Gatorade bottle = cheapest phosban reactor ever!, you payed $30 for a phosban reactor?! HA! Options

[Undertheradar]

Well, here it is. I needed a quick & dirty phosban reactor. So I drilled the cap on a small Gatorade bottle. A 5/8" hole allows me to run a piece of CPVC inside, with fittings on wither side to sandwich the lid and keep the pipe in place. The rubbery inside of the cap seals it rather nicely...not that it matters. I am using a valve on the inlet of this one but its not needed if you have some other way of regulating the flow....or dont need to.

Then I drilled 8 3/32" holes around the top of the cap around the central hole...this is where the water exits. So, you feed the reactor (small pump, powerhead, or in my case, a small 'T' off of the return pump in the sump. Now, when the water enters, it goes straight to the bottom of the bottle thanks to a CPVC stantpipe that goes all the way to the bottom. There, the bottom mold of the bottle does a great job distributing the water to the entire outer ring of the bottle at the bottom with its channels. Then, the water flows upward and out the small holes in the top. The small holes work better than a sponge for trapping carbon that wants to float out because large bits clog it up and trap smaller bits...but it hardly blocks any flow at all. The water just overflows back into the sump.

Quicker to open, easier to clean, $1 for the Gatorade, $.50 in actual fittings ($2 more for a valve), and a kick butt reactor is born! Need a larger reactor? Well, luckily Gatorade comes in larger bottles as well. And the bottom fluting really does an excellent job of distributing the flow outward...fluidizing the whole bottle. No akward distribution plates or sponges to monkey with. It makes pre-wrinsing the media easy as well as you can imagine.

This post has been edited by Undertheradar: Jan 30 2006, 01:46 AM

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[CrazyAggie05]

hey thats pretty neat, i suppose you could use anything in there, like purigen and stuff too, could come in handy!

[Undertheradar]

Yep, anything you want...I am using phosguard and carbon myself.

[scatcat]

If only this stuff didn't confuse me so bad. Pretty cool.

Scat

[Spiffyguy]

So you are using a sponge or poly filter up by the exit holes? Also is phosguard ;arger in size than phosban? I made something similar but larger and it didn't work too well. Media didn't seem to move. I would be worried the phosban would grind up if there was too much movement.

[Undertheradar]

no sponges or distribution plates. The small holes at the top trap some larger bits of carbon that float up for me...but they dont clog because of the carbon's shape, and the pressure isnt that high. Phosguard is larger than phosban, it doesnt float at all. The carbon does however...but the holes are too small to even let phosban pass. The lid is the filter...if you want to think of it like that.

The internal movement is very nice. The grooves in the bottom of the bottle, along with the downpipe going straigt down to these, forces water outward at the bottom. The movement is easily distributed. I was pleasantly surprised when I started it up how well distributed the water was. And if its too much motion...well...thats what the valve is for after all.

Try it. Tell me what you think.

[KrackerG]

wow, nice work! are you gonna start sellin' them?? LOL! SOLD!

[Undertheradar]

LOL, sell them...for what? $15!!! Nah, I cant drink that much Gatorade.

[Pili]

Awsome idea!! The only problem is that plastic bottles like that are designed to decay over time but the process is spead up when you use it with water (like when you reuse one for drinking water) and it will leach toxins.

Cool idea though if you need a temporary solution.

[Undertheradar]

Plastic bottles like this are recycle code 1, which is PET plastic...and not biodegradable, but intended for recycling instead. So it should be no problem.

This post has been edited by Undertheradar: Jan 30 2006, 11:16 PM

[RayWhisperer]

Actually, I think he's right. I remember something on the news about reusing plasic bottles for your drinking water. Seems it does leach something into the water, I could be wrong though.

[nanojake]

Can you post a pic of the whole setup? I've never seen/used any kind of a reactor before. It would help some of us noobs out.

[Simms142]

I think if it does leach anything the carbon would pull it out anyways lol. I wouldnt be too concerned about it though. The liquid is good in those bottles for years in terms of expiration dates so if you are concerned, just replace it as the expiration dates come up

[Smada77]

Actually, I think he's right. I remember something on the news about reusing plasic bottles for your drinking water. Seems it does leach something into the water, I could be wrong though.

Thats what the Calistoga and Crystal Geyser and Aquafina WANT yout to believe!!!!!!

Actually, I have no idea. I use a Nalgene & a Britta for my drinking water.

[Llamaguy]

I made mine out of a 16.9oz water bottle, so my reactor was virtually FREE, still need to get a new impellor housing for my mj1200 then it should work much better than the >200gph pump I have now.

