ARM media not fluidizing??????

Battlecorals · Jan 31, 2012

I am totaly puzzled on this one/

I have been using plain ole aquarium sand/aragonite in my deltec reactor for years.

And for all of those years it will always churn the media very well. Totally fluidize it.

Well today I just decided to try out some medium grain ARM and for some reason I can not figure out it just will not move the sand. I took the whole thing apart like four times now.

I cleaned the pump, even put on a spare I have. I also took nearly all of the media out leaving just a couple inches in there and still no motion.

It's like the sand is restricting it so much that it wont break apart and fluidize. I have had my reactor almost full of sand and it churned like crazy.

Any idea or anyone know some things about arm that I am missing?

Is there something about arm that makes it dense or heavier than "normal sand"

This really just makes no sense to me at all?

tdwyatt · Jan 31, 2012

THE ratio of intergranular spaces is too high to the size/weight of the gravel particles for the size of recycling pump you are using. The SW follows THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE AND BLOWS THROUGH THE SPACES TATHER THAN DISPLACE THE GRANULES. i guarantee if you got a hose pipe and stuck it into the ARM FROM THE TOP of the medium bed, it would fluidize. IF YOU WANTED A FLUIDIZED BED, GET EUTHER A BIGGER PUMP OR SMALLER LIGHTER MEDIA... why do you WANT A FLUIDIZED BED IN A CALCIUM REACTOR THOUGH? I have never seen a calcium reactor with one, ESPECIALLY WITH THE LARGER MEDIA. The idea is to slowly ket the acidified sw dissolve the ragonite while percolating through the media, not to break off chunks of calcium carbonate via friction of particle against particle. In this way you deliver calcium ions and alkalinity ions in a form that corals can use, not require that the coral absorb the calcium as is or wait for it to dissolve from its partially particulatearagonite forn and make a calcium ion mix and an alkalinity/buffer alk mix...

xcorallusx · Jan 31, 2012

the deltecs are made for their fulidized media, I have a pf601 and havnt set it up yet, but have the large arm coarse. I know it wont be fluidized but I think it will still do the trick and be big enough to not turn to mush.