Labridaedicted
Wrassetastic
I have been running the 2 phosban reactors for my media (GFO and carbon) but to hold the 2.5 cups of media I need for my system volume, the chambers were almost completely full and had very little room to tumble. Also, if I ever need to run extra carbon, there's not really a good way to do it. So, I decided I needed new media reactors that were much larger. I then looked at the price of large upflow media reactors and found the price to be a little above my budget... especially for what is essentially a pipe in a pipe. So then I grabbed a pen and paper and did some sketches and set out to Lowes. The following is my Journey.......
So, for all real purposes, an upflow reactor is very simple in concept. A pipe carries water from a pump to the bottom of a reaction chamber where it passes upwards through the media before exiting the chamber and returning to the sump (or next reactor or wherever you want, really. The floor is a bad choice, but to each their own.) I knew I needed a longer chamber than the 11 or so inches of the phosban reactor, but I also wanted a larger diameter as well. I found on the phosban reactors that in order to keep the media from compacting on the top sponge or blowing out into the filter sock, the flow rate had to be reduced to a trickle. This was not nearly enough filtration going on. So, with a larger diameter chamber, I should be able to up the flow rate and still not force everything out (This is for the GFO and Biopellets, as the carbon won't be tumbling, but I did still want more flow rate through the carbon, as well.) I debated heavily over whether to go with 4" or 3" PVC, but made up my mind when I saw how much 4" PVC fittings cost. I decided I would just make a taller reactor but a little narrower.
So, supplies were gathered...
What you're going to need here, is as follows........ (A few things are missing in the photo due to changes as I went, but it's mostly there)
Materials
-3" PVC Pipe or acrylic tube. (Choose your length based on the volume you need. Mine are about 18" to 24") (I did both materials as you'll see in later photos, but 3" acrylic tube can be found fairly cheaply. if you're going for fluidized media, you'll want acrylic. I'm going to use the PVC one for carbon since it doesn't have to tumble and the GFO and biopellets in acrylic so I can dial in the flow rate/tumble)
-1/2" PVC pipe (the length you want your reactor plus about a foot for nibs to connect fittings)
-3x 1/2" PVC Solvent union
-2x 1/2" Male adapter
-1/2" Female thread x solvent 90 degree elbow
-3x 1/2" Female thread to solvent adapter
-2x 1/2"Male thread to 1/2" hose barb adapter
-3" cleanout cap
-3" solvent cap (flat one. if you use the round one, you'll need to use a flange of some kind to steady the setup)
-3" cleanout adapter
-3" Male to solvent adapter
-3" Female to solvent adapter
-Cross stitch canvas (A Plastic mesh you can get at craft stores) in size 10 or 14 mesh. 10 works for biopellets or paired with sponge for carbon and GFO. 14 is small enough for gfo but does restrict flow)
-1/8" Acrylic sheet (The little 6 inch one is fine if you're careful)
Tools(Necessary)
-PVC Cement and primer (Essential tool for anyone who likes to transport water)
-Adjustable wrenches or...
-Channel lock pliers
-Razor blade
-1/2" Tap kit (1/2" tap and I believe a 22/32" bit. you can get this as a kit, though)
-Several smaller drill bits to step up to the big one from
-Teflon tape
-Saw for PVC (Pipe saw or hack saw)
-Ruler
-Beer. Or whiskey. I'll let wine slide, too, if that's your thing. In absence of all else, substitute cup of skimmate (It puts hair on your chest)
Tools(Helpful, but not necessary)
-Vise
-Dremel
-PVC Cutter
-Silicone (for one pesky joint that likes to leak.....)
Now that you have your stuff, lets start slapping it all together!!!!
First, cut your main PVC to length. then you will glue on your bottom which is the 3" PVC cap using primer and solvent. The trick with getting good adhesion with PVC cement is to push and twist (in one direction only, not back and forth) and then hold it in place a few seconds. PVC will actually push back out some if you don't keep pressure on it. you should have something like this......
Next, you'll attach the 3" female adapter to the top of your chamber.
