By Fabrice POIRAUD-LAMBERT, Pictures by Nicolas Will

If you can read French, you will find the full theorical and practical information Here

Last updates are in Blue

Few words of theory :

This reactor works with a mix of Pure water and Calcium Hydroxyde. 4 Full Big spoons of Calcium Hydroxyde should be mixed with water every week, after a complete cleaning of the reactor. This operation takes usually about 15 minutes.

The Mixing Pump (about 250 L/H, Rena Flow C300) should be actioned about 15 minutes every 2 hours to maintain the good quality of the solution.

This kind of reactor allows an optimized usage of Calcium Hydroxyde solution (Kalkwasser / lime water), but it will gives its best results only if it provides at least 1% of the water Tank Volume per day. Under this condition, you will be able to maintain good alcalinity, pH and Calcium levels, even if your tank is heavily loaded in Small Polyps Hard Corals.

This VisioReactor is now used by hundreds of Marine Aquarists over the world, and can fit on every size of tank.

How to build the VisioReactor 2 :

Needed components

To build the VisioReactor, just respect the concepts shown on the pictures bellow, and use the components you can find around you. Few rule to help you :

- The internal volume of the reactor should be almost the same than the daily water volume you must add to your tank to compensate the evaporation. Remember that the VisioReactor (and any other Calcium Hydroxyde reactor you could use) will be helpful only if you evaporate about 1 % of the water tank volume per day.

- It's critical that the bottom of the reactor is (as far as possible) spherical

- The pump has to be connected at the first third of the reactor, not higher, for security reasons, otherwise you could send pure calcium hydroxyde to the tank and then create troubles in your tank (reducing Alcalinity, Calcium, raising pH too much, generate excessive sedimentation)

You need about 30 mn to build the reactor and it costs around US $ 80 only.

Use Standard PVC Glue.

WARNING : Measure your calcium level often at the beginning, to ensure you won't over deliver...!!

Final result you should reach :

Some more information :

• Inject the pure water by the longest small green tube & take the Kalkwasser to sent to the tank by the shortest one
• To inject water in the reactor, we use an automatic small pump piloted by water level captors. The goal is to deliver very little amount of water each time the pump is running, to ensure the best possible reaction between calcium hydroxyde and sea water in the tank.
• Ensure that the reactor is Air-Proof, otherwise the internal mix with reacts with it too early
• Ensure that the solution cannot go back to the pure water tank
• Ensure that the Reactor cannot empty itself in the main tank...
  
• Tubes diameters used here are 90 mm for the body, 12 mm for the Pump connection and 3 mm for water injection.
• Inject the Kalkwasser in a place where water tank current is high, to ensure that a maximum of dissolved CO2 is available for the reaction. The exit of a skimmer can be a good place.

If you need some more explanations, ask me !

 

Here is a "How to build the reactor" in photos :

 

 

Pump Connection

 

Small Green PVC tube (5 mm) gluing

Q :I have built the unit but a little confussed about how to add water to the reactor (should it be dripped in?) . Do you have to use a float switch or can you use a pressure switch for auto starting your pump?

 

A : you are supposed to use an automatic top-off system (basicaly a SLOW 12v pump piloted by a float switch). Even if you do not speak French, have a look to the pictures :

http://mars.reefkeepers.net/Articles/Osmolateur/osmolateur.html

The water has to be injected at the bottom of the reactor.

 

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Q : Do you mix with R/O before you put it in the reactor?

 

A : YOU MUST NOT mix the Calcium hydroxide before you put it in the reactor, otherwise you give it a "chance" to react with the atmospheric CO2 and then to precipitate right in the reactor !! The best operating mode is :

- fill the reactor with R/O water

- add the 4 spoons of powder as quick as possible

- close the reactor as quick as possible

- shake the reactor for 30' and run the internal pump for several minutes to ensure that the mix is perfect.

- add manually some extra R/O water (0.5 L - 0,125 Gal) to your tank to give you some time before the next automatic start of your reactor, and connect your float switch on.

 

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Q : how much kalk do you use 4 spoons but what size ?

 

A : The 4 spoons are Soup ones. Then you add far to much powder than what could be considered as needed, but if your reactor is empty at the end of the week, it means that your limewater was quite poor in Calcium during the last days, and then you have no chance to raise/maintain it in the tank (depends of course on the coral population in the tank). So, by adding to much powder in the reactor, you ensure that you always add a perfect limewater to the tank, even at the end of the week. The Extra cost is not that high.

 

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Q : you can run this reactor all day an not just at night right.

A : My reactor runs all day, but the trick is that :

- very few lime water is added each time

- the lime water is added in a place where there is a lot of current, to ensure that CO2 is always present, and then that the chimical reaction will be perfect with as less precipiation as possible.