To start, this is my opinion based on my experience owning the 1.0 reactor body for about 6 months, which has been horrible.
I was excited when I learned about the option to remove the reacting chamber(body) from the base. Had used the TLF units and although they work great, servicing and changing the media was always a hassle.
My wife noticed the Torq sitting in my shopping cart for a while and decided to surprise me with a gift.
I had been debating about it because the more I read reviews the less I wanted to pull the trigger and buy it. All feed back out there is the same; O-rings holding base piece and top lid slip off and media flows over to the outside into the sump.
I remember looking into its design and knowing it would be a matter of time. My wife surprising me made me feel bad about returning it so I decided to give it a try.
So here are the issues. The bottom piece o ring slipped as I tried detaching the body for servicing it the first time already. Saltwater and buildup quickly made it impossible to detach it without having to have both hands on the unit and it was very frustrating. If you have a small space to work with in your sump, the aggravation level will be at a 10.
The top piece has the same issue, but worse because the media is pushed up and as it builds debris inside the body and clogs the contents(in my case, rox .08), it literally is only a matter of time for a carbon party everywhere the sump.
I had been keeping a bag filled with crushed coral on top of the unit trying to prevent the top from detaching(not what you expect to do when paying $200 for a reactor), but over the weekend the pressure pushed it out and the rox carbon flowed into the sump and the return pump pulled it to cover my whole display tank sand.
It will be weeks until I can get to remove the annoying pellets stuck in crevices and hard to reach areas everywhere.
I would discourage everyone from using this product. It will fail, it is just a matter of time.
This reactor will soon make you hate it more than any thumbscrew old fashion reactor ever would.
Some pics of the fail and what the tank looks like after a few WCs siphoning wherever I could get to.
I was excited when I learned about the option to remove the reacting chamber(body) from the base. Had used the TLF units and although they work great, servicing and changing the media was always a hassle.
My wife noticed the Torq sitting in my shopping cart for a while and decided to surprise me with a gift.
I had been debating about it because the more I read reviews the less I wanted to pull the trigger and buy it. All feed back out there is the same; O-rings holding base piece and top lid slip off and media flows over to the outside into the sump.
I remember looking into its design and knowing it would be a matter of time. My wife surprising me made me feel bad about returning it so I decided to give it a try.
So here are the issues. The bottom piece o ring slipped as I tried detaching the body for servicing it the first time already. Saltwater and buildup quickly made it impossible to detach it without having to have both hands on the unit and it was very frustrating. If you have a small space to work with in your sump, the aggravation level will be at a 10.
The top piece has the same issue, but worse because the media is pushed up and as it builds debris inside the body and clogs the contents(in my case, rox .08), it literally is only a matter of time for a carbon party everywhere the sump.
I had been keeping a bag filled with crushed coral on top of the unit trying to prevent the top from detaching(not what you expect to do when paying $200 for a reactor), but over the weekend the pressure pushed it out and the rox carbon flowed into the sump and the return pump pulled it to cover my whole display tank sand.
It will be weeks until I can get to remove the annoying pellets stuck in crevices and hard to reach areas everywhere.
I would discourage everyone from using this product. It will fail, it is just a matter of time.
This reactor will soon make you hate it more than any thumbscrew old fashion reactor ever would.
Some pics of the fail and what the tank looks like after a few WCs siphoning wherever I could get to.
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