call into AE and should be hearing back soon. I'd really like to get this up and running this weekend!

Good info.! I’ve spoken with Bill twice and also had some email correspondence. I will say that he likes to answer questions over the phone more so than by email. He has responded to all of my emails, but if my questions require much more than a yes/no answer, he wants to discuss over the phone. That’s not a negative, just the way he likes to do things. I kind of wonder if he is waiting on patent approval and doesn’t want much information floating around for someone to use to try to knock-off (that’s just my wild speculation). However, it wouldn’t surprise me if he walks you through the setup over the phone.

 

[Bpb]

Good info.! I’ve spoken with Bill twice and also had some email correspondence. I will say that he likes to answer questions over the phone more so than by email. He has responded to all of my emails, but if my questions require much more than a yes/no answer, he wants to discuss over the phone. That’s not a negative, just the way he likes to do things. I kind of wonder if he is waiting on patent approval and doesn’t want much information floating around for someone to use to try to knock-off (that’s just my wild speculation). However, it wouldn’t surprise me if he walks you through the setup over the phone.

Amazing a guy that busy has time to take lengthy calls like that.

 

[Crashjack]

The real quandary is the computer board itself. there are 4 wires to connect.
*Power supply is a given.
*One wire is a 2 prong twist lock that connects to a sensor in the cap.
*The other 2 connect to the solenoids but which wire to which solenoid is not clear.
And of course how to program the unit.

One other question, do all of these wires have connectors or are you talking doing some soldering?

 

[Nep2nzReef]

One other question, do all of these wires have connectors or are you talking doing some soldering?

All have connectors. Believe me, this is a VERY well designed/constructed piece of equipment. Seems really odd that there's a breakdown at the user information level.

That being said, I missed a call from Bill today around 2:00. Called him back around 5:00 and got his answer machine. Seems we're playing telephone tag. It is a holiday week so I take that into consideration. Even company owners need a break every now and then.

 

[Crashjack]

All have connectors. Believe me, this is a VERY well designed/constructed piece of equipment. Seems really odd that there's a breakdown at the user information level.

That being said, I missed a call from Bill today around 2:00. Called him back around 5:00 and got his answer machine. Seems we're playing telephone tag. It is a holiday week so I take that into consideration. Even company owners need a break every now and then.

Definitely keep us posted. I’ve pretty much decided I want to go with the ACR, but I really want some sort of validation from an actual user before I pull-the-trigger.

 

[DangerDave]

Same! I’ve been following this thread for a while, I’m excited to see it set up. Good luck and thanks for going first! :)

 

[Nep2nzReef]

Received my 8" ACR and had an issue with instruction, or the lack of to be accurate and was unable to contact Bill until yesterday (assuming it was due to the holliday). Apparently the instructions were supposed to be in the box but were not, Bill emailed them to me immediately. By time I got them yesterday it was a little late to get going but did get a start today.

A little info about the unit.
1) Unit weighs roughly 23 lbs (the cylinder empty).
2) Took 1/2 half of a 44 lb box of ReBorn to fill it up, another 22 lbs.
3) I'm visually calculating it will hold about 2 gallons of water after media displacement, let's say 17 lbs.
So total weight give or take a pound or two, 62 lbs.

The unit is 24" tall to the top of the tubing 90s.

Today was more of a "drag it all out and see what I'm missing" day. I'd been told it would be best to remove the solenoid and needle valve from the CO2 regulator so I did that. Had to get an 1/8" mip x compression adapter to go back in the regulator to be able to connect the tubing. Have that now.

Also picked up the fittings to tee into my return line to get water to the unit. Hope to get that done tomorrow.

There are (2) solenoid valves that come with the unit that need to be mounted to the cylinder. Really the only thing (directly part of the ACR) that requires a tool, (2) phillips head screws got that done. Connected the CO2 and water lines from the cap to the solenoids/return.

Tomorrow is a very busy day for me, have a big project to turn over so may be Thursday before I get to finish up.

All that's left is getting the unit in place. Connecting the CO2 tubing from the regulator to the solenoid. Cutting into my water return and running the line to feed water to the second solenoid. Running the effluent line into the sump.

 

[ochriso]

Nice looking forward to your journey!

 

[hart24601]

Exciting to see one of these in action!

 

[Nep2nzReef]

Sorry for the hold up, life gets in the way sometimes. I've been called away on business, won't be back home until the 19th or 20th. Probably could have completed the install before I left but wouldn't have had time to get it tuned in. I'll be jumping on it as soon as I get back.

 

[Crashjack]

I went ahead and pulled-the-trigger but still want to hear about your experience once setup.

 

[jpas]

@Nep2nRev1

Any updates on your ACR?

Thanks

 

[NeverlosT]

Just in the interest of transparency, I suggested one of these to a good friend because I thought it looked like a good design and liked the warranty, he ordered one, and has had several challenges with it.
1. Unit leaked from multiple places upon receipt.
2. Unit was unfinished, holes were not drilled completing recirc loop, had to be drilled by customer
3. Directions were lacking so he had a tough time assembling it.

My buddy is extremely patient, he chatted with Bill a few times who I believe was helpful, and has it running now a month or so later.

I just feel bad because I recommended it and my buddies experience was less than stellar. Perhaps as they get their new building constructed the quality/execution issues will be resolved, it still strikes me as a great and robust design. Not trying to be negative, just sharing my only experience with them.

 

[yellojello]

Interesting in comparing this with the Deltec. I already have a pretty solid Masterflex and Regulator setup, so wondering if this will be worth upgrading too.

 

[yepreef]

Stay away from this company, worst customer support ever. No email, no message answered, customer is being ignored i have to filed a dispute with the bank to get money back on a product that did not ship for more than 2 months.
I dont know how the life time guaranteed works if you cannot get in touch with them.

 

[jpas]

Hey guys, I’ll write up a full review shortly, however here is a summary:

It seems Bill has around an 8 week delivery time for these ACR units. He can be difficult to contact sometimes.

When you finally do receive it, you will notice that it is slightly damp from leak testing. The assembly is very straight forward however it didn’t come with instructions, Bill had to email them separately.

It took around 20 min to setup and purge all of the air out.

Then you simply turn it on and let it run. Depending on your tank size & alk consumption you can adjust the controller settings.

There is a closed Facebook page for ACR owners that is also very helpful.

I had zero build issues with the unit, everything was machined, drilled and finished properly.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

[AZMSGT]

I was looking at this system but based on the latest reviews and comments.. I think I’ll have to pass. To bad.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I have had one of these on order for awhile. I expect to get it in the next little bit. I believe that a switch to a new controller may have been the cause of delays in delivery of some units (including mine). So hopefully the delays will be less once the new controller is fully rolled out.

Dennis

 

[Nep2nzReef]

They say when life gives you lemons.....make lemonade. Dang I'm tired of squeezing lemons. Been a list of personal issues long as your arm I won't go into but I'm going to try to finish what I started here.
With everything that's been happening I haven't gotten mine hooked up yet. Yes I'm more aware than anyone how long it's been since I received it.
To the point, my unit took about 2 months longer than originally quoted to receive it. No it did not come with instructions, I was also emailed those separately. For the most part, I've had no problem contacting Bill. Doesn't necessarily answer the phone immediately but I usually get a call back the same day. I agree that the facebook page is probably the best single point of information out there.
I'll post more when I finally get around to setting mine up. Wish me luck.

 

[jpas]

Good Luck!!!

It is pretty simple to setup and purge, Let me know if you have any questions. I have my ACR running great, ALK is super stable. My SPS are already responding with growth and coloration.