Nilsen Reactor

[golfish]

Hey guys,
I just setup one of Andy's Kalk reactors, its the 6" model. I've been using a pump stirred unit from Geo for the past year. I thought it was time to compare the two...

Any other problems to report with the MyReef units?

Mark

 

[Jeff Hood]

The only problem I have had is sometimes the O-ring gets "crud" in it and it leaks. Has not happened but twice but would make a mess if it was in the house.

I have to be very carefull with how I seat the O-ring. With the flat gaskets he use to use on his skimmers they are much easier to seal and have no leaks. I actually like the old design better for his tops.

Jeff

 

[danmhippo]

Ahhh, So Mark finally ordered from Andy eh? :lol: Did he make the changes on your unit that you adviced to him earlier?

 

[golfish]

Ahhh, So Mark finally ordered from Andy eh? :lol: Did he make the changes on your unit that you adviced to him earlier?

The only thing I suggested to Andy early on was to use glass on the bottom. He did not include glass but he did include the other ware plate.

Right off I can see these are not as user friendly as the pump mixed units. I have my owne mag stir unit so Andy made this reactor to fit my unit. Give me a month or two to figure out which unit works best for me.

Hippo, are you still having probles with your MyReef kalk reactor?

Mark

 

[danmhippo]

I sent the unit back to Andy for him to diagnose. The main problem I had is the wearplate. The original unit does not comes with glass bottom nor additional wearplate. The stirring bar wore-out a shallow dent in the center of the acrylic bottom plate, and obviously, that has caused even more friction and the stir bar became harder and harder to spin.

I later received a new wearplate from Andy to be placed on top of the bottom plate. It did not work either. Inspection reveals that the wearplate Andy sent me was damaged in shipping. Some how, it was warped slightly and won't stay put on the bottom.

I finally decided to sent back the whole unit back to Andy for him to diagnose for me. However the unit was damaged by FedEx during shipping, and Andy is kind enough to repair the shipping damage along with the bottom plate problem for me. I expect to receive it back next week.

BTW, I've also ordered another 3 equipments from Andy as well.

 

[golfish]

I'm using a much different magnetic stir unit then Andy uses. After reading this thread I'm thinking that the Hannah units might be the problem. The guys with the bigger units feel the bigger magnets are the way to go. I'm having better luck with the smaller + shaped magnet.

Andy did a great job on this reactor, its great looking and after a few minor adjustments its working like a clock. I did have to switch out my original stir unit for another one but so far its working great.

 

[Osama]

Jeff made me a thin wear plate using UHMW ( Andy late on sent me a thicker UHMW plate). I placed that plate on the bottom of the reactor & epoxied it so it won't float as recommended by Andy. For two months now; I have had no problems with the thin UHMW plate in combination with the larger stirring bar. I agree with Jeff the seal is better with the older design of a flat seal ring AND I would prefer wing nuts over what is provided.

Osama

 

[SPC]

Posted by Osama:

Jeff made me a thin wear plate using UHMW

I wish someone would have sent me a thinner wear plate .
Steve

 

[buff1]

And I have one question. Is it crucial that the water be de-ionized? I am lucky to have very good well water and I stopped using an RO unit with no negative consequences. Will regular water make good Kalkwasser?

 

[golfish]

Jeff made me a thin wear plate using UHMW ( Andy late on sent me a thicker UHMW plate). I placed that plate on the bottom of the reactor & epoxied it so it won't float as recommended by Andy. For two months now; I have had no problems with the thin UHMW plate in combination with the larger stirring bar. I agree with Jeff the seal is better with the older design of a flat seal ring AND I would prefer wing nuts over what is provided.

Osama

In my case is its not the thickness of the ware plate and reactor bottom but more the thickness of the kalk sluge on the bottom. I wasn't able to move the thicker longer magnets even with out the ware plate. I swapped mag stir units, added the ware plate and switched to a smaller and it works great.

 

[bowfront]

[In my case is its not the thickness of the ware plate and reactor bottom but more the thickness of the kalk sluge on the bottom. I wasn't able to move the thicker longer magnets even with out the ware plate. I swapped mag stir units, added the ware plate and switched to a smaller and it works great

Mark, I've had my Myreef set up for maybe 3 months and love it. It was one of the first that Andy shiped with a UHMW plate and larger stirrer. I can't believe you are having trouble with the larger magnet because that's all I've used. BTW, I siliconed the UHMW plate to the bottom because otherwize it floats. I add 2 cups of kalk at a shot and break down and refill at about the 1 month point. The Hanna unit that comes with it seems to be a good match. Takes a little adjustment each time I break it down and refill but once that's done no problems what so ever. These things are a real time saver.

