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I restarted my system last March which is a 210 display and about 500 gallons total water volume. I have been using Kalk through my topoff as well as monthly 20% water changes for CA replenishment but lately it hasn't been keeping up. I decided I wanted to use a CA reactor again and instead of the DJ88 designed DIY CA reactor I have been using for 10+ years I decided to purchase a commercial CA reactor for the restart. I picked up a Vertex RX-C 6D during BRS's Black Friday sale and decided to set it up last night.
Their packaging is right out of the Apple playbook. Very impressive, high quality packaging and out of the box presentation. I didn't take pictures but there are several Youtube videos covering this if you are interested. Build quality and industrial design of the Vertex is incredible.
Setup instructions are very well done. The one drawback is there are very few pictures in the manual. I suggest you watch the BRS video before setting it up and if you do, you should have no issues. I placed the reactor above my horse trough sump area.
To feed the reactor, I tapped off my display return line which is providing more than enough pressure the way I have it setup. I did something unique in that I am running the tank water through a 20 micron paper filter before feeding the reactor. With my old setup, algae and/or detritus would plug up the needle valve requiring frequent clearing which I am hoping to avoid. I also decided to place the needle valve for flow adjustment right after the filter stage, BEFORE water enters the reactor. This is opposite what the instructions request and how you would typically setup a reactor (typically the needle valve is on the output of the reactor). My thought being is regulating clean water as opposed to the water leaving the reactor will result in less clogging of the needle valve especially since I plan on feeding at a slow drip, not at a quicker flow that might clog less. Another option would have been to use a peristaltic pump for feed but I didn't want to incur that expense at the moment.
The flow meter is very cool and works well in my setup. I haven't measured its accuracy but it looks to move relative to the flow. My indicator will not drop below 100ml/min even though there are marks for flow down to 30ml/min. There appears to be a plastic stop inside the meter that is stopping the gauge. I'm going to contact BRS to see why that is.
I installed a pH probe from my Apex expansion module in the included probe bladder in the main chamber's lid. If you do not wish to run a pH probe (not sure why you would even consider doing this), a plug is included.
I used ARM small media in the main reactor chamber and secondary chamber even though the introductions call for only coarse media. I've used small since starting using a CA Reactor 13 years ago and believe the extra surface area is better. I rinsed it well to remove the dust and floating debris that ARM seems to come with then scooped it into the reactor chambers. It didn't fall through the grate, isn't blowing around and seems to be flowing just fine. I used a little less that two 1 gallon containers of small ARM to fill both areas of the reactor. I left the 3rd chamber empty for now. I might pick up some magnesium media or use GFO in that area.
Startup was a BREEZE! Much easier than my DIY reactor. I basically opened the feed needle valve full open which started the filling process. The main chamber filled, then started filling the secondary chamber. Once both were full of water, I started the circulation pump and it just started circulating. No cavitation of the pump, no excess air to bleed off, it just started! Love this thing!
I ran the flow full open for a few minutes until the water in the reactor cleared (even though the media is rinsed, it sill ends up a bit cloudy). Then I adjusted the flow to a slow drip, probably 1 to 1.5 drops per second and let it run without CO2 all night to make sure the plumbing was good. Woke up this morning and the drip rate is just where I left it, no leaks!
So far, this has been the best aquarium equipment experience I have had!
Today I'll setup the CO2, take some pictures and provide an update.
Their packaging is right out of the Apple playbook. Very impressive, high quality packaging and out of the box presentation. I didn't take pictures but there are several Youtube videos covering this if you are interested. Build quality and industrial design of the Vertex is incredible.
Setup instructions are very well done. The one drawback is there are very few pictures in the manual. I suggest you watch the BRS video before setting it up and if you do, you should have no issues. I placed the reactor above my horse trough sump area.
To feed the reactor, I tapped off my display return line which is providing more than enough pressure the way I have it setup. I did something unique in that I am running the tank water through a 20 micron paper filter before feeding the reactor. With my old setup, algae and/or detritus would plug up the needle valve requiring frequent clearing which I am hoping to avoid. I also decided to place the needle valve for flow adjustment right after the filter stage, BEFORE water enters the reactor. This is opposite what the instructions request and how you would typically setup a reactor (typically the needle valve is on the output of the reactor). My thought being is regulating clean water as opposed to the water leaving the reactor will result in less clogging of the needle valve especially since I plan on feeding at a slow drip, not at a quicker flow that might clog less. Another option would have been to use a peristaltic pump for feed but I didn't want to incur that expense at the moment.
The flow meter is very cool and works well in my setup. I haven't measured its accuracy but it looks to move relative to the flow. My indicator will not drop below 100ml/min even though there are marks for flow down to 30ml/min. There appears to be a plastic stop inside the meter that is stopping the gauge. I'm going to contact BRS to see why that is.
I installed a pH probe from my Apex expansion module in the included probe bladder in the main chamber's lid. If you do not wish to run a pH probe (not sure why you would even consider doing this), a plug is included.
I used ARM small media in the main reactor chamber and secondary chamber even though the introductions call for only coarse media. I've used small since starting using a CA Reactor 13 years ago and believe the extra surface area is better. I rinsed it well to remove the dust and floating debris that ARM seems to come with then scooped it into the reactor chambers. It didn't fall through the grate, isn't blowing around and seems to be flowing just fine. I used a little less that two 1 gallon containers of small ARM to fill both areas of the reactor. I left the 3rd chamber empty for now. I might pick up some magnesium media or use GFO in that area.
Startup was a BREEZE! Much easier than my DIY reactor. I basically opened the feed needle valve full open which started the filling process. The main chamber filled, then started filling the secondary chamber. Once both were full of water, I started the circulation pump and it just started circulating. No cavitation of the pump, no excess air to bleed off, it just started! Love this thing!
I ran the flow full open for a few minutes until the water in the reactor cleared (even though the media is rinsed, it sill ends up a bit cloudy). Then I adjusted the flow to a slow drip, probably 1 to 1.5 drops per second and let it run without CO2 all night to make sure the plumbing was good. Woke up this morning and the drip rate is just where I left it, no leaks!
So far, this has been the best aquarium equipment experience I have had!
Today I'll setup the CO2, take some pictures and provide an update.
