Pax Bellum Frustration

[Braves Fan]

I have my Phosphate number back up there ,, Nitrates are at 25 ,, I dosed, to spec's,, some liquid Iron and Chatto grow to the tank ,, I put the Pax Bellum back online two days ago ,, I will give it 3 or 4 weeks and see if I get mush again ,, like I got from the last two times I ran the Pax or a nice batch of Chatto

Should be no reason for the Pax to not do its job ,, if not ,, in the trash it goes and I will be putting the Kessil Tuna Flora LED light back online ,,

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

my nitrates were threw the roof there was no reason for it to keep turning to mush the last time it got so bad so quick I had a light brown slime coming out the return tube. im 3 weeks into a algea scrubber and so far am seeing better results and its way easier to clean and no yearly replacement parts

 

[Taby]

I loved my reactor. I ran into the issue of the macro algae dying off. I spoke to lfs and they helped me understand and prevent the algae from dying off as it did. They suggested that I tune my flow to help prevent dead spots. I needed to trim the macro to keep the nutrient uptake somewhat controlled. The lfs also pointed out that even though I had nitrate and phosphate, I was not providing the algae with essential minerals needed to grow like iron and manganese. You can add with supplements or through water changes

 

[Braves Fan]

my nitrates were threw the roof there was no reason for it to keep turning to mush the last time it got so bad so quick I had a light brown slime coming out the return tube. im 3 weeks into a algea scrubber and so far am seeing better results and its way easier to clean and no yearly replacement parts

It takes more than just high nitrates to grow this stuff ,, I have a Algae scrubber ,, the Pax is so much easier to use ,, if I can get it working ,, which I think I will this time ,, I believe the reason for it not working was my low Phosphate number ,, I have good flow going thru it ,, water is supplied by my manifold system ,,

 

[Braves Fan]

Not sure this is good news or not ,, I have been running the Pax on the off cycle of my Radion's ,, meaning I am running the Pax at night ,, off in the morning ,, really can't see into the reactor ,, yesterday a brownish film started appearing at the top of the Pax ,, fixing to open it up and see if the Chatto is turning to mush ,,

 

[pecan2phat]

If your getting the brownish film on top plate, I'm gonna guess mush

 

[Braves Fan]

Well, opened it up ,, thew Chatto is still in there ,, was looking a bit brownish in spots ,, not saying it was turning to mush in another small area ,, but maybe ,, anyway ,, I had pretty good flow going thru it ,, I increased that ,, putting a pretty good bit of flow thru it now ,,

 

[pecan2phat]

I cannot get good flow through my N24 no matter what. I've used 350 gph mag drives, 4000 lph jebao dc pumps which are more than the recommended Maxi-Jet 1200 that they state and still after a few weeks it becomes very restricted. I hate the 1/2" plumbing that they used and their quick connect fittings restrict the flow even more so due to the built in check valves.

 

[saltwaterpicaso]

I'm wondering If say 600gph would keep it clean or not. Mine would start to slime the return tube that's when I knew it was toast

 

[pecan2phat]

In the past, I've tried a Mag 5 Utility pump which has good head pressure but.......over the course of a week or so, it started to make the seal on the ARID leak so I took the pump off. I might try it again to see.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Should we move this to the new school bus old school thread?

Sorry man, sucks that it was soo pricey and doesnt work

 

[Braves Fan]

I am not pulling the plug on mine yet ,, but I am having my doubts ,,

 

[2una]

I cannot get good flow through my N24 no matter what. I've used 350 gph mag drives, 4000 lph jebao dc pumps which are more than the recommended Maxi-Jet 1200 that they state and still after a few weeks it becomes very restricted. I hate the 1/2" plumbing that they used and their quick connect fittings restrict the flow even more so due to the built in check valves.

They selling them without those check valves built into the quick connect fittings now for that reason

 

[Pax Bellum]

I had a refugium with a Kessil H380 and was throwing away about a gallon of chaeto overgrowth every month. It was a set it and forget it setup and I looked to switch because I liked the idea of a contained macroalgae growth system.

The Bellum seems to be great at turning chaeto into mushy slime and fouling up my tank. I'm told that I need to jump through hoops for success with this (ex: maintain a 1/100 ppm Nitrate: Phosphate ratio, dose iron, dose iodine, and even dose nitrate). I think I could grow chaeto in my tennis shoe if it was filled it with water containing those parameters.

The searches on this forum yield results with people selling used ones, which is not a good sign. There are most other posts of people trying to understand why they can't get this thing to work.

So what's the real deal? Is it that the light quality sucks? The limited flow/exposure to nutrients? The inside out lighting design? Combo of all?

I can't even get this thing to become make-shift gh algae scrubber...and (like most reefers) I'm great at growing gha.

