Midrats

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Just got the return Barnes fitting from Red Sea and it works! I'm waiting for the other pvc pieces to arrive to change the gate valve as mine is starting to go bad.

So the stock valve goes bad? That's discouraging.
 

ReefingwithO

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So the stock valve goes bad? That's discouraging.

I'm not blaming Red Sea here, it could just be my unit had a defect. I could've easily contacted them and they would have sent a replacement but I think the spears gate valves are so much easier to tune and I made the decision to change it.
 

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Mine was never great. It very quickly lost any particularly solid clicks that were there initially. I'll be changing the pipework and fitting a gate valve.
 

Midrats

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I'm not blaming Red Sea here, it could just be my unit had a defect. I could've easily contacted them and they would have sent a replacement but I think the spears gate valves are so much easier to tune and I made the decision to change it.

OK cool. I just want this thing to work for a while before I have to start modding stuff.
 

Reigun

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I am thinking about swapping my BRS reactor out for a more visually pleasing Aquamaxx, how are you all flushing your GFO/Carbon with the Aquamaxx reactors? Right now I have my BRS reactor running off my return pump and would follow that path with a new reactor, but since I am using soft tubing when I add new media I just turn the valve on and flush the media then do a water change.

Thanks!

I bought a replacement lid for the reactor so that I can just flush it via a pump instead of the manifold. This way I'm flushing out water from the sump for a water change while flushing out the carbon.

I initially tried ROX Carbon but it just flew straight thru the sponges when flushing it. What kind of carbon / GFO is everyone else running in their AquaMaxx reactors?
 

XxCADUDExX

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need help. my reefer 170 is making a gurgling noise about every minute or so. when I turn the dial one way or the other it make the draining noise louder or it start bubbling all crazy. any ideals on how to fix?
 

DLHDesign

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need help. my reefer 170 is making a gurgling noise about every minute or so. when I turn the dial one way or the other it make the draining noise louder or it start bubbling all crazy. any ideals on how to fix?
I've found an occasional noise to be a result of the drain being just a bit out of tune. This can result from the sump level lowering a bit (reducing the return flow enough to cause the imbalance), the powerheads cycling up or down, or some other thing that may result in the water level changing fractionally.
My suggestion would be to re-tune the drain valve: Set it most of the way closed (so that the water is all going down the emergency drain) and then slowly back it off until the water only barely trickles down the emergency drain. If you can then turn it just a bit more, the water level should drop to just an inch or so below the emergency drain level. This point - if you can find it - should give you enough play in the water level that you don't get the occasional noise from it. It helps to ensure that your powerheads aren't pointing at the teeth of the overflow box.

The key is to make very minor adjustments. Once you're close, turn it the smallest amount that you can, then wait 5min or more for the system to equalize. If need be, tape a ruler into the overflow box while you adjust it so that you can visually see if the level has stabilized.
 

Trey302

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Will update in a week or so and then another week after that so I can get about 2 weeks and see how it goes. I got my soda lime from shopmedvet so was about half of what BRS charges (BRS was out of stock.) Right now my pH is 8.31, highest it has ever been. With the outside line alone 8.26 was the highest I saw. That said I can already see a small section of the soda lime at the bottom turning purple and it hasn't even been 24 hours. Hopefully I can get 2-3 weeks out of it.

Yeah it's a little discouraging at first to see how fast it starts changing colors. Thanks for the heads up on a cheaper place to get the soda lime. I'd really like to just keep using the scrubber but at the price BRS sells it for that will get expensive over time. I considered still running a line from outside to the scrubber to try and maximize it's lifespan but if I can get it that much cheaper I might just save myself the trouble and keep it like it is.
 

ReefingwithO

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I bought a replacement lid for the reactor so that I can just flush it via a pump instead of the manifold. This way I'm flushing out water from the sump for a water change while flushing out the carbon.

I initially tried ROX Carbon but it just flew straight thru the sponges when flushing it. What kind of carbon / GFO is everyone else running in their AquaMaxx reactors?

