Making my carbon/gfo reactor more accessible

Be102 · Dec 13, 2018

I currently have the brs gfo and carbon deluxe reactor and I feel I can improve the location it is on my tank. It currently sits in my sump and every time I habe to remove it to switch the media I manage to whack a chunk off of my marine pure block. I would like to ideally run it from my manifold to it mounted on my wall and then back into my sump, and if I can’t do that without leaks I’d like to just get some sort of better connections whilst it is in the actual sump.

The hard tubing and push-disconnect really make it a pain to switch out. What can I switch to? Some sort of soft tubing or any other ideas are great.

jgraz · Dec 13, 2018

Can you hang it above the sump?
BRS sells a small kit to switch out the hard tubing with silicon tubing. It is super flexible and has barbed ends that utilize the pushconnects. Its a bit expensive since its marketed for us, but all parts should be easy to find elsewhere for much cheaper

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-reactor-silicone-tubing-upgrade-kit.html

Be102 · Dec 13, 2018

jgraz said:
Can you hang it above the sump?
BRS sells a small kit to switch out the hard tubing with silicon tubing. It is super flexible and has barbed ends that utilize the pushconnects. Its a bit expensive since its marketed for us, but all parts should be easy to find elsewhere for much cheaper

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-reactor-silicone-tubing-upgrade-kit.html

Above the sump how so? Would another picture maybe help?
I was even maybe thinking hanging it on the wall behind if I could ensure it wouldn’t leak or anything

jgraz · Dec 13, 2018

Two screws in any of those crossmembers would be more then sufficient to hang it. In my last system I kept them out of the sump and never had a problem leaking. The silicon actually seals a bit better then the hard tubing. with each change of media clean/dry the canister threads well and add a touch of silicone grease to the O-ring, never had even a drop of water or creep.

Be102 · Dec 13, 2018

jgraz said:
Two screws in any of those crossmembers would be more then sufficient to hang it. In my last system I kept them out of the sump and never had a problem leaking. The silicon actually seals a bit better then the hard tubing. with each change of media clean/dry the canister threads well and add a touch of silicone grease to the O-ring, never had even a drop of water or creep.

What do you think I could use to build my own setup rather than the brs soft tubing

Coastie Reefer · Dec 13, 2018

Be102 said:
What do you think I could use to build my own setup rather than the brs soft tubing

If I'm not mistaken the inlet and outlet take standard 1/2" plumbing fittings. You could use 1/2" male threaded ends with barb fittings and use vinyl tubing...

jgraz · Dec 13, 2018

Be102 said:
What do you think I could use to build my own setup rather than the brs soft tubing

Coastie Reefer said:
If I'm not mistaken the inlet and outlet take standard 1/2" plumbing fittings. You could use 1/2" male threaded ends with barb fittings and use vinyl tubing...

You could do what Coastie mentioned. The fittings are available at Lowes and probably HD as well. The vinyl tubing is readily available at the same places. Vinyl is softer then the hard tube that came with the reactor but much harder then the silicon. Amazon has the tubing, and probably the fittings too

Salahunreal · Dec 13, 2018

Be102 said:
Above the sump how so? Would another picture maybe help?
I was even maybe thinking hanging it on the wall behind if I could ensure it wouldn’t leak or anything

Salute for the Life reef skimmer

Be102 · Dec 13, 2018

Salahunreal said:
Salute for the Life reef skimmer

It’s a champ. Haven’t had much stuff in my tank so i was skimming wetter than Normal, but I love lifereef. Have the overflow for the back and would have had a sump if I was patient

Salahunreal · Dec 14, 2018

Be102 said:
It’s a champ. Haven’t had much stuff in my tank so i was skimming wetter than Normal, but I love lifereef. Have the overflow for the back and would have had a sump if I was patient

Yeah I saw the life reef and could not resist to hijack your thread (Sorry by the way

)
He just emailed me a pic of mine that was finished this week. Pending shipping to Sweden.

I really tried hard to order the sump. I was trying to convince Jeff to make me one but he said shipping would be a nightmare and would cost 1000+ to Sweden

but I will keep dreaming

Mine is the 3rd from left first row

Be102 · Dec 14, 2018

Salahunreal said:
Yeah I saw the life reef and could not resist to hijack your thread (Sorry by the way )
He just emailed me a pic of mine that was finished this week. Pending shipping to Sweden.

I really tried hard to order the sump. I was trying to convince Jeff to make me one but he said shipping would be a nightmare and would cost 1000+ to Sweden but I will keep dreaming

Mine is the 3rd from left first row

I also saw u were eagerly awaiting for it and I am happy u hijacked! Enjoy!

