I run a single type of media, a marine pure style ball, in my reactor and it does the job very well. If i built another, and I do plan to build multiple more for other projects, i would use the same media again. aquaneat I believe it what it is called.
I would suggest looking at some Biodigest. Put a vial in the tank, and a vial into the reactor every few days to seed it and it will probably work out without carbon but yeah it all depends. In my tank all I use is biological filtration and algae growth to remove unwanted nutrients.
How it suppose to look. The height of each tower depends on your available working height (for easy carbon dosing). I would recommend at least 18" high. You can make it higher or use bigger diameter PVC pipe but make sure the media sizes are increased as well. Bigger pipe with smaller media sizes will clog once bacteria grows in there. If having another pump for the reactor is not on your setup list, just tee-off your return or overflow pipe. My small fountain pump failed on me recently (leaky circuit tripping my main electrical switch) so I just drill a hole and fit in the hose.
Woow Looking amazing man !!!!I'm still waiting on some more media (ceramic bio balls to go in with the ceramic rings I already have) but in the mean time I have 3D printed a top and bottom cap for my nitrate destroyer so it is a bit cleaner.
I have uploaded the STL files to thingiverse in case any one else wants to print one out. It fits 80mm PVC pipe from Bunnings in Australia. I'm not sure if it can be easily scaled to fit American PVC pipe sizes however if you are interested then modeling it yourself won't take long and it is a great thing for a beginner to try and 3D model.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2937243
I've printed it in PLA and it is water tight. I have heard mixed results with the longevity of PLA in a reef tank but I am half way through enclosing my printer so if it works well then the next one can be printed in ABS.
The bottom piece has a 25mm hole for water to flow between the towers and the top two aren't connected. In the top piece there is a high intake and a hole in the top for a carbon source on the left and a low outlet on the right.
I'm going to leave the top as remove able but lightly silicone the bottom in place. Only other things to do are drill the matching intake and outlet holes in the PVC pipe and fill it up with media!
The nitrates won't know what hit them. Amazing!I'm still waiting on some more media (ceramic bio balls to go in with the ceramic rings I already have) but in the mean time I have 3D printed a top and bottom cap for my nitrate destroyer so it is a bit cleaner.
I have uploaded the STL files to thingiverse in case any one else wants to print one out. It fits 80mm PVC pipe from Bunnings in Australia. I'm not sure if it can be easily scaled to fit American PVC pipe sizes however if you are interested then modeling it yourself won't take long and it is a great thing for a beginner to try and 3D model.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2937243
I've printed it in PLA and it is water tight. I have heard mixed results with the longevity of PLA in a reef tank but I am half way through enclosing my printer so if it works well then the next one can be printed in ABS.
The bottom piece has a 25mm hole for water to flow between the towers and the top two aren't connected. In the top piece there is a high intake and a hole in the top for a carbon source on the left and a low outlet on the right.
I'm going to leave the top as remove able but lightly silicone the bottom in place. Only other things to do are drill the matching intake and outlet holes in the PVC pipe and fill it up with media!