As far as the o-ring leaking take some silicone grease (available at HD or scuba stores) and give it a good coat before sealing. Without that I had problems but after none.

 

[Jeff Hood]

bowfront,

Thanks for the tip on the silicone grease! I was going to try something like that but just have not yet.

One more thing I will report is, now that I have switched from the Balls picleling lime to Seachem Kalk I don't see any more metal shavings, or brown discolored Kalk powder even after a month with out sucking out the sediment. I also notice more of it disolving and less sediment overall.

I won't be using the cheap stuff for the Nilsen ever again! I guess if you just mix a batch and toss the sediment everytime then the cheap stuff will be fine. Just my Observation.

Jeff

 

[golfish]

Bowfront,
As you know I've been using a Geo pump stirred kalk reactor since last Dec, Its worked flawless the whole time. My only problem has been that the powder turns blue\grey after a week or so and then it pretty much stops saturating. I've been telling Andy for 6+ months that I've wanted to compare the two units and find out which one I FEEL works better. Its not a Geo vs MyReef thing but more of a Mag stir vs pump stir thing.

I swapped out my original mag stir unit because I felt it wasn't going to get the job done. I dug up another and after a few mods it seems to be working just fine. IME, the smaller stir bar starts up better and wont mix as high. I'm still in the playing stage with this reactor so it will be a month or so before decide which one works best for me.

There are two guys on this thread that have the 6" model with the Hannah unit and neither one can get theirs to work proper. I'm leaning towards the Hannah being the problem.

here's a picture of the unit I'm using.

 

[Osama]

For those still having trouble wit the stir bar check if your problem is related to the unit not being level. One of my initial problems was solved when I made sure my reactor was level The stir bar stopped spinning out of the center

 

[bowfront]

Hey Golfish that's a cool looking unit. Looks a little bigger than the Hanna though and would take a little ingenuity to get it under the reactor. Honestly I'm not having any problems with my unit. It fires up the large stirrer every time. I've got the Hanna turned down about half way. The main thing is to have it level as mentioned and also positioned so that the stirrer is in the center of the bottom. Kalk stays about 2/3 way up the reactor after half hour on.

 

[bowfront]

Hey Golfish that's a cool looking unit. Looks a little bigger than the Hanna though and would take a little ingenuity to get it under the reactor. Honestly I'm not having any problems with my unit. It fires up the large stirrer every time. I've got the Hanna turned down about half way. The main thing is to have it level as mentioned and also positioned so that the stirrer is in the center of the bottom. Kalk stays about 2/3 way up the reactor after half hour on.

 

[golfish]

Hey Golfish that's a cool looking unit. Looks a little bigger than the Hanna though and would take a little ingenuity to get it under the reactor. Honestly I'm not having any problems with my unit. It fires up the large stirrer every time. I've got the Hanna turned down about half way. The main thing is to have it level as mentioned and also positioned so that the stirrer is in the center of the bottom. Kalk stays about 2/3 way up the reactor after half hour on.

bowfront,
I had Andy custom build my reactor, so my unit fits perfict under it. I only bought the reactor not the mag stir. I guess you and me are the only two here with the 6" model thats NOT having problems. The speed on my mag stir adjust from 1-10 and I have it set on 2 so its turned down real low. The kalk stays 2/3 the way up also. It works great.

 

[Osama]

I just cleaned my unit and put in fresh media. I had a hard time geting the Liter meter to suction in the kalk from the reactor. I made sure to blow clear the hoses using a hand pump my kids had for their soccer balls. I have the larger 8 inch diameter reactor. It seems that I get the unit working then it stops. It works after I jiggle the hose connection into the reactor barb. Anyone using Andy's setup with suggestion of what is causing a break into the air seal that is stoppping the flow of Kalk.

 

[danmhippo]

Have you ever replaced any of the airline hoses. After month's of uses, I find some of my airline tubing harden so much that it loses much of it's original flexibility, and depending on the application, leakage are not uncommon. Also check the flex tubing in the Litermeter, not very likely, but it's possible. That stretch of tubing is replaceable and is not too expensive.

 

[golfish]

hmmmm, Why don't you use the liter meter to pump fresh water into the reactor using the down pipe? this pushes the saturated water out the top.

I've been using my Liter meter this way for 18 months, the only probelm I had was the very end of the reactor output plugged up with kalk. It was so plugged up that the pressure built up onthe reactor and water started blowing out from the seal.