Be102 · Dec 14, 2018

Salahunreal said:
Yeah I saw the life reef and could not resist to hijack your thread (Sorry by the way )
He just emailed me a pic of mine that was finished this week. Pending shipping to Sweden.

I really tried hard to order the sump. I was trying to convince Jeff to make me one but he said shipping would be a nightmare and would cost 1000+ to Sweden but I will keep dreaming

Mine is the 3rd from left first row

I also saw u were eagerly awaiting for it and I am happy u hijacked! Enjoy!

Be102 · Dec 14, 2018

I’m going to the hardware store today. What would be the smartest way to connect both the reactor to the manifold? Also can I buy another flow restricting thing that keeps the flow at a decent speed that would work with the flexible tubing?

BigHildy53 · Dec 14, 2018

I use the Colder quick connect/disconnect couplers from BRS. I use them on my carbon, GFO and CO2 reactors. Makes removing and changing the reactor a breeze.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/barb-x-shutoff-push-lock-coupler.html

Be102 · Dec 14, 2018

BigHildy53 said:
I use the Colder quick connect/disconnect couplers from BRS. I use them on my carbon, GFO and CO2 reactors. Makes removing and changing the reactor a breeze.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/barb-x-shutoff-push-lock-coupler.html

Can I see a picture of your setup? Little confused

BigHildy53 · Dec 14, 2018

I have a manifold, and use Cepex true union ball valves. The quick connect fittings are screwed into the ball valve.

JoshH · Dec 14, 2018

Deleted

Be102 · Dec 14, 2018

JoshH said:
You would have to switch to soft tubing to use those connections. Very easy to do though and he is correct, SUPER easy to disconnect and reconnect

My plan is to switch to soft tubing.. just can’t figure out which one!! lol just got my 1x4 elbow for the Rodi . Now to find the couplings to disconnect. Any one think they can find them on Lowe’s.com? Hard to compare to brs when baker differently

Be102 · Dec 14, 2018

Ok so now I am really confused lol.

So I went to Lowe’s and bought some buckets for my TTM and I had to grab a piece for my rodi. I actually bought the 1/4 like suggested but of course it was too big. Mine is 1/8. Anyways I went home and managed to fix the elbow and then fired up the ro/di to check out the new flush valve.

Ok so I have no clue how this thing works and I’m really confused, so when I closed the valve ( in the up position] I could hear the water going through really slow and it made a little hissing noise. Good I thought.,.
Well then I tried switching it to “flow” and I am unsure if it’s cause I just got rid of that inline restrictor and it was that slow or something but the water now flies out of my waste line at like pressure washer speeds it feels.

Am I doing something wrong? Do I just need to get used to it going so fast?

Side note.
I went home and found my little push to connect thing! I’ll show a pic. I had purchased one before but never figured out how to set it up.. will someone give me some clarity

I’m pretty sure I came off of the manifold at 1’ and then split down to 3/4

JoshH · Dec 14, 2018

Be102 said:
Ok so now I am really confused lol.

So I went to Lowe’s and bought some buckets for my TTM and I had to grab a piece for my rodi. I actually bought the 1/4 like suggested but of course it was too big. Mine is 1/8. Anyways I went home and managed to fix the elbow and then fired up the ro/di to check out the new flush valve.

Ok so I have no clue how this thing works and I’m really confused, so when I closed the valve ( in the up position] I could hear the water going through really slow and it made a little hissing noise. Good I thought.,.
Well then I tried switching it to “flow” and I am unsure if it’s cause I just got rid of that inline restrictor and it was that slow or something but the water now flies out of my waste line at like pressure washer speeds it feels.

Am I doing something wrong? Do I just need to get used to it going so fast?

Side note.
I went home and found my little push to connect thing! I’ll show a pic. I had purchased one before but never figured out how to set it up.. will someone give me some clarity

I’m pretty sure I came off of the manifold at 1’ and then split down to 3/4

Alright @Be102 let's get you through this, first of all, what you are experiencing with the RODI is 110% the way it is supposed to be. Before you had a capillary flow restrictor that was inside the line itself with no flush valve So it will always be restrictive on your waste flow. Now, you have a flush valve, this essentially bypasses the built in flow restrictor you have and allows the full pressure of your water wash over the outside of the membrane. This helps flush out all the nasty build up on the surface of your membrane and helps extend its life(which is the whole point of the flush valve). So ideally any time you want to make RODI water, open the valve on the restrictor and let it run for 20 orso seconds letting it flush all the nasty stuff off, then close it. This forces water through the restrictor and the restrictor doing what it does, restricts the flow so water is forced through the membrane.