The next step is the hardest part. There is no premade way to pass through the top of this contraption, so we will be modifying a 3" cleanout cap to accept a threaded fitting and become a weird bulkhead of sorts. So, take your cap and you will see the raised square on top. What you need to do is find the EXACT center of this square. (if it is off by more than a fraction of a fraction of an inch, you will be buying another cap. I went through 3 before i got this right the first time. I would recommend picking up atleast 2 of these as this is such a touchy thing.) Now with the center marked, take your small drill bit and go right through the middle. Then step up to the next size. Then again. Then go with the big fella. The smaller holes help keep your next holes centered as you go up. This is the step where a vise comes in handy. If you use one, protect the threads with rubber or another material while it's clamped or it will be garbage.
Now you'll need to tap this hole to add threads. This process is fairly easy, but you need to make sure the tap is straight or you'll have your fitting go in at an angle and it wont fit in the next step. Tap it down then back it out and you'll now have threads!
Through this newly minted hole, you will be threading a 1/2" male to solvent adapter. Unfortunately, you're going to do this through the inside. Yeah.... in that little square... I know, and I'm sorry, but after this the rest is easy! Chin up! So here's the problem. These fittings are just a hair too big for this hole. If you have a dremel or a disk sander, though, your in luck! The part that is too big is the edges for a wrench to grip the fitting. Theres no way a wrench is getting in there, so we're taking them off and making this bad boy round on the outside! (You may also have to sand/dremel the inside edges of the square as it gets narrower at the top. some of my caps needed this, some didn't. Just a shaving is all it takes, if it does need this step). Since we rounded our fitting we need to get creative to screw it it. I tried reasoning with it, but the fitting would not do this on it's own, so, i got out a piece of 1/2" pvc and shoved it inside and used that to turn it. ALSO, almost forgot... Teflon tape the threads first. This thing is hard to remove if you need to once it's screwed in.
So, now you have this 4 turn or so nub of thread passing through the top. Remember in the supplies section i mentioned a pesky joint and silicone. It'll be this one. You will be screwing the 90 degree elbow onto this piece. Now, on some of these, teflon tape was enough to seal the joint, but on one, i had to add silicone to the threads. Since there isn't a ton to grip here, it can be a tough one to seal. Screw the elbow down to the top of the cap and the pressure of this tightening will help seal the threads.
By this point, my hand was in rough shape, but, remember you have a beer! (Or you SHOULD, it's in the required supplies!!!!!) and you should proudly sip, because your about halfway done and past the hard part!
Now you can assemble the cap portion. The cleanout cap will screw (with teflon tape) into the cleanout adapter. The cleanout adapter will get glued into the 3" male to solvent adapter. You should have something like this...
Now you've got your chamber! How cool is that!?!
Ok, you're not done yet. Stop celebrating. Ok, well celebrate a little more but then back to it!
Next we need our outlet hole. So, you guessed it, we're tapping again. This time, the placement is less precise, though. You'll want the hole to be on the 3" solvent to female adapter and you'll want it to be where the acrylic and pvc overlap completely to give the fitting more to grip. You'll follow the same process as earlier. The curved surface is intimidating, but it will hold if you do it correctly.
Pardon my messy workbench.... So into this hole, you will screw (With teflon tape. There's a pattern here) a 1/2" male to solvent adapter. make it snug to the pvc and it will hold well.
Ok, now my workbench is really messy. Always make sure to close jars when you're not using them.....
Almost done, gang!!! Next we're making the inlet and outlets which are identical. From the fittings, glue in pvc nubs and then glue the unions to the other side of said nubs. Then another nub with a solvent to female thread. Last, screw in your hose barb adapters and you're set on all the outside pieces!!! This is what you should be looking at.... except hopefully with less purple junk spilled on it. (Also sans inside pipe..... which we're about to get to.)
Inside you will need your pipe to the bottom. I like to have a union in there to make it a little less cumbersome when changing media. So, what you need to do is take your long piece of 1/2" pvc and glue it into the fitting you so lovingly carved into the roof of your reactor earlier (Isn't it cool that it's complete enough to call it a reactor now? I'll let you bask in that for a minute. ok. Back to work). Now you need to cut that piece for your union. go just below the threads of your cap piece and glue in your union, like so.....
Now glue enough pvc to get you near, but not touching the bottom of the reactor chamber. The remaining 1/2" pieces will go at the bottom of this to sandwich the diffuser plate and mesh. I'll detail that tomorrow, but, your reactor is almost done! Here's what she'll end up looking like in the end.....
