TLF Phosban 150 - Biopellets mod.

Since I mentioned it once or twice, and been asked about it once or twiceI figured I would show you the mods I have done to my TLF 150 reactor. Probably the biggest thing to me is I did these mods without doing any real mods. I hate to chop into something with the thought that i cant put it back. Especially with my fish stuff. I ran GFO in this reactor for a while and when I took the leap to BP I wanted to make sure I could go back if needed. I also had hopes of a pump with a small profile so I could save some room and run the reactor in sump overtop of the pump.

Reading thru threads here and else where I found a couple common trends. First the rubber elbows down right suck. Second The holes were too big for BP and using the supplied sponges would trap BP and clog up. Last that the MJ 900/1200 just wasnt powerful enough.

First up the rubber elbows. Never had any problems with mine UNTIL I took it out to switch out to BP, then one split. Too easy and a trip to lowes back in the sprinklers got me some barbed elboes. I sawed off the extrs elbows to keep things compact. Heated up the tubing and squished them on (one size smaller). Not depicted are plastic clamps. Although Some time I forget them completely.



Before I get to the meat and potatoes of the reactor mods I though I would share my solution for the last problem, pump flow. Most places say use either a MJ or a mag 3. I know with GFO I felt like the MJ was just making it. I also felt like I could definitely find something cheaper than a mag drive. Looking on aquacave I came across the ecoplus pumps. For $27 I figured if I am wrong I at least have a new ATO pump. While I can say I dont think this pump would handle head pressure for a tank return like a mag drive, a foot & half head pressure for a reactor seemed possible.



Moving onto the reactor itself, first up was the grill holes were too big. Easy fix with some hobby screen right? When I just laid the hobby screen on though I noticed alot of overlap of the screen and the holes. It seemed in my mind that this would hinder flow. This got me thinking how to elevate it which ties into the second common TLF reactor complaint, the bottom plat is too close to the bottom for the water to get turbulent enough for continuous BP tumble. So put it all together and here is What I came up with, use some nylon screws and nuts thru the holes in the base plate to elevate the screen. This allows the water space, and gived some separation to allow maximum flow thru the screen. All the while still lending to my ultimate goal of being able to return to original condition.





tbc......

 

dry version of how it looks in sump.


filled back up with BP. The rum dosing in the back is for me, not the tank, lol.



and back in the tank, really saves space and cuts down on unnecesary pressure having it right over head.

 

Great mods. Thanks for sharing. k+

 

I'm going to have to try this "rum dosing" you speak of.......on the corals of coarse

 

nice job on the mod!