CAD Lights Aquarium BR1 Recirculating Pellet Reactor

[pulpfiction1]

http://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=51&products_id=213

Picked this up from Sealife today and many thanks for getting it in so quick
(ordered sunday night,here this morning)

got home opened it up,seems kinda cheap but ill assemble it and post results,wait,no instructions 
oh well ill figure it out

lol

 

[TORX]

Fail on the no instructions...but good thing you can figure it out...  opcorn2:

Let get her up and running  ;D

 

[theyangman]

Jesus, that looks sick!!!! I want this so bad!!!! Mind if I ask how much it was!?!? The website looks like it comes 100% complete, with no extra plumbing required!!!

 

[pulpfiction1]

it comes complete,but........
heres how mine runs with 500ml pellets

CAD Lights Aquarium BR1 Recirculating Pellet Reactor

 

[pulpfiction1]

its supposed to run 750 ml pellets without compromise,nothing like the video they have on the site,had lots of small issues,the plumbing was cut wrong o 2 pieces,had issues fitting together,supposed to be 1/2 inch PVC but i think its Chinese equivalent,not quite the same fit.right out of the box the pump impeller was not secured,had to remove thepump and assemble it,the lid fit was all but 1 screw lined up properly,had to back off all the other screws to get it started,and now i dont see the flow i though i would get,mind you ALL the pellets are moving

 

[theyangman]

The video shows a tidal wave of pellets swooshing around

[youtube]m3ZXKWzJBEI[/youtube]

They say not to use round pellets. What are you using? BRS?

 

[TORX]

Doesnt the second valve at the output hose need to be adjusted as well? But I guess it is all guess work as there were no instructions? Find anything online? I am just starting to look now.

 

[TORX]

Ya, I am confused, everything so far shows the pellets flowing strong no matter how you set the output.  :-\

 

[pulpfiction1]

the video online is what sold me,the main valve controls the recirculate and the valve on the output controls....well the output,its wide open.if i get the inclination tomorrow i will reduce the pellets and maybe take the pump apart again

 

[pulpfiction1]

every video i look at seems to have less pellets than i have in the reactor,Ive also read a few forums where they took the recirculating valve out,ill continue to test tomorrow
i did find a bunch of youtube vids like this one

CAD Lights Bio-reactor Unboxing

 

[pulpfiction1]

this was the best flow i can get from this,i removed the recirculation valve,ill live with it and see if it stays running

http://youtu.be/-KcCL6mPqYQ

 

[nexusnight]

bought a pipeless 100 and was very diasapointed with build and overall quality also. returned and will not be supporting the cad lights skimmers. I know someone that has this reactor and he says he loves it.

 

[pulpfiction1]

if sealife wasnt so far away i would of seriously considered returning it,was very disapointed at the quality of the unit in general.its in my sump and working like the last video i posted  but i am hearing these can clump up as well,wasnt worth the $212 but if it works without issue it will stay in the sump

 

[Poseidon]

212?!?!? For a bio pellet reactor??
I thought you where the reef scavenger , not the high roller lol
Coulda sold you a tlf-150 and a Mj for 35$
Would do the same job.

 

[pulpfiction1]

212?!?!? For a bio pellet reactor??
I thought you where the reef scavenger , not the high roller lol
Coulda sold you a tlf-150 and a Mj for 35$
Would do the same job.

i have a reactor that was working ok,much better thank a tlf150 with a maxijet,just to large for my sump and clumpped up on occasion,this dazzled me with the whirlwind video and ....oh well,still works much better than the tlf in my opinion

 

[Poseidon]

Meh, I have the tlf 150, and dialed half in off my mag 18 return line I get insane random tumbling; hsvent touched it in 6 months... Key is to have a prefilter on your pump, and Maintenance is a breeze because it's small and compact,

I used to run a vertex reactor on my 180g, hated it, Maintenance was a PIA, and never ran right with bio pellets,

Well I hope for your sake that your cad one wrks great, It would be a damn shame to spend that much and get an Inferior product :/

 

[pulpfiction1]

the whole manufacture is inferior,even compared to the tlf 150.but the cone shape is whats gonna keep the pellets runnin,yes your right,i could of got a cone pellet reactor cheaper but i was impressed with the recirculation process as well as the tornado look in the video,lesson learned

 

[harleymike]

the whole manufacture is inferior,even compared to the tlf 150.but the cone shape is whats gonna keep the pellets runnin,yes your right,i could of got a cone pellet reactor cheaper but i was impressed with the recirculation process as well as the tornado look in the video,lesson learned

I have noticed more than just a few products are cheaply built.  But there are some great products out there also.
With that being said, they are all way overpriced for what you get.  I mean really a protein skimmer. What the hell goes into one of those for 500 bucks.
Just one example.

 

[pulpfiction1]

lol  this is so true mike,sometimes ya take a chance on something shiny looking and once you get your hands on it you say "WTF ?"

 

[nexusnight]

lol your all too right. In this hobby they've "got u by the balls " so to speak cause we need the gear and will pay whatever the cost is, well within reason anyway...or not in some cases. I dumped the pipe less skimmer and ordered a reed octo 110. checkin out their product line they have some sweet gear and seem to be using some of the same principles as CAD Lights. hmmm....