BRS Reactor algae reactor

[lion king]

So I think most of us love algae reactors, and I think alot of us have stuff laying around. I re-purposed 2 Aquamaxx Biopellet Reactors into algae reactors and it's the best thing I did for my tanks in years.

If you have a small tank and need to choose, an algae reactor is even more efficient than even a small protein skimmer. So here's the stuff I had laying around, some BRS reactors. I easily turned one into an upflow algae reactor.

I took a piece of 1/2" pvc and a 1/2" coupler, I honed the inside of the coupler out enough to fit the flange of what was the output of the reactor top. I took the strainer top of the inside canister of the reactor and drilled a 5/8" hole. I glued the strainer to the other end of the pvc, with the flat side towards the pipe. The water goes in through what was the output down the pvc then distributed with the help of the strainer, back up and out of what was the input.

I didn't get the lights yet, I will use these:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0132NME6O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have these on one of my other reactors and they work great. So if you have a BRS reactor laying around, a pump that gets anywhere from 150-300gph, and about $20; you're in business.

 

[randyBRS]

Sweet! This is going to be an interesting build!!

Following...


-Randy

 

[lion king]

Randy you can steal it if you want. I love you guys stuff and contributions. Just retro fit your top, include a waterproof led strip light and a pump. And voila a BRS algae reactor.

 

[oceanslide]

Awesome idea! Keep us updated please!

 

[lion king]

Ready to rock; didn't have time to pick up the chaeto today, so this weekend it will be running. I added a very porous pre=filter sponge at the top just to keep any remnants from the output. Maintenance is easy, the lights unplug at the top of the canister; just have a reservoir under to catch the chaeto. Or you can detach the whole thing and take it to the sink if you are using mur-lock valves. I'm using a coralife s-1000 pump I had laying around, which is comparable to a mj-1200.

It holds 4 cups of liquid, so about 4 cups tightly packed chaeto when you are ready to harvest. I would think it would be fine on a 40-50 gallon tank, I'll be using it on a bc29. What do you guys think.

 

[MikeO5422]

Looks awesome! Keep us updated on how well it works!

 

[BigHildy53]

Your going with the white lights? I thought red, blue and purple were the best for these type of reactors.

 

[lion king]

I use 6500k, I have them on my other reactors as they work well for me. I also use a par38 bulb on my refugium. When I used a bulb with more red as blue I got more byropsis type algaes and cyano, cyano loves red.

 

[Mushroom Boy]

Looks great! Can you detail the mur valve plumbing portion of it (size, qty, picture possibly )? I'm planning on getting/making one for my sumpless 29 gallon Biocube and would like to have a way of removing it from the system for maintenance while minimizing water spillage in the process (I was thinking something similar to the valves used on Eheim canister filters). Thanks!

 

[lion king]

If you've used them before you know they are kind of fussy, you have to push down that ring just right to pull the tube out. I think it's 1/2" tubing that came with the reactor, 1/2" murlock fitting, 1/2 vinyl tubing slides over the tubing. I use some silicone to seal the tubing to the hose.

BTW I've been running a reactor on a BC29 for like 6 months or more now; I pulled the tunze protein skimmer out of the 2nd chamber and dropped in a mj1200 to feed the akgae reactor. Nitrates at 10, phosphates undetectable; wasn't that good with the skimmer.

 

[Mushroom Boy]

Perfect, thanks! So it looks like it would be relatively easy to remove it for maintenance. That's funny, I'm currently running a Tunze 9002 and was thinking of doing the same thing. Do you think an Aquamaxx XL would be overkill on a tank that size? I might have to drill a couple of holes in the back of the stand to accommodate the hoses, but I think that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[lion king]

You might be surprised how effective an algae reactor on a tank that size can be. I used 2 different high end nano skimmers that fit the 2nd chamber, and really didn't find them very useful. If you.still Need More Control or Are Keeping An Ultra Low nutrient System I Would Not hesitate to use A real Hob skimmer.

 

[Flatlandreefer]

What is the strainer on the bottom of the pvc? Is it a piece that comes with the reactor? I'm thinking about making two chamber reactor out of the dual BRS reactor that is gfo and carbon.

 

[lion king]

Those reactors come with a canister to load your media into, that strainer fits inside the top of that canister. It takes about 5' of lights to wrap around one of these canisters, the light I used is 16', you can cut them every 3rd led. To make maintenance easier I would use a separate string of leds for each canister

 

[Flatlandreefer]

Those reactors come with a canister to load your media into, that strainer fits inside the top of that canister. It takes about 5' of lights to wrap around one of these canisters, the light I used is 16', you can cut them every 3rd led. To make maintenance easier I would use a separate string of leds for each canister

Ok. I have my supplies on order to build mine. I ended up ordering two 6' strands of leds to wrap around my canisters, I placed the order before I read your reply. Are you saying you have 16' of leds to get the density of light pictured around your reactor? Maybe 6' wasn't long enough?

 

[lion king]

Ok. I have my supplies on order to build mine. I ended up ordering two 6' strands of leds to wrap around my canisters, I placed the order before I read your reply. Are you saying you have 16' of leds to get the density of light pictured around your reactor? Maybe 6' wasn't long enough?

No it took 5', from a 16' roll.

 

[|FATHOM|]

I went with a algae scrubber but I'd like to give this a shot as well.

 

[Flatlandreefer]

Do you think it would work placing the chaeto in the media tubes that come with the reactor and not making it an upflow design?

 

[lion king]

Do you think it would work placing the chaeto in the media tubes that come with the reactor and not making it an upflow design?

That inside canister makes that reactor upflow. The way designed the water comes in on the outside of that canister and flow up through the bottom and then out. I took that out to give more volume, using that inside canister will really give you a small amount of space. I also thought light would be diminished too much going through both canisters.

BTW the reactor is operating great

 

[Flatlandreefer]

I just got my reactor put together, waiting for the silicone to cure a little longer before I give it a test run!