Chaeto Reactor

[Ludders]

I currently have two fluidised media reactors, one running Rowaphos, the other with Bio pellets. After a failed fuge attempt, I was still keen to have a more natural way of removing PO4 and NO3, so I decided to treat myself to this today...

The LED strip runs straight through the reactor core and is made up of a mixture of reds and white LEDs. Light coverage should be good with this central method.

Recommended flow is between 1000 and 1500 litres per hour, so will be running this off my return pump.

There is a mesh on the top of the return outlet to stop stray chaeto coming back to the display tank.

There is also an isolation valve on the bottom inlet hose.

General thoughts are a well made piece of equipment.

I will be setting it up tomorrow, so will feed back on how it performs in a few weeks time.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I currently have two fluidised media reactors, one running Rowaphos, the other with Bio pellets. After a failed fuge attempt, I was still keen to have a more natural way of removing PO4 and NO3, so I decided to treat myself to this today...

The LED strip runs straight through the reactor core and is made up of a mixture of reds and white LEDs. Light coverage should be good with this central method.

Recommended flow is between 1000 and 1500 litres per hour, so will be running this off my return pump.

There is a mesh on the top of the return outlet to stop stray chaeto coming back to the display tank.

There is also an isolation valve on the bottom inlet hose.

General thoughts are a well made piece of equipment.

I will be setting it up tomorrow, so will feed back on how it performs in a few weeks time.

I've seen similar setups. And they all seem to do really well. I agree with the center light source having great coverage. Following along to watch your progression

 

[Ludders]

Friday's are maintenance days for me, so I used the time to get this installed.

I am still running the bio pellet and rowaphos reactors at the moment, as I didn't want to cause a spike in PO4 and NO3 by removing them. The rowaphos is about 3 weeks old now, so should start losing its effectiveness and there's only 100ml of bio pellets in the reactor now. My plan is to test and see how it goes, with a view to removing them completely over the next week or so.

I have seeded it with some chaeto and split it across the 3 layers.

Will see how it goes and hopefully provide an update on this next week (Christmas commitments permitting).

 

[Crabs McJones]

Friday's are maintenance days for me, so I used the time to get this installed.

I am still running the bio pellet and rowaphos reactors at the moment, as I didn't want to cause a spike in PO4 and NO3 by removing them. The rowaphos is about 3 weeks old now, so should start losing its effectiveness and there's only 100ml of bio pellets in the reactor now. My plan is to test and see how it goes, with a view to removing them completely over the next week or so.

I have seeded it with some chaeto and split it across the 3 layers.

Will see how it goes and hopefully provide an update on this next week (Christmas commitments permitting).

Looking good

 

[Ludders]

Just wanted to give a quick update on my nitrate levels, as I tested my nitrates around this time last week and again today to compare results.

I have a low range test kit, but it jumps from 2ppm to 4ppm, so the results I recorded last week were just over 2ppm, probably close to 3ppm and I had dosed Red Sea NO3O4-X on two seperate occasions during the week to help keep the levels down.

So far this week, I have not dosed the NO3O4-X at all.

When I tested Tuesday, my nitrate levels were around 0.75ppm and today they are just past 1, probably 1.2ppm.

I'll take a photo tomorrow of the reactor so we can compare and see how much chaeto growth has occurred.

 

[kid976]

I’m looking to get the same reactor here stateside. Has it done anything for your po4?

 

[Ludders]

I had low PO4 so it hasn't been noticable I'm afraid.

 

[Ludders]

One thing I forgot to mention earlier was I have had this running24/7.

It seems to have been growth in the lower two sections of the reactor.

Not so much growth with the small piece of chaeto I put in the top section, but some growth on the lower and good growth in the middle of this stack.

There was a light brown film, like what I would see on the display tank glass if I had left that for a week without getting my algae scraper out, which I guess is normal and to be expected.

I cleaned it all out and redistributed the chaeto, discarding a small ball.

Will continue to monitor this week with tests tomorrow, Tuesday and again Thursday.

 

[Ludders]

Other useful information for consideration would be my actual aquarium.

I have a Red Sea Reefer 170 mixed reef, but it's LPS heavy, with 2 BTA's.

I have 1 yellow coral goby, 1 chalk goby, 3 green chromis and a pair of clowns all contributing to the bio load.

 

[Ludders]

Not really had anything to update on this. I reduced the light to 12 hours a day and decided to keep it running 24/7. My nitrates are steady between 1ppm to 2ppm.

I have removed the PO4 reactor today, so will see how it goes.

 

[StanD]

Try running the reactor light on a reverse cycle (vs main tank). You will notice less brown film collecting in the reactor.

 

[Dartfrog1]

Anyone know if there's a US distributor?

 

[Ludders]

I believe you can get them in the states

 

[Neo Jeo]

Super cool idea

 

[StanD]

I believe I saw someone selling a similar reactor in the marketplace.....fyi. I converted a SICCE bio pellet reactor .... was much more cost effective