Mar 29, 2014
Bill Young
wrote
My name is Bill Young, my wife Cookie and I live in Philadelphia,Pa. We have 855 gals. {6 tanks} of overstocked, overfed, fish only,some live rock aquariums. I'm in the process of plumbing 5 of those tanks to a central 125 gal. sump. The remaining 65 gal. tank will eventually become a separate reef system.. We purchased a French Angel a little less than 5 yrs. ago, and he's already more than a foot long. We will probably have to upgrade him to a 400 or more gal. tank, expanding us to 1100 or 1200 total gallons . I have recently seen a video of the Reef Octopus BioChurn Pellet Reactor, and I thought it may be something I could use in our new system. What model would you recommend ? The video mentions a commercial line, but I've been unsuccessful in my attempts to find any information, on any cite. Has it been discontinued ?
Would you please fill me in on daily operation, and maintenance of a pellet reactor.
Reef Octopus makes a Ro/DI unit with claims of a one to one ratio of usable to waste water. Our tap water registers 320 or better on a TDS meter. Would your unit still be able to deliver , given the quality of our source water?
Would you please fill me in on daily operation, and maintenance of a pellet reactor.
Reef Octopus makes a Ro/DI unit with claims of a one to one ratio of usable to waste water. Our tap water registers 320 or better on a TDS meter. Would your unit still be able to deliver , given the quality of our source water?
Reply
5 Answers
Mar 31, 2014
Jeremy Rykiel
agent
wrote
The commercial Biochurn reactors are still available but are special order items. For aquariums up to 1500 the BR-05 would work which holds up to 5 Liters of media. It is a 10" body reactor and about 42" tall. I attached a photo of what it looks like. I would have to quote out a price if your interested. There really is no daily maintenance but monthly to bi-monthly to replenish biopellet media as it dissolves. A robust skimmer is defiantly needed.
To my knowledge Reef Octopus does not have a RO/DI unit. We, CoralVue had a 100gpd unit with the capability of producing 1 to 3 ratio http://www.coralvue.com/coralvue-ro-di-100gpd-filtration-system but has been discontinued as we are working on a more updated unit. The new unit will still have the same ratio but with enhanced controls and a slightly more robust mounting frame. Most of the components will remain the same and the unit should be available this summer.
To my knowledge Reef Octopus does not have a RO/DI unit. We, CoralVue had a 100gpd unit with the capability of producing 1 to 3 ratio http://www.coralvue.com/coralvue-ro-di-100gpd-filtration-system but has been discontinued as we are working on a more updated unit. The new unit will still have the same ratio but with enhanced controls and a slightly more robust mounting frame. Most of the components will remain the same and the unit should be available this summer.
Apr 01, 2014
Bill Young
wrote
Jeremy,
Thanks for the info. I would be interested in a quote on the BR-05T. What is the biggest non-commercial BioChurn,and how much would that cost? Our protein skimmer is only rated up to 500 gallons, which skimmer do you think would be appropriate? In lieu of the protein skimmer that I probably can't afford, could I run the water coming out of the reactor through my present skimmer, and that water through either some sort of resin or a poly -bio -marine poly filter? A price on the bio pellets would also be helpful. It's unfortunate, but everything does come down to money. My company went out of business 2 years ago , and I was forced into an early retirement on a fixed income that comes no where near supporting a very bad fish habit.
Sincerely yours,
Bill YOung
Thanks for the info. I would be interested in a quote on the BR-05T. What is the biggest non-commercial BioChurn,and how much would that cost? Our protein skimmer is only rated up to 500 gallons, which skimmer do you think would be appropriate? In lieu of the protein skimmer that I probably can't afford, could I run the water coming out of the reactor through my present skimmer, and that water through either some sort of resin or a poly -bio -marine poly filter? A price on the bio pellets would also be helpful. It's unfortunate, but everything does come down to money. My company went out of business 2 years ago , and I was forced into an early retirement on a fixed income that comes no where near supporting a very bad fish habit.
Sincerely yours,
Bill YOung
Apr 10, 2014
Jeremy Rykiel
agent
wrote
I am still waiting to get a quote for the reactor. Any 12" skimmer like the SRO 6000 or Regal 3000 (Regal not out yet) should be adequate for a daisy chained system but if you wanted something that can handle 1000gallons we have the XP8000 but really need the heavy bioload. The skimmer is the best form of removing excess bacteria collimating from the reactor. Here is a link to the cost of Biopellets: http://www.coralvue.com/biosphere-bio-pellets-250
Apr 10, 2014
Bill Young
wrote
Jeremy,
Good to hear from you, though not much news after such a long time.Should I be concerned about getting a reactor that is too big for my system? Sounds like the water coming out of the reactor can be worse for the tank than the water going in. The biggest BioChurn that I have found on line is rated up to 500 gals.. The BR-05 is rated up to 1500 gals.and of course I'm in that 1000 gal. gap. If you go with the bigger reactor, is it possible to use a smaller amount of pellets to "match" your present gallonage/ bioload?
Good to hear from you, though not much news after such a long time.Should I be concerned about getting a reactor that is too big for my system? Sounds like the water coming out of the reactor can be worse for the tank than the water going in. The biggest BioChurn that I have found on line is rated up to 500 gals.. The BR-05 is rated up to 1500 gals.and of course I'm in that 1000 gal. gap. If you go with the bigger reactor, is it possible to use a smaller amount of pellets to "match" your present gallonage/ bioload?
Apr 15, 2014
Jeremy Rykiel
agent
wrote
The Biochurn BC05 would run $1400 plus shipping which would be freight. In my opinion I would run two smaller reactors. This would allow you to ease your system into the carbon dosing and it will allow you to maintain each unit in separate intervals. Then you have your option if you want each to be all one unit with a pump or a single pump with manifold.