Hello Slewrock1- I was made aware of this thread by a customer and would like to help. As the inventor of internally illuminated macroalgae reactors and over 15 years of experience with them three US patents and many successful systems employing them I would like to help you and everyone following this thread get the most out of their ARID reactors.

Could you list your current water parameters, light schedule on the ARID, the other equipment you run, any media or supplements you dose? Photos of your reef and equipment would also be very helpful.

The light spectrum of the ARID is a full spectrum designed to activate all photosynthetic pigments not just chlorophyll a and b. The light intensity is much higher than knockoffs on the market. The intensity was designed for the fastest growth rate possible and to push the algae to take up ammonium over just nitrate that occurs under lower lighting. This intense lighting can make imbalances in water chemistry more evident. However, when water chemistry is correct growth rate is extremely rapid and so is the uptake of N, P, and C. Shortening the photo period and slowly ramping it up will acclimate the algae to the intense light and avoid photo-oxidation. Iodine levels need to be at least NSW levels 0.06ppm or higher preferrably 0.10ppm so the algae will not succumb to photo-oxidation, other elements also play a role but I look at iodine first since it can be measured reasonably accurately. If Fe and Mn are dosed at recommended rates they can generally be overlooked as a cause. Inline 12vdc dimmers are also available to lower the light intensity while the algae is acclimating.

From the pics it looks like a few things are going on and without information I can only speculate, but part of the issue is photo-oxidation.

For anyone following this thread that doesn't have our literature I have attached it. I'm looking forward to helping anyone using our products. Your success is our success. Tristan

 

[Pax Bellum]

They selling them without those check valves built into the quick connect fittings now for that reason

Thank you for pointing that out and we do not recommend CPC or any other QD with a poppet valve built in. They clog with debri and can lead to chaeto crashes. The port diameter has been increased on the ARID n24 to a 3/4" ID hose barb QD.
pecan2phat has an original n24 from maybe 5 years ago now? That unit has a 5" diameter 24" tall chamber, no integral chamber wrap, cog style flange and constructed from 1/4" cast acrylic flange and base as opposed to 3/8" as currently, fittings were 1/2" and threaded into the base and lid. The light tube at the time was polycarbonate and prone to crazing if the supplier hadn't annealed it. The o-ring gland was not optimal at that time and the tapped threads on the flange were tight and prone to binding. So many updates have been made since that time, the light sleeves are now a polymer that does not craze, we have tested them by thermal cycling, crushing, bending, and impact and they do not leak. We still recommend a yearly change to optimize light transmission, and the assembly includes discs, spiral strands and a uniseal for the lid.

 

[Pax Bellum]

If anyone is interested please joint our FB group where other ARID owners share experiences and help one another https://www.facebook.com/groups/504358043470413/?source_id=1693296024234212

 

[pecan2phat]

Thank you for pointing that out and we do not recommend CPC or any other QD with a poppet valve built in. They clog with debri and can lead to chaeto crashes. The port diameter has been increased on the ARID n24 to a 3/4" ID hose barb QD.
pecan2phat has an original n24 from maybe 5 years ago now? That unit has a 5" diameter 24" tall chamber, no integral chamber wrap, cog style flange and constructed from 1/4" cast acrylic flange and base as opposed to 3/8" as currently, fittings were 1/2" and threaded into the base and lid. The light tube at the time was polycarbonate and prone to crazing if the supplier hadn't annealed it. The o-ring gland was not optimal at that time and the tapped threads on the flange were tight and prone to binding. So many updates have been made since that time, the light sleeves are now a polymer that does not craze, we have tested them by thermal cycling, crushing, bending, and impact and they do not leak. We still recommend a yearly change to optimize light transmission, and the assembly includes discs, spiral strands and a uniseal for the lid.

Yes I do have one of the OG Lol.
At the same time, I purchased the C30 and those fittings did not have the poppet valves, so much better and the shell was PVC (I think) vs the clear acrylic with outer sleeve.
I did upgrade the N24's to one of your newer light tubes with the chamber wrap but the tube is shorter and I had to add another uniseal gerry rig to keep the LED rod from resting on the bottom of the newer tube.

 

[pecan2phat]

I threw on an old Mag 5 two days ago and am getting decent output flow for now. Hope it doesn't blow a gasket and start leaking again.

 

[Pax Bellum]

Yes I do have one of the OG Lol.
At the same time, I purchased the C30 and those fittings did not have the poppet valves, so much better and the shell was PVC (I think) vs the clear acrylic with outer sleeve.
I did upgrade the N24's to one of your newer light tubes with the chamber wrap but the tube is shorter and I had to add another uniseal gerry rig to keep the LED rod from resting on the bottom of the newer tube.

We can make you a new light sleeve that will work with your OG n24 We also have 3/4" HB x 1/2" mnpt QD's that will work on yours, same as the c30. Do you still have the original square cross section o-ring for the flange?

 

[Braves Fan]

I joined the FB page ,, maybe something good will come of it