DIY Chaeto Reactor. Clean look.

[Biglurr54]

Well I have decided that I want to turn my fuge area into a frag grow out area. The fuge is lit by a kessil h380 so I needed something powerfull for a reactor. I found a Bubble Magus BP-130 bio pellet reactor at a frag swap for $40 because the pump was bad. It's 5 inch's wide and plenty tall enough for my 175gallon display.

Perfect reactor except it is an in sump reactor. So I tried some cutting and settled on 1/2 not on the bottom and 3/4 not on the top. The threads needed to be sanded down a little to fit. Once they were dry fitted, they were coated in epoxy and put into place. I used PVC with fpt so I can change the plumbing if needed.

There. Now I can use it externally and plumb it into my manifold. Now I need lights and a light containment system.

I settled on these lights from Amazon:
LEDMY UL Listed DC24V IP68 Waterproof Flexible LED Strip Light SMD5050,String Light, 300LEDs Warm white 3000K, Adhesive Led Tape Light for Fountain, Outdoor, Aquarium, Swimming Pool Using 5M/16.4F Amazon product

And

Plant Grow Light 5050 SMD LED Plant Strip Lights Indoor Growing Lamp 16.4ft Waterproof Flexible Soft Rope Light with 12V Adapter for Greenhouse Hydroponics Flower Seeds(Red Blue 4:1) Amazon product

I didn't want the light to spill all over and have the wrapped led look of a diy algae reactor. I decided to try a flexible cutting board. I then coated it with a vinyl mirror on one side.

Then I cut the lights into strips and stuck them on and soldered them up.

All looked good and then I plugged in the juice.

I then used some white Velcro strips to hold the light to the reactor. The back of the vinyl mirror is white which was perfect because the cutting board was fairly transparent. While there is some light bleed, it's not bad at all. Now just have to let everything cure and dry and plumb it in tomorrow.

Well that's it. What are your thoughts?

 

[AdamD76]

Looks good. I would just keep an eye on how hot the leds get. Ive seen a couple of DIY reactors crack because of heat.

 

[Biglurr54]

Looks good. I would just keep an eye on how hot the leds get. Ive seen a couple of DIY reactors crack because of heat.

I'm hoping the thicker acrylic will not crack. If it does then i will have to revisit the design with a free standing light shroud so the lights aren't against the acrylic. I was getting temps of 120 degrees with no water in the reactor. I'm hoping the water flowing through will keep the heat down some.

 

[Amaroq]

I would second that concern on cracking. Put it in a bucket or something just to be safe.I could be mistaken but I'm pretty sure most of those cracking reactors were actually AquaMaxxs as at least one US company was selling "chaeto reactor" bundles made from a AquaMaxx reactor and some LED strips. I ran a TLFs 150 reactor as a Chaeto reactor for about six months with no issues but maitaining it was real pain compared to just tossing a ball of Chaeto in the sump, granted I also simply lined a pail with foil and had a light shining into that so no heat was directly on the plastic anyways.

 

[Biglurr54]

Update,

The reactor is working great. It is staying cool to the touch and has to bee cleaned out weekly and the walls have to be cleaned off bi-tri weekly. My nutrients are coming down slowly. I have been dosing Chaetogro to keep elements up. I am going to add unions and valves to the reactor to make it easier to remove and clean in the sink. I think it may be a candidate for monthly or quarterly acid baths with all the coraline in it.

 

[ConectadoNZ]

Update,

The reactor is working great. It is staying cool to the touch and has to bee cleaned out weekly and the walls have to be cleaned off bi-tri weekly. My nutrients are coming down slowly. I have been dosing Chaetogro to keep elements up. I am going to add unions and valves to the reactor to make it easier to remove and clean in the sink. I think it may be a candidate for monthly or quarterly acid baths with all the coraline in it.

Hi Biglurr! I was thinking to make it as well but with my bubble magus zeolit reactor as per pic! Do you reckon that would work? I may add lights around the inside tubing instead and some kind of film from the outside...

 

[Biglurr54]

Hi Biglurr! I was thinking to make it as well but with my bubble magus zeolit reactor as per pic! Do you reckon that would work? I may add lights around the inside tubing instead and some kind of film from the outside...

That could work. Make sure it seals up I would worry about the shaker handle leaking. Also the lights would have to go on the outside. I don't know of any truely submersible lights that are reef safe that would work for this. That's why I wrapped them outside. To add lights inside involves acrylic work, vapor tubes, and more hassle than it's worth. That's a nice size reactor.