T-ing off from the return line to power reactors?

[scarface70706]

hey guys so i have a mag 9.5 as my return for my 90 gallon system. i know its a little over kill but i was wondering if it will be a good idea to T off the return and have it connect to a ball valve and reduce it down to fit onto the BRS duel reactor. it would be nice to do it this way instead of plugging in another piece of equipment. or would it be best to run the duel reactor on its own personal pump. any thoughts? thanks.

[briankmarsh1980]

I have mine plumbed off my return.
no need to run extra pumps

[89Foxbody]

The mag 9.5 is plenty to do both. That's what I plan on doing.

[Ron Reefman]

Lots of people run a 'manifold' with one big pump running lots of equipment. You shold be fine. But consider a gate valve instead of a ball valve. You get much finer flow control to the reactor.

[scarface70706]

SWEET! Nothing like saving money and plumbing up cool looking equipment. if its not too much to ask could you guys post some pics of your plumbing to give me a general idea on how to? thanks.

ps: ill def look into a gate valve. do they have reef safe gate valves or are they all metal?

[talwen]

They do make plastic gate valves but most local stores do not carry them.

[Jerdel]

Ace hardware can order you some pvc gate valves.

[scarface70706]

ok ill look into it and probably order some. does anyone have any pics of their returns ting off to flow the reactors? also what do i do with the return line? do i send it back into the sump?

[briankmarsh1980]

Here is the T off my return.. it has been reduced down and has a push fitting for the reactor.
<a href="http://s217.photobucket.com/albums/cc262/briankmarsh1980/Snapbucket/?action=view&amp;current=BA9CA126-orig.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc262/briankmarsh1980/Snapbucket/BA9CA126-orig.jpg" border="0" alt="Snapbucket"></a>

Here is the front of my reactors ... it's modded by spinning the chambers

<a href="http://s217.photobucket.com/albums/cc262/briankmarsh1980/Snapbucket/?action=view&amp;current=53CDBF88-orig.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc262/briankmarsh1980/Snapbucket/53CDBF88-orig.jpg" border="0" alt="Snapbucket"></a>

And valve coming off one output... this alows me to fine tune the flow in the chamber

<a href="http://s217.photobucket.com/albums/cc262/briankmarsh1980/Snapbucket/?action=view&amp;current=48E6784E-orig.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc262/briankmarsh1980/Snapbucket/48E6784E-orig.jpg" border="0" alt="Snapbucket"></a>

And the other valve for the other chamber and the outputs run right back into my sump

<a href="http://s217.photobucket.com/albums/cc262/briankmarsh1980/Snapbucket/?action=view&amp;current=2B15EDDB-orig.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc262/briankmarsh1980/Snapbucket/2B15EDDB-orig.jpg" border="0" alt="Snapbucket"></a>

[crankbait]

Cool idea. I also have a mag and a 90 gal im setting up after christmas. Might have to do this

[crankbait]

Hey Brian when you say the

[crankbait]

Excuse the last post. brian when you say that your T has been reduced do ypu mean that you went from 1" pipe to 1/4" or whatever the diameters of the reactor is?

[briankmarsh1980]

Excuse the last post. brian when you say that your T has been reduced do ypu mean that you went from 1" pipe to 1/4" or whatever the diameters of the reactor is?

Yes off the T I have a reducer from 3/4" to 1/2"

[89Foxbody]

You have to reduce it as the BRS reactor uses 1/2" tubing.

[briankmarsh1980]

I found a threaded 3/4" to 1/2" push fitting reducer to do this :)

[bugs713]

I bought this part at Homedepo and installed it right off the pump return line and it works great to feed my Shorty Reactor. I do need to install a valve to slow the flow a bit, but it works good as is. It's not an actual "T", more like a reverse venturi and I forget what it was called on the shelf, but it was 3/4" slip that I plumbed to my Eheim 1260.
http://i39.*******.com/1jtf2u.jpg

[lukejustice]

im all about keeping things simple and using only one pump. the only draw back that i could think of would be you cant control individual pieces of tank equipment via controller

[briankmarsh1980]

im all about keeping things simple and using only one pump. the only draw back that i could think of would be you cant control individual pieces of tank equipment via controller

I DON'T THINK HAVING A REACTOR ON A CONTROLER APLIES....... I would like to see how YOU do this.... I'm interested

[crankbait]

Half inch on the reactor cool got it. You know whats crazy about all this stuff im more nervous about the plumbing than anything else in my build. I just know im going to mess something up

[crankbait]

One more question. If i put a gate valve on the return T can it be shut off completly like a fauset?

[briankmarsh1980]

Yes

[89Foxbody]

One more question. If i put a gate valve on the return T can it be shut off completly like a fauset?


Yes you can shut it off completely and all the flow will go to return instead.

Don't be nervous about the plumbing. Just get everything laid out and dry-fit, don't be afraid to do sketches. Use teflon tape on threaded fittings. Once you have everything laid out the way you want it glue it up. If you find any small leaks, silicone is your friend.

[scarface70706]

any more pictures?

[doctorgori]

timely thread as I'm having issues with my biopellets clumping using a mj1200 ....
I also have a 90G, mag 9.5, dual BRS reactors and a 3rd biopellet reactor ...I plan on T'ing off the mag 9.5 to power the GFO & Carbon reactors

[chamjack]

Not sure if this helps or not, but here's a shot of mine (still trying to post these pics right). This is my basement 125 sump. The return is a Gen X PCX 150 pressure pump. I have it run basically everything. Its 1 1/2" return line T'd to 1". The 1" runs till right before the first reactor ball valve then it is 3/4". The 3/4" is reduced to 1/2" at each of the T's for the three vertical ball valves. The horizontal ball valve at the end is still on the 3/4" pipe. I have it to run my recirculating skimmer. I have plenty of flow everywhere and everything has been easy to dial in so far (only ran it for a week). Everything is offline now because I am cooking some BRS Pukani rock in it.