My calcium Reactor leaks from the O rings

[Osama]

Andy is working with me to fix the leaks at the reactor seals. My reactor is a 2 chamber reactor that leaks from the O rings. My reactor has a skinny O ring that maybe the problem in my opinion.
Andy sent me a flat rubber?/membrane to cut a flat piece to place on top of the O ring. I really did a bad job at making a new seal. I am ready to junk the whole thing unless I can find someone locally to fix it.
Any local Chicagoans that are handy to fix this reactor or know of someone who would fix it for me?.
Any other ideas any one.
I am in need to do something during the time off I am taking to get the new system running ( 320g + 180g + 150G + 90g +65g all on same system.)....

 

[Anonymous]

Bump.

 

[fungia]

sorry not local but have you made sure it is clean? sometimes little dirt makes o-rings leak, also you can look to replace it with a bigger o-ring. google turns up a lot of places that sell all kinds of o-rings in different sizes.

 

[Osama]

The surface is very clean.
cannot put a thicker/bigger O ring as it won't fit in the pregrooved lids surfaces.
need to regroove the lid surfaces and possibly use a thicker lid to allow for a thicker groove & thicker O ring.

 

[Len]

Andy will probably work something out for you. Have you tried contacting him? The good thing about Ca reactors is they aren't life support devices so you can do fine without it for a little while

 

[Robf]

Hi Osama.

I had a similar problem with a dual-chambered myreef. The instructions recommended a maxijet 1200 to feed the pump. I felt this was a bit much, so I tried a MJ900, and then a 600.

I then ordered a minijet 404. This pump is perfect, and I no longer have any leaks. My reactor is next to my sump, so there wasn't much head pressure to overcome. In addition, the miijet can go on a VERY long time between cleanings. The last time I hauled it out, it was caked in calcium deposits, and I was amazed it was still running smooth.

If you have one, give it a try. It was a $9 fix, and I'm very happy with the results.

regards,

Rob

 

[Osama]

Hi Rob
I may do that using a small pump temporarily till Andy & I work out a fix or someone suggest somebody in Chicago. the reason I am saying temporary is that I am planning on not having any pumps in the water. All pumps are external and except for the calcium reactor so far everything is a OK.
regarding the need for the Cal reactor; my system is very heavily loaded and I need every bit of calc & kalk I can generate. So the sooner I can get the calcium working the better. When everything was working on only the 180g tank alone; with a Nielsen & a calcium reactor I could keep calc at 380ppm & alk at 7dkh; that's it. Like the calc gets absored as soon as it is in solution...
any fixes from Chicago will prevent having to send the calcium reactor back to Andy for repair... thanks. Happy Holidays, Merry Xmas & Happy New Year to ALL

 

[moeb]

i had the same problem i ended up drilling a small hole in the feed line from the maxijet for me that stopped the slow drip from around the oring i think without the small hole that built up to much pressure in the reactor

 

[Anonymous]

Are you doing anything to reduce the flow through the reactor on the effluent output side? This would pressurize the reactor and cause it to leak. Just a thought.

Louey