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ReefNewGuy · 07/21/2017, 08:48 AM

I signed up to tell you guys my experience.

My TLF PhosBan 550 reactor worked great using 5730 LEDs (5 metres), grew chaeto like crazy, literally a handful every second day.

Unfortunately after 2 months it began to behave more like an algae scrubber - the sides and the red mesh/central tube got coated in algae that was difficult to scrape off.

3 months later the strip LED stopped working. After inspection the positive wire had completely burnt off and fell off - water had made its way onto it from a hairline vertical 2 inch crack that had developed at the bottom of the reactor from heat stress. I am guessing the reactor did not like the heat cycles during winter. The reactor was bought brand new for the sole purpose of chaeto reactor. I might glue a piece of acrylic over the crack to salvage the reactor for some other purposes in future.

Warning guys - DONT DO IT. I could have burnt the house down *knock on wood*. It's a real shame as I really liked the idea of a chaeto reactor. Maybe using minimal LEDs and very few wattage would have made a difference. I am not keen on trying this again as it is an accident waiting to happen. That's why those ARID reactors cost hundreds of dollars with the fancy heatsink.

07/21/2017, 08:48 AM	#112
ReefNewGuy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 4	I signed up to tell you guys my experience. My TLF PhosBan 550 reactor worked great using 5730 LEDs (5 metres), grew chaeto like crazy, literally a handful every second day. Unfortunately after 2 months it began to behave more like an algae scrubber - the sides and the red mesh/central tube got coated in algae that was difficult to scrape off. 3 months later the strip LED stopped working. After inspection the positive wire had completely burnt off and fell off - water had made its way onto it from a hairline vertical 2 inch crack that had developed at the bottom of the reactor from heat stress. I am guessing the reactor did not like the heat cycles during winter. The reactor was bought brand new for the sole purpose of chaeto reactor. I might glue a piece of acrylic over the crack to salvage the reactor for some other purposes in future. Warning guys - DONT DO IT. I could have burnt the house down knock on wood. It's a real shame as I really liked the idea of a chaeto reactor. Maybe using minimal LEDs and very few wattage would have made a difference. I am not keen on trying this again as it is an accident waiting to happen. That's why those ARID reactors cost hundreds of dollars with the fancy heatsink.