REACTORS- Filtration for stingrays

[DB junkie]

you probably need some air diffusers like this

They don't show you the 3/4" MPT sticking out the bottom of that thing. Need to pop a 3/4" bulkhead fitting into the bottom of your tank and run appropriate plumming, or run a pvc line across the bottom of the tank to support a disk like that.......

The 55 gallon (tank) reactor I'm working on now has a pair of these things...... Real interested to see where the water will end up when the power goes out.

 

[T1KARMANN]

Well i have my reactor ( a glass cube of 60 litres ie 20 gallons ? ) more than half full of K1.

Water is pumped in form the sumps middle chamber ( after mechanical filtration ) and drained back by gravity in sump- back to tank- chamber.

Only the lowest layer of K1 mooves ( i would not call it boiling )

I have installed two 5000 litre per hour pumps inside the reactor...

I will go the airpump route with as big or as many airstones i manage to get, because i sense, as DB stated, as well as others, that water pumps won't do the boiling trick...

How much power would you advise for the airpump?

This is the problem if you have lots of media ie k1 it takes a lot of flow to move it

At some point it will get stuck and not move at all

You will have the same problem with air stones as the Bactria build up on the media it also builds up on the air stones slowing down air flow this was the problem I had with running lots of air stones




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[DIDYSIS]

I think this problem is more that people are trying to put more media into a container then they should. Any type of filtration needs some maintenance, even normal pumps can get some build up in them or the pipes and restriction happens. They become not as efficient as they were new. New air stones might be needed or a cleaning. Can happen the same with a sand reactor and a power head or pump.

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[DB junkie]

Airstones are just like every other filtration component, for the most part you get what you pay for. Cheap airstones will need to be replaced as we all know they plug. Not a big deal in a display tank. BUT when it goes from bubbles in a display tank to a life support system why not spring for the good ones? The nice ones (like sweetwater) can be restored to new condition in an acid bath. The ones isde02 posted just screw together and sandwich a replaceable membrane in the middle.

Same can be said for air pumps. Most of the bigger ones are rebuildable. They WILL fail. Just a matter of time. Silly not to have at least one spare rebuild kit laying around. My air pump only went a year before it needed rebuilt. I keep a pair of rebuild kits in the medicine cabinet now.

Media is no different then fish, pack in too much and you'll have problems.... As long as you keep it around 50/50 you shouldn't have too much trouble.

 

[T1KARMANN]

The problem is air stones are pourers and the holes on the air stone clog fast with bacteria

Air stone is not the way To go

Like I said I used pump and air stone pump works better


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[DB junkie]

The problem is air stones are pourers and the holes on the air stone clog fast with bacteria

Air stone is not the way To go

Like I said I used pump and air stone pump works better


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My same cheap airstones have yet to clog after 2 years.

Maybe you needed to push more air through them if your bacteria is choking off the holes.

I use a pond pump rated for a 10,000 gallon pond for my 2 reactors filled with cheap airstones.

Not all diffusers are pourers (pourus)......

You're right about one thing...... Airstones alone are not the way to go. Water pumps alone are not the way to go either. Use both.

 

[Miguel]

Will use both.....

 

[digginrays]

who says k1 HAS to move? i believe the whole idea behind k1 is oxygen rich water.they claim the more chaotic movement on the k1 will knock off dead bb and allow new more hungry bb to grow.my beds have both irratic moving and stationary media (k1,k3,biochips).i dont see an issue with either.,

i have yet to see a airstone plug up from bacteria growing on the stone.seems obvious to me theres not near enough air flowing through the stone if a growing bb can plug it.

 

[Miguel]

who says k1 HAS to move? i believe the whole idea behind k1 is oxygen rich water.they claim the more chaotic movement on the k1 will knock off dead bb and allow new more hungry bb to grow.my beds have both irratic moving and stationary media (k1,k3,biochips).i dont see an issue with either.,

i have yet to see a airstone plug up from bacteria growing on the stone.seems obvious to me theres not near enough air flowing through the stone if a growing bb can plug it.

You are openinhpg a whole new issue...

I was under the impression that the reactor had to boil.

 

[T1KARMANN]

who says k1 HAS to move? i believe the whole idea behind k1 is oxygen rich water.they claim the more chaotic movement on the k1 will knock off dead bb and allow new more hungry bb to grow.my beds have both irratic moving and stationary media (k1,k3,biochips).i dont see an issue with either.,

i have yet to see a airstone plug up from bacteria growing on the stone.seems obvious to me theres not near enough air flowing through the stone if a growing bb can plug it.

the whole point in it moving is to self clean if it doesnt move you may as well use bio balls

i also found round reactors work better than square as they move better