Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

[NeverlosT]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

I'm so bummed!

I'd been keeping a casual eye out for one of these for quite a while and I finally found one!!! I managed to scoop up a 7521-40 with the easy load II head that has a really cool precision speed dial for almost nothing.

BUT! It is really, really loud. The drive makes this rumble/hum the whole time it's running, you can clearly hear it over the tank, over the TV, even over a big box window fan.

I was curious, is there any way to quiet it down? (I'm assuming not) but you never know.

Are there any of these units that are dead silent? I mean so quiet you could not hear it over a Tunze 6100 at 50% power?

Thank you,
Whiskey

My impression is for silent running you want a brushless unit, which is going to set you back bigger bucks (closer to 1k)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[africangrey]

You will need to get an brushless motor like the 7523-60 to get it to be silent, but even that you will still hear a very faint hum while the drive is spinning.

[scuzy]

Make a dampening box and place over it. Get those acoustic dampening material from musician store.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Wiskey]

What if I were to run tubing through my attic and all the way out to my garage? Do you think there would be a danger of the water going through a (aprox) 140 foot 1/4 inch ro tube journey before it makes it to the CA reactor?

Whiskey

[slief]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

What if I were to run tubing through my attic and all the way out to my garage? Do you think there would be a danger of the water going through a (aprox) 140 foot 1/4 inch ro tube journey before it makes it to the CA reactor?

Whiskey

I don't think there would be an issue doing that. Hopefully you don't have rats or mice in your attic that may take a liking to the tubing. Those pumps produce a lot of pressure and it should work fine though. As others have mentioned, a dampening box will help too if you wanted to keep it closer to the tank. The brushed models are typically pretty loud when the motor is rotating. Brushless are nearly silent though.

[NeverlosT]

Slief is there a risk to overheating the unit if you make a sound absorbing box around it? Or do they run very cool when used at our slower speeds?


I just spoke with cole-palmer regarding tubing, talk about good customer service.

For Pumping saline solution (seawater) with a precision head, the three best tubing options are:

1. Norprene tubing (recommended for longest life)
2. Pharmet PBT
3. Norpure tubing

Which should all get you about 10K hrs at normal temperature.

You might get 5K hrs using Puriflex or Seaflex tubing

Then like 2000hrs and lower using a bunch of other varieties.

Moral of the story, use the Pharmed PBT recommended on page 3 and you are in good shape.

[slief]

Originally Posted by NeverlosT

Slief is there a risk to overheating the unit if you make a sound absorbing box around it? Or do they run very cool when used at our slower speeds?


I just spoke with cole-palmer regarding tubing, talk about good customer service.

For Pumping saline solution (seawater) with a precision head, the three best tubing options are:

1. Norprene tubing (recommended for longest life)
2. Pharmet PBT
3. Norpure tubing

Which should all get you about 10K hrs at normal temperature.

You might get 5K hrs using Puriflex or Seaflex tubing

Then like 2000hrs and lower using a bunch of other varieties.

Moral of the story, use the Pharmed PBT recommended on page 3 and you are in good shape.

I don't think so but if your unit has a fan in the back, make sure the fan vent isn't covered.

[Wiskey]

I have sound deading material lining my stand, but this pump is loud enough that it doesn't stand a chance.

But! The garage thing is a real option! I'm totally willing to do that.

I have one other issue though, I have the High Performance head. Do we know what the ID and OD and rubber thickness for the LS 15 tubing is?

Or do we have a good source for the LS 15 tubing? I know we have one for LS 17 but my head supposedly doesn't take it.

Thank you!
Whiskey

[NeverlosT]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

I have sound deading material lining my stand, but this pump is loud enough that it doesn't stand a chance.

But! The garage thing is a real option! I'm totally willing to do that.

I have one other issue though, I have the High Performance head. Do we know what the ID and OD and rubber thickness for the LS 15 tubing is?

Or do we have a good source for the LS 15 tubing? I know we have one for LS 17 but my head supposedly doesn't take it.