[daveat]

as posted by woodstock on reefsanctuary.com

Use #1 or #2 for long term water storage...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#1 PETE


Descriptions
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE). PET is clear, tough, and has good gas and moisture barrier properties. Commonly used in soft drink bottles and many injection molded consumer product containers. Other applications include strapping and both food and non-food containers. Cleaned, recycled PET flakes and pellets are in great demand for spinning fiber for carpet yarns, producing fiberfill and geo-textiles. Nickname: Polyester.

Properties
Clarity, strength, toughness, barrier to gas and moisture, resistance to heat

Packaging applications
Plastic soft drink, water, sports drink, beer, mouthwash, catsup and salad dressing bottles. Peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars. Ovenable film and ovenable prepared food trays.



Quote:
#2 HDPE


Descriptions
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). HDPE is used to make bottles for milk, juice, water and laundry products. Unpigmented bottles are translucent, have good barrier properties and stiffness, and are well suited to packaging products with a short shelf life such as milk. Because HDPE has good chemical resistance, it is used for packaging many household and industrial chemicals such as detergents and bleach. Pigmented HDPE bottles have better stress crack resistance than unpigmented HDPE bottles.

Properties
Stiffness, strength, toughness, resistance to chemicals and moisture, permeability to gas, ease of processing, and ease of forming.

Packaging applications
Milk, water, juice, cosmetic, shampoo, dish and laundry detergent bottles; yogurt and margarine tubs; cereal box liners; grocery, trash and retail bags.




Quote:
#3 V


Descriptions
Vinyl (Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC): In addition to its stable physical properties, PVC has excellent chemical resistance, good weatherability, flow characteristics and stable electrical properties. The diverse slate of vinyl products can be broadly divided into rigid and flexible materials. Bottles and packaging sheet are major rigid markets, but it is also widely used in the construction market for such applications as pipes and fittings, siding, carpet backing and windows. Flexible vinyl is used in wire and cable insulation, film and sheet, floor coverings synthetic leather products, coatings, blood bags, medical tubing and many other applications.

Properties
Versatility, clarity, ease of blending, strength, toughness, resistance to grease, oil and chemicals.

Packaging applications
Clear food and non-food packaging, medical tubing, wire and cable insulation, film and sheet, construction products such as pipes, fittings, siding, floor tiles, carpet backing and window frames.




Quote:
#4 LDPE


Descriptions
Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE).Used predominately in film applications due to its toughness, flexibility and relative transparency, making it popular for use in applications where heat sealing is necessary. LDPE is also used to manufacture some flexible lids and bottles and it is used in wire and cable applications.

Properties
Ease of processing, strength, toughness, flexibility, ease of sealing, barrier to moisture.

Packaging applications
Dry cleaning, bread and frozen food bags, squeezable bottles, e.g. honey, mustard.





Quote:
#5 PP



Descriptions
Polypropylene (PP). Polypropylene has good chemical resistance, is strong, and has a high melting point making it good for hot-fill liquids. PP is found in flexible and rigid packaging to fibers and large molded parts for automotive and consumer products

Properties
Strength, toughness, resistance to heat, chemicals, grease and oil, versatile, barrier to moisture.

Packaging applications
Catsup bottles, yogurt containers and margarine tubs, medicine bottles






Quote:
#6 PS


Descriptions
Polystyrene (PS). Polystyrene is a versatile plastic that can be rigid or foamed. General purpose polystyrene is clear, hard and brittle. It has a relatively low melting point. Typical applications include protective packaging, containers, lids, cups, bottles and trays.

Properties
Versatility, insulation, clarity, easily formed

Packaging applications
Compact disc jackets, food service applications, grocery store meat trays, egg cartons, aspirin bottles, cups, plates, cutlery.






Quote:
#7 OTHER



Descriptions
Other. Use of this code indicates that the package in question is made with a resin other than the six listed above, or is made of more than one resin listed above, and used in a multi-layer combination.

Properties
Dependent on resin or combination of resins


Packaging applications
Three and five gallon reusable water bottles, some citrus juice and catsup bottles.

[danskim]

So the verdict is that it's safe?

[neanderthalman]

I wouldn't have a problem using it....it's probably safer than using PVC for plumbing.

[doody]

So, what size pump are you useing, and what size tank is this good up to?

[Undertheradar]

I am using it on a 40B, but it holds just as much as a normal phosban reactor. I have a friend with a 100g+ system that is using it as well...but with the next size larger bottle.

Mine is spliced off of the main flow pump's flow...and prolly only gets about 50-80gph...but thats all you need really.