Pax Bellum, how easy is it to service?

[CyberGuy]

I plan to buy the Pax Bellum N25 for my 120 gallon tank but I have a few questions:

1. Is it better to use the Pax Bellum or grow cheato in a refugium compartment in the sump? Would anyone here go back to a regular sump refugium once you have used a cheato reactor such as the Pax Bellum or other brand?

2. How easy is it to service? Does it get in the way under the stand?

3. Is it better to use it in sump or out of sump?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Bump

 

[CODE3EMT]

I was curious myself......heres what I know. The Tyvek wrap should NOT be submerged underwater.....which means the unit should be outside the sump away from water. As far as cleaning.......Youtube videos show its not rocket science....... but everyone I know who has owned one says their Chaeto Algae stalled out and melted. You have to dose nitrates and a couple other additives to keep the Chaeto growing. You also need to run the reactor opposite of your lights over your tank. For me......... I already try hard enough getting nitrates the heck out of my tank, let alone dosing it. It definitely is a cool looking well built device, but I opted to go with more frequent water changes, eliminating nutrients, and Lanthium to bind my phosphates and filter them out.

Good luck! Post pics if you get one.

 

[CyberGuy]

Anyone regret buying a pax bellum?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I didnt buy one because I knew I would regret it. Does that count?

 

[CyberGuy]

I didnt buy one because I knew I would regret it. Does that count?

Nope, that does not count.

 

[Oldreefer44]

Sold mine after finding it cumbersome to maintain. As stated above you have to feed it etc. Went back to Cheato in my sump.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

I had a Pax Bellum on my old 75. Chaeto grew at a much faster rate than when it was in my fuge although there was a huge difference in lighting. Cleaning wasn't too difficult although hair algae would grow on/in the plastic "wires" that hold the chaeto in place. Removing hair algae from the "wires" was incredibly difficult. Sold it when I broke down the tank- resale value was pretty dang good compared to most equip.

Running the Tunze 3181 on my current tank. Grows algae just as well and is easier to clean since it's an empty tube. Chaeto quits spinning once the reactor starts to fill but doesn't seem to affect growth.

I prefer the Tunze over the Pax as it's easier to clean. There is light spillage from both and should be used in a cabinet to contain it. I used both outside the sump.

 

[jporter17]

I have the N24 model and really like it. I have a couple extra light tubes so when it's time to harvest it takes about 10 minutes to swap them out. I seed with about a softball size amount in both the top and bottom portion, then reassemble and start it back up. You'll want to rinse the chaeto with fresh RODI before reseeding with it. I found it works better with more flow going through it, and you will need to feed the chemicals they come with, or with chaeto gro. I have the CA RX injection piece so the effluent feeds right into the Pax Bellum. If you get one, be sure to slowly ramp up the hours the LEDs are on. The light tube is super bright and if the chaeto isn't used to a long bright light cycle, it won't do well. Customer service has been A1, so I have no regrets. Hope this helps. JP

 

[roberthu526]

Anyone regret buying a pax bellum?

I do. I bought the biggest model and spent around $2K on it. After running it for 8 months I finally took it off line and started dosing NOPOX to bring down nitrate. The reactor is just not enough on its own and it's pretty finicky to use and maintain. I had mine in the garage so I didn't have to worry about water dripping everywhere when pulling the chaeto out but it was still a hassle to clean. I still have mine but only because I am not willing to let it go for a couple of hundred bucks since I paid $2K....

 

[CyberGuy]

I do. I bought the biggest model and spent around $2K on it. After running it for 8 months I finally took it off line and started dosing NOPOX to bring down nitrate. The reactor is just not enough on its own and it's pretty finicky to use and maintain. I had mine in the garage so I didn't have to worry about water dripping everywhere when pulling the chaeto out but it was still a hassle to clean. I still have mine but only because I am not willing to let it go for a couple of hundred bucks since I paid $2K....

Glad to know this. I was about to get the N24 because it has a 20% off sale for Black Friday but if you actually not use your top of the line "$2K" model, then a smaller N24 would not be as effective. Plus, my fuge compartment is bigger than the volume of the N24 so it would probably better to just use the fuge section of my sump and it is easier to maintain.

 

[Ecvernon]

In my particular situation my N24 has to stay outside of my stand. To take the light tube out and remove/ harvest/ clean cheato was a hassle to do when I had it in my stand. When I moved the unit outside of the tank maintenance was easier.
Unfortunately I need need to get all of my equipment contained to inside of my cabinet as I dont trust the cat and dog.

There were times where the chaeto in the reactor melted due to deficiencies in iron,nitrate, boron,iodine etc. I had to find from a fellow reefer or buy some
I currently also use a turbo aquatic scrubber which in my case has been a better alternative. Green hair algea is free!
.

 

[Ecvernon]

IMO the refugium could not remove nutrients at the rate of an Arid. Even with a kessil 380.

 

[roberthu526]

Glad to know this. I was about to get the N24 because it has a 20% off sale for Black Friday but if you actually not use your top of the line "$2K" model, then a smaller N24 would not be as effective. Plus, my fuge compartment is bigger than the volume of the N24 so it would probably better to just use the fuge section of my sump and it is easier to maintain.

The real downside is when chaeto in the fuge was growing really fast, the chaeto in the reactor would just melt away because I was dosing NOPOX due to high nitrate. So it was like either go with the reactor and pray that it’s efficient enough to keep nitrate at bay or watch the SPS brown out then eventually die. I was fed up with it and took it off line and dose NOPOX as I want. Now my SPS all have colored back and started growing again.