Aquavitro Element M noise

Peace River · Jul 2, 2023

I set up a Aquavitro Element M reactor with Seachem's matrix carbon today. It is too soon to offer a lot of feedback, but the one thing that I noticed is the noise from the ball in the chamber by the pump? I've heard this mentioned before, but once you set it up yourself it becomes real.

I think I can deal with the noise for now, but this isn't for someone who wants a silent system. I know that the valve can control the flow going through the media, but is there a way to dial it in to limit the ball from bouncing around and making noise?

On the bright side, it has a fairly small footprint and fits into the center chamber of my 36-gallon Reef Octopus sump along with a Reef Octopus skimmer.

blaxsun · Jul 2, 2023

My fish are often louder than my pumps, anyway (lol). I gather it's a plastic ball bouncing around?

exnisstech · Jul 2, 2023

Maybe slow the flow? Is the ball even needed? Sounds like maybe it's to prevent back flow when the pump is off like a check valve? Just guessing as I have no experience with the reactor.

Peace River · Jul 2, 2023

blaxsun said:
My fish are often louder than my pumps, anyway (lol). I gather it's a plastic ball bouncing around?

Yes. I need to dig in more to understand the reactor more. There is a chamber where the pump feeds into and the water can go into the reactor or out the relief valve. The chamber isn't wide open and does have some limitations where the ball can go. It isn't like it is a constant chatter, but still more noise than anticipated. I will continue to monitor and make minor adjustments to see if I can dial it in.

Peace River · Jul 6, 2023

After a few days of setting up the Aquavitro Element M I still haven't figured out the noisy ball (not that I have tried very hard), but the tank is appreciating the matrix carbon in the reactor and the water is noticeably clearer! I'll take the small wins were I can get them!

Mattiejay6 · Jul 7, 2023

The ball is a back flow prevention Device. If your using the sponges in the chamber with your media just take the ball out of the pump connection area.

Peace River · Jul 8, 2023

Mattiejay6 said:
The ball is a back flow prevention Device. If your using the sponges in the chamber with your media just take the ball out of the pump connection area.

Good feedback - thank you! The tank is still loving the extra carbon so I'll work on taking the ball out this weekend.

Peace River · Jul 9, 2023

@Mattiejay6 - thanks again for the tip! I took the ball out today and seems to have no negative effects. Of course, there is the positive effect of no more noise!

Mattiejay6 · Jul 9, 2023

Peace River said:
@Mattiejay6 - thanks again for the tip! I took the ball out today and seems to have no negative effects. Of course, there is the positive effect of no more noise!

Welcome

legalizedreefer · Oct 3, 2023

I just set up the Element Z reactor today (zeolite) and had the same issue. That plastic ball didn’t last 5 minutes before I pulled it.

Although, the water exiting the reactor is so dang loud. Did you have an issue with this?

JMaccaz · Oct 10, 2024

legalizedreefer said:
I just set up the Element Z reactor today (zeolite) and had the same issue. That plastic ball didn’t last 5 minutes before I pulled it.

Although, the water exiting the reactor is so dang loud. Did you have an issue with this?

How did this end up going as I was thinking of getting it?

is there enough flow to sufficiently stir the zeolite and did you ever figure out a way to make it silent?

legalizedreefer · Oct 10, 2024

JMaccaz said:
How did this end up going as I was thinking of getting it?

is there enough flow to sufficiently stir the zeolite and did you ever figure out a way to make it silent?

I took it offline. The design is flawed in my opinion. Each pump has a plastic floating ball that floats up to block the pump when it is off to prevent the water in the zeolite canister from emptying in to the sump, letting the stones dry out.

I removed those, because the sound was unbearably noisy. Imagine putting a single stone in a rock tumbler and putting it in your sump cabinet…. That’s how it sounds.

Then there’s the waterfall…. I had to cut up some sponge to put in the exit hole to cut down on the sound. It worked, but it was still the loudest thing down there despite my efforts.

Honestly, I’m still dosing bacto balance just without the stones.

When I have a larger tank with larger sump I’ll go back to using stones but not in this reactor.