Thank you!
Whiskey

Whiskey I just went through this better and cheaper to drop 100 bucks on a performance head and use 17 tubing than try to find 15 or 24 tubing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sfdan]

I first got a brushed unit and then kept playing the ebay game until I found a brushless that was affordable. As surprisingly loud as the brushed unit was, you'll be equally shocked how quiet the brushless is. It is just night and day.

[NeverlosT]

I just got my brushed unit. It is pretty darn loud. I needed to know why, and so I opened her up. It turns out that the motor itself isn't the cause of the sound, its function is relatively quiet, I think that the transformer controlling the motor is the loud bit.

I spoke with some EE's at work and they said replacing the capacitor on the transformer might help quiet it (the caps are designed to be replaced about every 5-10 years). So I might try that to quiet it down. That and build a little an-echoic house for it to live in.

Does anyone have pictures of what they did to silence their brushed unit or tips/tricks?

Let me tell you how stoked my wife was about the sound when I powered it on for her. Not super stoked. lol

Side note: I cannot believe that these things cost what they do. Opening it up and looking inside, there appear to be about $200 in parts in there. A potentiometer, a three way switch, power board, transformer/controller, and a big ol' DC motor. I am in the wrong business!

[scuzy]

I would assume building a sound proofing box that sits over it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[NeverlosT]

Originally Posted by scuzy

I would assume building a sound proofing box that sits over it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yeah that is in the plan, need to maintain some ventilation.

Anyone want to share their soundproofing?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[balz3352]

Is there an issue with one lowest setting being 10rpm?

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by balz3352

Is there an issue with one lowest setting being 10rpm?

No, there shouldn't be. Even my 34gal with frags and some corraline is good to go with a 10rpm pump.

[tkeracer619]

I would be careful boxing the pump in, they do produce some heat regardless of the speed.

If you want silent definitely go with a brushless unit.

I'm not sure about the performance tubing but I recall that it is a proprietary thickness so the pharmed bpt available at us plastics is probably not going to work.

Someone who has cp brand performance tubing could put some calipers on it and find out. I don't have any personal experience with it.

[nezw0001]

Can you folks help me determine which pump I should be looking for? I have a 220 gal DT with a LifeReef reactor but will be upgrading to a 450 in a couple of months. would like a brushless unit. Is Ebay the best place to find one.

I have been having non stop issues with consistent effluent flow using a rio inflow pump. It is driving me nuts and I am ready to upgrade pumps.

thanks

[vhuang168]

The models are listed in the 1st post I believe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nezw0001]

Its lists lots of models. I'm not super handy. So any of them will work equally well?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NeverlosT]

Get a 6-600rpm model with a precision easy load II head that can accept L/S 17 tubing and you will be fine. Brushless is quieter, my brushed unit I can hear two rooms away.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NeverlosT]

I wonder if tapatalk uploads work...



I surrounded mine with foam (except for the ventilation areas) and it may have quieted it down some but not a lot.

Also, mine with L/S 17 tubing has a min flow rate of 25ml/min. So if I needed less than that it would be an issue. The motor doesn't turn unless the potentiometer is at at least 20% speed.

Still, it's stable, so it's a win!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ssteve]

Anyone seen any good deals on a unit with head lately? Tired of dealing with the cheap feed pumps. I'm not concerned about noise so a brushed version is fine, but I would like to keep the cost down so I'm looking for something around $300-$350

[hkgar]

I have a 7524-00 if you are interested pm me. It does not have a head.

[NeverlosT]

Steve there are 7520-40 units on eBay now for $150 and just buy a used precision head for $100. The hose and plumbing bits run about $50.

Or I'm sure the 7524 would work fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ca1ore]

Guys, are the easy load heads interchangeable across different masterflex pumps? My load head is in good shape, but the economy drive whirs, clanks, squeaks something awful. It's in a basement fish room so I'm not fussed about the noise just that as it's increasing the drive may be closing in on end of life.