by AquaNerd | Jun 3, 2017 | Equipment, Science
Its hard to argue that Royal Exclusiv manufactures some of the finest quality and innovative aquarium gear anywhere in the world. Manufactured in Germany, Royal Exclusiv is known as a brand that surpasses expectations. With their new and much larger state of the art facility, Klaus Jensen, the founder of Royal Exclusiv has continued to innovate and develop new products with a new space saving stacking media filter dubbed; media filter 3.0. With so many great filtration products on the market, keeping water parameters in check has never been easier but having enough space in an aquarium cabinet still presents challenges for many. Thankfully, manufactures like Royal Exclusiv are designing aquarium hardware that neatly and efficiently maximizes space in the aquarium sump with products like the media filter by Marcin Smok | Mar 31, 2016 | Equipment, Industry, Science, Tanks, Technology
All images by author The importance of chemical filtration in a saltwater aquarium is undeniable. Unlike most freshwater tanks, a saltwater setup relies on a handful of chemical compounds that bind to and absorb harmful byproducts of the nitrogen cycle, as well as... by AquaNerd | Jul 3, 2014 | Science
Ahh, the teaser photo. My how we loath and love your existence. You reveal just enough information to get us talking, but not enough to satisfy our curiosities. AquaFX, a company that specializes in reverse osmosis filtration, is the latest company to employ this strategy, apparently signaling a new direction for their product offering. They are looking to break out of the category in which they’ve focused for so many years to now include other forms of water filtration. According to an image released on the company’s Facebook page, AquaFX will now be producing media reactors for aquarium use. As with any teaser, there was literally zero textual information associated with the image. Just a picture of a reverse flow (aka bottom up) media reactor that isn’t that dissimilar from other makes and models. by AquaNerd | Nov 13, 2013 | Science
Reef Dynamics, the offspring of EuroReef’s dissolution a few years ago, has a beefy new multi-use media reactor that just became available. With a footprint of 9″ x 17″, this reactor is suitable for aquariums up to 1000 gallons and can house several different types of media. Though very large, the Multi-use reactor uses an in-sump design, where an Eheim pump draws in water and forces it to the bottom of the reactor and out of plumbing located in the opposite side. All that said, the reactor does appear to have the ability to be run external to a sump, which would make sense given the “multi-use” descriptor, but we haven’t been able to confirm that and our emails to Reef Dynamics haven’t been returned as of yet. The Reef Dynamics Multi-use Media Reactor Model MMR100 has a retail price of $800, and it is currently the only model available, though we’d love to see a few smaller models show up soon. Specs:-Footprint: 9 x 17-Height: 28″-Reaction Chamber Diameter: 8″-Reaction Chamber Height: 18.5″-Reaction Chamber Volume: 4 gallons-Access: 4.5″ Opening with easy access JAM-LOC quick disconnect.-Bio-Load Capacity: +/- 1000 gallons system volume; 750 gallons to 1250 gallons-Media Capacity: Varies with media, but should not exceed 1/2 of reaction chamber-Native Flow Through Rates: +/- 1000 gph capacity-Pump: Eheim Compact + 5000-Power Consumption: 86w @ 110v AC 60hz The problem with a lot of media reactors in the aquarium hobby is that they are typically limited to certain types of media. While general purpose media reactors have done a great job with housing activated carbon and GFO, aquarium keepers have always had to buy additional reactors for specific types of media, namely biopellet media. It isn’t uncommon for hobbyists to have multiple reactors on a single system, but they don’t always do this, and can’t always afford multiples of the same item for that matter. by AquaNerd | Jun 18, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Tanks
Aquarium hobbyists have long known the benefits of activated carbon and granular ferric oxide (GFO) as major parts of the filtration system, and for the most part, the two have been used conjunction with with each other. While one took up dissolved organic material, the other absorbed photphate and silcates, both polishing and cleaning the water in the process. The immense benefit of both of these filter media products of course prompted aquarists to use multiple reactors, oftentimes with multiple pumps. Thankfully, the aquarium industry responded to the demand with dual stage reactors from the likes of Bulk Reef Supply, and now the other water filtration specialists at SpectraPure have their own version as well. While the SpectraPure Dual Chamber Media Reactor may appear remarkably similar to the BRS model, it differs in one very distinctive way. Where the BRS model has two chambers plumbed inline, the SpectraPure version has them plumbed up separately. Instead of flowing from one chamber to the next, the water line feeding the reactor splits off to independently feed both chambers simultaneously. While keeping the two separate in this manner may or may not be important isn’t even the point. What’s important here are the valves that can be used to regulate the flow rates through each chamber. GFO requires low flow speeds, as it is not desirable to tumble this media. If the grains do tumble, they could break apart and find their way back into the aquarium. Carbon, on the other hand, can have high or low flow rates, it really doesn’t matter much. Lower flow rates improve contact time, while higher rates move more water through the media. Getting back on track, another benefit to this layout is the fact that you could take one of the canisters offline, with the other still filtering water. This is ideal if say the GFO is exhausted before the carbon, or if there is some other issue. The retail price for the SpectraPure Dual Chamber Media reactor is set at $74.99, though it is currently on sale for $69.99. This is about $10 more than the BRS version, but given the fact that you can independently control the flow of each chamber, it’s well worth the extra green.
