Ca reactor trouble - suggestions ?

[Tangman]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

How old is the media? It might not actually be a leak (well, it could be, but not necessarily). It could also be that the media is starting to compact and the pump is unable to recirculate - thus in the area of low pressure (suction side of the pump) the bubble forms and grows. I find if I let my media go too long I get this phenomenon. It's really hard on your pump too BTW.

Also I'm curious how you have your reactor fed? Typically the effluent rate should not be affected by a bubble in the recirc chamber. That's another reason I'm thinking it may be media clogging...

I was going to suggest the media aswell, just didn't want to type that much--- good answer, Delphinis

[wickedfrags]

There is supose to be air in there (usually the top 1") but you should still have effluent.

Check the efffluent tubing to the tank and see if it clogged (this happens on the intake as well). Try blowing out the tubing, and if the air does not pass through, what I do is use a long piece of aircraft wire of the correct diameter and snake the tubing (you could also replace the tubing). You should see the stuff that comes out!

It could also be pressure due to aragonite breakdown as noted below. Let us know what you find and if it is not fixed post a pic for us.

WF

[andestang]

Dave I checked that earlier and its all clear. I have a flow meter on the unit and it drops off when the air builds up. I'll take a pic for everyone to show.

Originally Posted by wickedfrags.com

There is supose to be air in there (usually the top 1") but you should still have effluent.

Check the efffluent tubing to the tank and see if it clogged (this happens on the intake as well). Try blowing out the tubing, and if the air does not pass through, what I do is use a long piece of aircraft wire of the correct diameter and snake the tubing (you could also replace the tubing). You should see the stuff that comes out!

It could also be pressure due to aragonite breakdown as noted below. Let us know what you find and if it is not fixed post a pic for us.

WF

[wickedfrags]

A flow meter for the water effluent right? Located after the second chamber and controlled by a needle valve? Ya we need a pic

Originally Posted by andestang

Dave I checked that earlier and its all clear. I have a flow meter on the unit and it drops off when the air builds up. I'll take a pic for everyone to show.

[Delphinus]

Do you have a separate feed pump or are you relying on the siphon created by the recirc pump? I could never get a steady flowrate using just the recirc pump. I guess this makes sense because the resistance will probably change as the media gets used up.

Anyhow my guess is if the media is a year old then this is very likely the culprit. A year is not a bad run. Seems to me an air bubble on its own shouldn't cause the pump to vapor lock (if you think about it, the pump should just suck that air bubble, shred it into a million little bubbles that trickle up through the media). I think it's more that the water has nowhere to go.