Thats a half gallon of biopellets and the beer can is there for scale.
I need to go to bed now before the delirium sets in, but i'll detail the diffuser plate tomorrow! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!
So, for all real purposes, an upflow reactor is very simple in concept. A pipe carries water from a pump to the bottom of a reaction chamber where it passes upwards through the media before exiting the chamber and returning to the sump (or next reactor or wherever you want, really. The floor is a bad choice, but to each their own.) I knew I needed a longer chamber than the 11 or so inches of the phosban reactor, but I also wanted a larger diameter as well. I found on the phosban reactors that in order to keep the media from compacting on the top sponge or blowing out into the filter sock, the flow rate had to be reduced to a trickle. This was not nearly enough filtration going on. So, with a larger diameter chamber, I should be able to up the flow rate and still not force everything out (This is for the GFO and Biopellets, as the carbon won't be tumbling, but I did still want more flow rate through the carbon, as well.) I debated heavily over whether to go with 4" or 3" PVC, but made up my mind when I saw how much 4" PVC fittings cost. I decided I would just make a taller reactor but a little narrower.
So, supplies were gathered...
What you're going to need here, is as follows........ (A few things are missing in the photo due to changes as I went, but it's mostly there)
Materials
-3" PVC Pipe or acrylic tube. (Choose your length based on the volume you need. Mine are about 18" to 24") (I did both materials as you'll see in later photos, but 3" acrylic tube can be found fairly cheaply. if you're going for fluidized media, you'll want acrylic. I'm going to use the PVC one for carbon since it doesn't have to tumble and the GFO and biopellets in acrylic so I can dial in the flow rate/tumble)
-1/2" PVC pipe (the length you want your reactor plus about a foot for nibs to connect fittings)
-3x 1/2" PVC Solvent union
-2x 1/2" Male adapter
-1/2" Female thread x solvent 90 degree elbow
-3x 1/2" Female thread to solvent adapter
-2x 1/2"Male thread to 1/2" hose barb adapter
-3" cleanout cap
-3" solvent cap (flat one. if you use the round one, you'll need to use a flange of some kind to steady the setup)
-3" cleanout adapter
-3" Male to solvent adapter
-3" Female to solvent adapter
-Cross stitch canvas (A Plastic mesh you can get at craft stores) in size 10 or 14 mesh. 10 works for biopellets or paired with sponge for carbon and GFO. 14 is small enough for gfo but does restrict flow)
-1/8" Acrylic sheet (The little 6 inch one is fine if you're careful)
Tools(Necessary)
-PVC Cement and primer (Essential tool for anyone who likes to transport water)
-Adjustable wrenches or...
-Channel lock pliers
-Razor blade
-1/2" Tap kit (1/2" tap and I believe a 22/32" bit. you can get this as a kit, though)
-Several smaller drill bits to step up to the big one from
-Teflon tape
-Saw for PVC (Pipe saw or hack saw)
-Ruler
-Beer. Or whiskey. I'll let wine slide, too, if that's your thing. In absence of all else, substitute cup of skimmate (It puts hair on your chest)
Tools(Helpful, but not necessary)
-Vise
-Dremel
-PVC Cutter
-Silicone (for one pesky joint that likes to leak.....)
Now that you have your stuff, lets start slapping it all together!!!!
First, cut your main PVC to length. then you will glue on your bottom which is the 3" PVC cap using primer and solvent. The trick with getting good adhesion with PVC cement is to push and twist (in one direction only, not back and forth) and then hold it in place a few seconds. PVC will actually push back out some if you don't keep pressure on it. you should have something like this......
Next, you'll attach the 3" female adapter to the top of your chamber.
The next step is the hardest part. There is no premade way to pass through the top of this contraption, so we will be modifying a 3" cleanout cap to accept a threaded fitting and become a weird bulkhead of sorts. So, take your cap and you will see the raised square on top. What you need to do is find the EXACT center of this square. (if it is off by more than a fraction of a fraction of an inch, you will be buying another cap. I went through 3 before i got this right the first time. I would recommend picking up atleast 2 of these as this is such a touchy thing.) Now with the center marked, take your small drill bit and go right through the middle. Then step up to the next size. Then again. Then go with the big fella. The smaller holes help keep your next holes centered as you go up. This is the step where a vise comes in handy. If you use one, protect the threads with rubber or another material while it's clamped or it will be garbage.
