Media reactor in Nuvo 40

[SwiftStorm]

Anyone running a media reactor in their aio? I was thinking of placing bio pellets in one.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I've seen several folks run hang on back media reactors on their AIO.

The problem with Biopellets though is that you have to have a skimmer after the reactor in the flow of things or you're gonna have some bio-slime buildup in your pumps and such, and fitting everything inline can be tricky with a AIO.

I assume you're trying to reconcile nitrate issues with biopellets, have you tried any other methods? Even a hang on back chaeto reactor would be an option for this size tank and it would probably be less problematic than biopellets.

 

[SwiftStorm]

I can place the reactor in the opposite side from the skimmer. Hopefully that would eliminate the slime concern.

As for the hang on, I tried to place tank close to the wall because it can be seen from the side also.

Nitrates do get high with 2 big eaters in the tank now. Thanks

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

IM makes purpose built internal reactors for these tanks, I have the desktop size and while it does work as intended, it makes a lot of water dripping/splashing noises, so if the tank is also in a living room or bedroom I would avoid it

 

[Kyle Rinker]

I actually had 2 (3 in essence) reactors running off of mine. I had a BRS dual reactor running carbon in one and GFO in the other. I also ran an algae reactor at the same time. I had two separate small pumps (separate from the return pump) submerged in the baffled chambers in the Nuvo 40, one for each reactor. The reason I decided to go with an algae reactor instead of using biopellets or another form of carbon dosing is that I did not feel an effective enough skimmer would fit in the back to remove the bacterial blooms the carbon dosing would produce. The dual reactor was mounted behind and next to the tank and the algae reactor was located under the stand.

 

[CaliberGSD]

I actually had 2 (3 in essence) reactors running off of mine. I had a BRS dual reactor running carbon in one and GFO in the other. I also ran an algae reactor at the same time. I had two separate small pumps (separate from the return pump) submerged in the baffled chambers in the Nuvo 40, one for each reactor. The reason I decided to go with an algae reactor instead of using biopellets or another form of carbon dosing is that I did not feel an effective enough skimmer would fit in the back to remove the bacterial blooms the carbon dosing would produce. The dual reactor was mounted behind and next to the tank and the algae reactor was located under the stand.

Any pics of the set up? Interested on how you were able to handle the one below the tank. Siphon/etc

 

[Kyle Rinker]

Any pics of the set up? Interested on how you were able to handle the one below the tank. Siphon/etc

Here are a couple pics. You can see the algae reactor underneath and the dual reactor behind the tank on the left. Pardon the salt mess!

 

[CaliberGSD]

How did it work out when you had to trim the chaeto? It seems like you could get flooded really easily.

 

[Kyle Rinker]

@CaliberGSD I had a ball valve on each line--the one going to and from the reactor. I turned each off when I opened the reactor and pulled out the chaeto.