This Reactor has caused me so much grief over the years. Problems & fixes:-

1, The Reactor is designed to 'fluidise' the media (Rowalith 'C') but invariably some of the fine grit always finds its way into the Aquamedic 2000 pump stopping it or worse causing damage to the internal rotor bore. I have had to replace a pump due to this. I now use Aquamedic hydo-Carbonate (large grain size) this doesn't fluidise & works much better.

2, The re-fill hole at the top is so small. Best to use a funnel with the small end cut-off. The Reactor needs re-filling about every 2 months.

3, The noise of the co2 as it passes through the pump. I got around this by re-routing the tubing so the co2 gets introduced after the pump & not before. CO2 is set at around 90 bubbles/min.

I have also added a second needle-valve which gives me greater control over the bubble-rate. This is screwed onto the top of the reactor.

The best thing I ever did was to add a PH Controller to the system. I just dial a PH value of 6.4 into the controller & a probe in the reactor gives a constant PH reading. The controller turns a solenoid on & off to allow more co2 into the reactor as & when required to maintain a PH of 6.4 so simple.

Reactor effluent is around 40 dkh running at a PH of around 6.4 with Aquamedic Hydrocarbonate coarse grade media. This is also used in a 2nd de-gassing chamber.