Now you'll need to tap this hole to add threads. This process is fairly easy, but you need to make sure the tap is straight or you'll have your fitting go in at an angle and it wont fit in the next step. Tap it down then back it out and you'll now have threads!
Through this newly minted hole, you will be threading a 1/2" male to solvent adapter. Unfortunately, you're going to do this through the inside. Yeah.... in that little square... I know, and I'm sorry, but after this the rest is easy! Chin up! So here's the problem. These fittings are just a hair too big for this hole. If you have a dremel or a disk sander, though, your in luck! The part that is too big is the edges for a wrench to grip the fitting. Theres no way a wrench is getting in there, so we're taking them off and making this bad boy round on the outside! (You may also have to sand/dremel the inside edges of the square as it gets narrower at the top. some of my caps needed this, some didn't. Just a shaving is all it takes, if it does need this step). Since we rounded our fitting we need to get creative to screw it it. I tried reasoning with it, but the fitting would not do this on it's own, so, i got out a piece of 1/2" pvc and shoved it inside and used that to turn it. ALSO, almost forgot... Teflon tape the threads first. This thing is hard to remove if you need to once it's screwed in.
So, now you have this 4 turn or so nub of thread passing through the top. Remember in the supplies section i mentioned a pesky joint and silicone. It'll be this one. You will be screwing the 90 degree elbow onto this piece. Now, on some of these, teflon tape was enough to seal the joint, but on one, i had to add silicone to the threads. Since there isn't a ton to grip here, it can be a tough one to seal. Screw the elbow down to the top of the cap and the pressure of this tightening will help seal the threads.
By this point, my hand was in rough shape, but, remember you have a beer! (Or you SHOULD, it's in the required supplies!!!!!) and you should proudly sip, because your about halfway done and past the hard part!
Now you can assemble the cap portion. The cleanout cap will screw (with teflon tape) into the cleanout adapter. The cleanout adapter will get glued into the 3" male to solvent adapter. You should have something like this...
Now you've got your chamber! How cool is that!?!
Ok, you're not done yet. Stop celebrating. Ok, well celebrate a little more but then back to it!
Next we need our outlet hole. So, you guessed it, we're tapping again. This time, the placement is less precise, though. You'll want the hole to be on the 3" solvent to female adapter and you'll want it to be where the acrylic and pvc overlap completely to give the fitting more to grip. You'll follow the same process as earlier. The curved surface is intimidating, but it will hold if you do it correctly.
Pardon my messy workbench.... So into this hole, you will screw (With teflon tape. There's a pattern here) a 1/2" male to solvent adapter. make it snug to the pvc and it will hold well.
Ok, now my workbench is really messy. Always make sure to close jars when you're not using them.....
Almost done, gang!!! Next we're making the inlet and outlets which are identical. From the fittings, glue in pvc nubs and then glue the unions to the other side of said nubs. Then another nub with a solvent to female thread. Last, screw in your hose barb adapters and you're set on all the outside pieces!!! This is what you should be looking at.... except hopefully with less purple junk spilled on it. (Also sans inside pipe..... which we're about to get to.)
Inside you will need your pipe to the bottom. I like to have a union in there to make it a little less cumbersome when changing media. So, what you need to do is take your long piece of 1/2" pvc and glue it into the fitting you so lovingly carved into the roof of your reactor earlier (Isn't it cool that it's complete enough to call it a reactor now? I'll let you bask in that for a minute. ok. Back to work). Now you need to cut that piece for your union. go just below the threads of your cap piece and glue in your union, like so.....
Now glue enough pvc to get you near, but not touching the bottom of the reactor chamber. The remaining 1/2" pieces will go at the bottom of this to sandwich the diffuser plate and mesh. I'll detail that tomorrow, but, your reactor is almost done! Here's what she'll end up looking like in the end.....
Thats a half gallon of biopellets and the beer can is there for scale.
I need to go to bed now before the delirium sets in, but i'll detail the diffuser plate tomorrow! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!
