Cheato and macro growing reactor

[gus6464]

Let us know how you like the bio brick. I've been looking at those but worried about debris getting lodged in it and clogging it up.

My brick is going to be at the end of my return after my carbon reactor. Debris will have to go through my filter socks which the way my sump is designed all water has to pass through. Plus the debris will also have to get past the sponges on my reactor as well. The water going into it will be pretty clean. Plus the dimpled brick is pretty crazy porous. I was dropping water in it only in the center and it was coming out the bottom from one end to the other.

 

[riche]

So do the lights go on the inside?

 

[riche]

So do the lights go on the inside?

 

[Bruce Burnett]

So do the lights go on the inside

They go around the outside

 

[GR808]

is this reactor necessary if i have a healthy colony of chaeto growing in my fuge? what's the benefits of the Pax Bellum Arid?

 

[rovster]

My guess is the the reactor is a more efficient use of space. Maybe others can chime in. There is no question the reactors work, almost too well in some cases.

 

[gus6464]

is this reactor necessary if i have a healthy colony of chaeto growing in my fuge? what's the benefits of the Pax Bellum Arid?

Reactor is just more efficient as the macro gets light from every which way. Also keeps the sump from getting filthy.

 

[AA79]

Why type of connectors are on the top of that reactor? It is tough to see on the amazon picture.

Any concern of algae build up in the clear center tube?

 

[Bruce Burnett]

Reactor is just more efficient as the macro gets light from every which way. Also keeps the sump from getting filthy.

Have you started using it yet? if so is it working?

 

[Rick.45cal]

One of the attractive features of the reactor vs. the refugium is that the chaeto or macro is supposedly "limited" to only the CO2 available in the water, and never contacts the surface of the water, so it can't scavenge CO2 other than from the aquarium. I don't have one, but I have been doing a lot of reading (what is available online) about them. The question that I can never seem to find the answer to is how do I keep my tank from bottoming out and running 0 NO3 and 0 PO4 when using one of these? I'm guessing your constantly adding nitrate and phosphate once it's really going. I really want to ditch my zeo reactor for a chaeto reactor

 

[Bruce Burnett]

As long as the algae is growing then you have ample nitrate and phosphates even if your testing does not show any.

 

[aquaman30k]

I've also read some people dose to keep the algae growing. Another cool idea I read was someone took the effluent from their calcium reactor and fed it into the algae reactor allowing the macro algae to consume the remaining co2.

 

[aquaman30k]

Any update on the growth?

Any recommendations on reactors with the hollow center for use in the sump?

 

[Bruce Burnett]

So basically the lights is just a strip roll but they have a silicone coating on them for waterproofing. The coating is super sticky so I just wrapped the light around the reactor and it sticks to it. I just taped the ends. The light strip comes with the strip, power supply, and manual knob dimmer. Then the reactor is just an Aqua Excel FR-60. Since I am using a cobalt MJ1200 pump to feed it I decided to simplify connections and use 1/2" mur-lok push connect. The outlet of the MJ1200 fits right on a 1/2" push connect mur-lok union. Then just got some true unions for the reactor along with mur-lok 1/2" npt to push connect and got the 1/2" rigid tubing from BRS.

So any up dates on how this is working and is it keeping your pod population up.

 

[gus6464]

So here is the reactor online along with my calcium reactor. I have turned off my skimmer. Between the brightwell bio brick which is functioning in an extremely efficient manner in wet/dry config and the reactor I really don't see a need for the skimmer. I have been testing PO4 for 2 nights in a row and it's holding steady at 0.07. My NO3 is a little low at 1-2 so I am going to start dosing KNO3 to keep it at 5. I have 4 fish in the tank and I am feeding super heavy. They are getting a full hikari frozen cube twice a day and a lot of it doesn't get eaten by the fish but yet nitrate is not spiking.

 

[Lowefx]

I've searched high and low for this light strip with power supply and dimmer. I have had no luck. Does anyone have a valid seller of this light strip. Thanks for the help and this great thread.

 

[Lowefx]

Does anyone have a link to this LED strip with dimmer?

 

[Bruce Burnett]

Does anyone have a link to this LED strip with dimmer?

The info is in the beginning of this discussion. Available on Amazon

 

[Lowefx]

The info is in the beginning of this discussion. Available on Amazon

Thanks Capt. Obvious! Lol hahaha jk, yes that is this first place I tried. None were available. I'm still searching with no luck. Can't find any with the dimmer.

 

[djbetterly]

Thanks Capt. Obvious! Lol hahaha jk, yes that is this first place I tried. None were available. I'm still searching with no luck. Can't find any with the dimmer.

For what it's worth I don't see the exact on Amazon either. The dimmer and power supply are probably easy to find though.