Finished my "DJ88" DIY calcium reactor (1 Viewer)

[SnMan]

I finally finished it. It is up and running on my frag tank. I have to admit this bad boy is a monster! I think Weld-On #40 worked the best between #3, #4, #16, and #40. I added the ph probe to the chamber in order to control the CO2. It has 1 gallon of the ARM large type and 1 gallon of the finer type. I decided to use the Ehiem 1250 and the venturi's work perfectly. Commentsw and or questions?

 

[MeuserReef]

Looks good Bill. I built one of these "DJ88" style reactors a few months ago for the 120 gallon Im setting up. I havent gotten around to taking any pics...

 

[SnMan]

I am building another one for my 75g (soon to upgrade) with some minor changes but this thing seems to work great. I am going to check the levels when I get home tonight and what it did overnight. The tank is empty except some LR and some plugs that are curing.

 

[crvz]

Good work, Bill. Now find me a kalk reactor to DIY. My overly-priced unit blew a seal, and I don't trust it anymore.

 

[SnMan]

Can we use yours as the base for the design? I don't have one so I don't have one as a model. Having a prototype helps. I actually prototyped the DJ88 version from Marc's website first and then made some mods for material reasons. Now that this one is up and running I am identifying the weaknesses that need improvement. Doesn't the kalk reactor need to be round for the internal water flow?

 

[crvz]

Probably should be round. I'm thinking large PVC pipe.

 

[jdeveaux]

Looks Awesome but I would like to suggest one thing for future improvement... Any way to get away from all of those thumb screws

3/4's of the maintenance time will be spent unscrewing and screwing the thing together

Great Job!

 

[Scott]

How did you connect your fittings to the reactor? Thread them in? Glued? If they threaded in, what size hole did you drill before you tapped? It looks like 1/2" piping.

 

[SnMan]

John,
I got a bag of 100 for a buck so I didn't want to waste any. I got your point though. I would not recommend opening and closing it more than once every six months! I did it twice in one day and now I am in therapy. They are only 1/4" though so I was being cautious. It does make it look kool don't you think?

 

[SnMan]

Scott,
I did both. I threaded the white PVC holes with 1/2" NPT and the drill bit was 45/64th's. I then used Weld-On #40 to glue them solid. The fitting holding the ph probe is the same 1/2" NPT. The other JG's are 1/4" NPT and 3/8" NPT. The nylon bolts are 1/4" but a different thread per inch. I have the 1/4, 5/16, and 3/8" nylon screws but I used the 1/4 this time. On the top I actually tapped a 3/4" NPT by mistake so I just glued a 1.5" square on top of it an put a 1/2" NPT hole for the ph probe there. PVC to PVC joints are done with the regular PVC cement from HD. The PVC to acrylic was #40 and a few of the other joints were done with Weld-On #3 and #4. It was sort of an experiment. Let me know if you want to borrow the drill bits or taps.

 

[SnMan]

John,
BTW, I reconfigured my AC3 to monitor both ph's on my main tank and then used the Milwaukee from the AquaMedic CA reactor for the new reactor in the above pic. The second BNC connector on the AC3 is modal so I just turned off ORP and PH2 on. Then calibrated all the ph probes again after switching them. I didn't have to buy anything and now both reactors are running. I am building another reactor to replace the AquaMedic.

 

[Scott]

Thanks, where did you get the bag of 100 for a buck and where did the 45/64's bit come from? I haven't been able to find one in store.

 

[jdeveaux]

So when are you going to start taking orders for custom units ??

 

[SnMan]

Scott,
The buck was ficticious. I think I bought them from McMaster.com. The drill bits and taps I get from my brother who works in a machine shop. He just orders them in the AM from the tool room and I get them in the PM.

 

[Scott]

Thanks, I'm almost finished with mine and have three prototypes laying around waiting to a drill bit. I don't know why, but I never thought of borrowing one from our machine shop.

 

[hank]

Nice work Bill, it looks like the frags will certainly have the right equipment to keep them happy. Quite a frag tank system!

 

[SnMan]

Thanks.

 

[thangbom4321]

so what kind of changes would you do the 2x time around??? i remember reading about this CA/RX a while back and it seems to be awesome... any close up pics???

 

[SnMan]

Well I prototyped it once so technically that was the 2nd one. I added the ph probe hole and I used egg crate for the bottom media holder instead of drilling holes in pieces of acrylic. The next one will have the plumbing drilled into the side instead of the bottom, I am going to use ball valves without unions and just put one small union in eact direction instead, plus I am going to try and make a smaller one. This one has a 12" x 21" foot print. Naking these changes should save me a few inches and let me get it under my tank in the 90g stand. I hope anyway. I will try to post pics of the one in progress. The other one is under test (in use) at the moment.

 

[thangbom4321]

pls do... maybe even a step bu step?? and where did you get those nylon screws?? i looked for them a few times at teh hardware store but only find the flat head one ( which i already have) . it would be nice to be able to remove the lid w/o a large flathead...