I just disconnect the reactor, take it to the tub, dump the old mean and use a spare pump to flush the media before bringing it back to the tank.
 

ReefingwithO

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Yeah it's a little discouraging at first to see how fast it starts changing colors. Thanks for the heads up on a cheaper place to get the soda lime. I'd really like to just keep using the scrubber but at the price BRS sells it for that will get expensive over time. I considered still running a line from outside to the scrubber to try and maximize it's lifespan but if I can get it that much cheaper I might just save myself the trouble and keep it like it is.

I tried this and I don't know if it's the NYC air with all the people living here but the media still exhausts after about 2 days.
 

blkhwkz

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Yeah it's a little discouraging at first to see how fast it starts changing colors. Thanks for the heads up on a cheaper place to get the soda lime. I'd really like to just keep using the scrubber but at the price BRS sells it for that will get expensive over time. I considered still running a line from outside to the scrubber to try and maximize it's lifespan but if I can get it that much cheaper I might just save myself the trouble and keep it like it is.

I tried this and I don't know if it's the NYC air with all the people living here but the media still exhausts after about 2 days.
Almost all, if not all, of the media is purple today about 35 hours after I added it. I live in the middle of nowhere, farm land to the west of my subdivision. I am going to leave it in there and see how it goes today. pH got to 8.33 yesterday with it, 8.35 when I manually dosed alk last night, and this morning is at 8.26. So I definitely like how it works, just need it to work a lot longer. When I added the media, I put a tablespoon of RODI in the bottom of the reactor like BRS says. Once it is exhausted completely I will load up some more soda lime and see if it still goes that quick.
 

Trey302

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Yeah I guess a lot depends on how much air your skimmer draws in plus how much CO2 is in the air. After hearing y'alls stories I feel pretty lucky to get a couple weeks out of mine. I wonder if all soda lime absorbs at the same rate? I think I forgot to put some water in this last time so maybe mine is not absorbing as efficiently as it could?
 

blkhwkz

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I will say it seems to be working fine still, pH is currently 8.34 and rising. With my light schedule it usually keeps going up for another 3-4 hours. Today won't really be a good comparison as it's water change day in a few hours and then skimmer will be off while I take care of that. I figure even if the soda lime is purple, until I see it not affecting pH I am not changing it out. It apparently also changes back to white at some point after being exhausted. I think pH reading gives better info than the color. Kind of like color changing DI resin, it might show it is good or used up, but TDS meter says otherwise.
 

DLHDesign

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I think pH reading gives better info than the color.
Just to throw out a caution; a pH drop could indicate that something else is going wrong in the tank beyond that the media is exhausted. So while I don't disagree, I would suggest that a dropping pH result in more than just a media change. Never hurts to look for other potential issues. :)
 

blkhwkz

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Just to throw out a caution; a pH drop could indicate that something else is going wrong in the tank beyond that the media is exhausted. So while I don't disagree, I would suggest that a dropping pH result in more than just a media change. Never hurts to look for other potential issues. :)

Agreed, but this is just while I am experimenting with the outside air line and the CO2 scrubber on the skimmer. The problems with this tank being fallow right now, gives me more time to tinker with stuff I could have just left alone. :D
 

rerana

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I used a 1" Spears gate valve... all of my main plumbing is 1".

A little bit of an old post, but did you use a threaded valve or a slip valve and use glue?

thanks for the help! I'm trying to sketch out a similar set up for a new 425xl...
 
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Broadfield

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A little bit of an old post, but did you use a threaded valve or a slip valve and use glue?

thanks for the help! I'm trying to sketch out a similar set up for a new 425xl...

I use glued joints for all my fittings, aside from the ones that mount to the top of the reactors and the ones that thread into the Red Sea return assemblies.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 68 52.3%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 67 51.5%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 33 25.4%
  • None.

    Votes: 29 22.3%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.9%
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