DIY Calcium Reactor

[derekh]

Just wanted to thank you for all of the effort you put into this build thread. It has inspired me to make one of these for myself!

A couple of quick questions:
1) Where'd you get the plastic pieces that hold the media screen up off of the bottom of the reactor? My kit didn't include these.
2) How'd you deal with the hole (meant for a downtube from the top for when this is used as a media reactor) in that same bottom media screen piece? The hole is cut in the acrylic as well as the finer black mesh screen placed overtop the acrylic.

Thanks again for your inspiring work! You did a great job.. Super clean build!

Derek

 

[Caravanshaka]

Just wanted to thank you for all of the effort you put into this build thread. It has inspired me to make one of these for myself!

A couple of quick questions:
1) Where'd you get the plastic pieces that hold the media screen up off of the bottom of the reactor? My kit didn't include these.
2) How'd you deal with the hole (meant for a downtube from the top for when this is used as a media reactor) in that same bottom media screen piece? The hole is cut in the acrylic as well as the finer black mesh screen placed overtop the acrylic.

Thanks again for your inspiring work! You did a great job.. Super clean build!

Derek

Hi Derek, glad you decided to go for it yourself!

1) on the big reaction chamber, I actually used some small cut rigid RO tubing I had laying around. It's 1/4" outer diameter, so I opened the 4 existing holes to 1/4" with the step drillbit and cut 4 pieces of tubing to size. I believe the kit comes with some PVC that fits through the middle hold of the bottom media plate, and that can be cut and fit to size as well. That is what I did on the small reactor.
2) you can use a piece of the second screen mesh to cover that spot when you add media. Or, if you opted to do the PVC in the middle, just leave it as-is...a couple small pieces of media falling into the PVC won't be a problem.

 

[Caravanshaka]

 

[RobW]

Thanks, Rob! Means more coming from someone as meticulous as you seem to be based on your stand build!

Maybe I should just build all my own equipment! Lol nah, I like doing certain things. Just figured this stand and finishes should stand up to the quality and looks of the gear that will be in that stand. Thank you for the compliment by the way.

 

[Avast Justin]

This is a really nice adaptation of our media reactor kit- well done!
For anyone else considering this build, these special curved body reinforcement pieces will come in handy and are better than uniseals over time:

Kalk Stirrer Replacement Parts

All Kalk Stirrer parts numbered as they appear on the diagram in the instruction manual.

www.avastmarine.com

Part #23 on that list. The K2 version is machined for the 6” tube used in this build.
They’ll really help reinforce the tube penetration site, especially at the bottom where there’s just a narrow “bridge” of tube between the edge and the hole. That’s a fragile spot.

 

[HolySmoke]

I just want to say thank you caravanshaka for making this thread because it is freaking awesome. I ordered the two reactors and will be copying your build almost to a T. I sent the thread link to justin from avast after speaking with him today and he had a great idea to reinforce the tube to make it stronger. Especially since drilling so close to the bottom of the tube. I really want to give you props for the idea to put the probe in the elbow to block the bubbles and also to suck them out. Pretty brilliant if you ask me.

Thanks again man for sharing this DIY. That's what it's all about. Saving money/customization and having a little fun to boot.

I asked if they could make them 24" tall but unfortunately they wont have more tube until the middle of August. Kinda a bummer but I might make another next month.

 

[djrice69]

Here’s one I did

This was used to fill up the reactor via siphon

 

[Caravanshaka]

This is a really nice adaptation of our media reactor kit- well done!
For anyone else considering this build, these special curved body reinforcement pieces will come in handy and are better than uniseals over time:

Kalk Stirrer Replacement Parts

All Kalk Stirrer parts numbered as they appear on the diagram in the instruction manual.

www.avastmarine.com

Part #23 on that list. The K2 version is machined for the 6” tube used in this build.
They’ll really help reinforce the tube penetration site, especially at the bottom where there’s just a narrow “bridge” of tube between the edge and the hole. That’s a fragile spot.

That’s great! I’m waiting for you to get more tubes in for the bigger kalk reactor kit....will need to get some extra tube reinforcements when I do!

The hardest part of the build is the uniseals and not cracking the thin acrylic, so these should definitely be on the part list!

 

[haanstang]

Great thread

 

[HolySmoke]

Amen ^

@Caravanshaka anyway you remember the distance center of hole to bottom of tube off hand? I really want to do the simple clean plumbing and try and minimize footprint as much as possible. Dang its gonna be nerveracking drilling so close to the bottom. Gonna have to find a friend with a drill press for sure.

 

[AVAST Marine]

That’s great! I’m waiting for you to get more tubes in for the bigger kalk reactor kit....will need to get some extra tube reinforcements when I do!

The hardest part of the build is the uniseals and not cracking the thin acrylic, so these should definitely be on the part list!

Uniseal in thin wall acrylic tips:

1. After pilot hole is done, spin hole saw backwards until groove starts, then forward to go through.
2. Sharp hole saw is not better. We dull them by drilling thin sheet metal a few times before use.
3. Lightly sand hole after it is cut to "slightly" enlarge hole
4. Silicone grease the inside of the uniseal.
5. Buff the pipe being inserted to there are NO sharp edges on the leading edge being inserted into the rubber.
6. Spit lube the pipe before inserting into greased uniseal.

 

[HolySmoke]

Uniseal in thin wall acrylic tips:

1. After pilot hole is done, spin hole saw backwards until groove starts, then forward to go through.
2. Sharp hole saw is not better. We dull them by drilling thin sheet metal a few times before use.
3. Lightly sand hole after it is cut to "slightly" enlarge hole
4. Silicone grease the inside of the uniseal.
5. Buff the pipe being inserted to there are NO sharp edges on the leading edge being inserted into the rubber.
6. Spit lube the pipe before inserting into greased uniseal.

Thanks for the tips. It's funny I recently drilled a .5" thick acrylic box I repurposed into a remote fuge with a brand new diablo hole saw. Out of the 5 or so times I have drilled acrylic the brand new sharp hole saw was the worst. It was terrible and kept grabbing/binding hard.


After a few times of grabbing I smartened up and lowered the clutch a lot. If it wasnt such thick acrylic I would have cracked it for sure.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Someone told me the reverse trick a while back and it works like a charm.

@AVAST Marine I forgot to ask is it possible to have the part for kalk reactor machined for 3/4" slip instead of 1/2"?

 

[Avast Justin]

To add on to Dan’s tips, I’ve also found that heating the uniseal in boiling water will make it much softer and hence easier to push the beveled pipe through.

 

[Caravanshaka]

Amen ^

@Caravanshaka anyway you remember the distance center of hole to bottom of tube off hand? I really want to do the simple clean plumbing and try and minimize footprint as much as possible. Dang its gonna be nerveracking drilling so close to the bottom. Gonna have to find a friend with a drill press for sure.

Unfortunately I didn’t measure. What I did was dry fit the tube into the base and put it on a level surface. I then put the pump with a spare pvc pipe attached right up to the tube. I used some masking tape on the tube in that spot, and traced the pvc pipe onto the masking tape. I left the masking tape on while drilling to ensure it was centered.

Uniseal in thin wall acrylic tips:

1. After pilot hole is done, spin hole saw backwards until groove starts, then forward to go through.
2. Sharp hole saw is not better. We dull them by drilling thin sheet metal a few times before use.
3. Lightly sand hole after it is cut to "slightly" enlarge hole
4. Silicone grease the inside of the uniseal.
5. Buff the pipe being inserted to there are NO sharp edges on the leading edge being inserted into the rubber.
6. Spit lube the pipe before inserting into greased uniseal.

Great list of advice, and I did all of that except for the backwards drilling at first....luckily I didn’t have any issues!

 

[djrice69]

Amen ^

@Caravanshaka anyway you remember the distance center of hole to bottom of tube off hand? I really want to do the simple clean plumbing and try and minimize footprint as much as possible. Dang its gonna be nerveracking drilling so close to the bottom. Gonna have to find a friend with a drill press for sure.

If that helps

 

[HolySmoke]

Nice thanks you the man. I was planning on doing the same thing as in just lining the pump up to the tube just figured it would save me some time.

I'm torn if I should use the uniseals or the machined part and you are probably the only person who could have a good opinion on that until I have the reactors in my hand. I dont really like the idea of going down to .5" but then again it is only a varios 2. I also haven't purchased the pump yet bc I have a shop local that has some and thought about going with a varios4 incase I order a much larger tube from avast soon. Do you think the 2 would suffice for say a 24" reactor? I mean I know obviously it is powerful enough but would you go with a 4?
Thanks @Caravanshaka

 

[Avast Justin]

I'm torn if I should use the uniseals or the machined part and you are probably the only person who could have a good opinion on that until I have the reactors in my hand. I dont really like the idea of going down to .5" but then again it is only a varios 2.

If you’re using 3/4” everywhere else, especially for any turns, then the short 1/2” reduction won’t make any significant difference in flow loss due to friction. I think you’ll have plenty of flow with that pump.

 

[HolySmoke]

Thanks @Caravanshaka @AVAST Marine none of this would have been possible without you guys.

 

[Breadman03]

Nice work! I plan on doing the same thing if/when my tank demand exceeds my reactor's capacity.

 

[derekh]

Just an update on my DIY reactor, I used uniseals originally but one developed a slow leak. I took the whole reactor apart and while trying to remove the lower uniseal, the acrylic tube cracked. To remedy, I used a dremel cutting disc to slightly open the surface of the crack on both sides, then filled the crack with the glue supplied in the Avast kit. It worked like a charm!

I also ordered 2 of the curved PVC pieces that were mentioned earlier to reinforce/glue the PVC pipe to the acrylic tube. These worked great and now the reactor is working flawlessly!

For others that are building a reactor, you can make your own curved PVC fittings to reinforce/glue the points where the PVC piping passes through the acrylic:

First, find an appropriately shaped PVC fitting without a curve---I bought mine from Avast so I don't have any suggestions here but a flange or something might work. You'll have to get creative looking through the options at the local hardware store. Next, put a piece of sandpaper on the outside of the acrylic tube (scratchy side facing out), and then drag the fitting along the tube to sand away the fitting until it has a curvature that matches the tube! Glue the now-curved fitting directly to the surface of the tube and you're in business!

I was researching different ways to repair the cracked acrylic tube (after I'd already ordered the curved parts from Avast) when I found this super helpful tip!

Cheers!