Sicce US recently started showing off a pair of media reactor designs and we have to say what strikes us most about them, is simply how nice they look! The two new reactor models include one design for regular chemical media like activated carbon and GFO, and another design explicitly for biopellets.
The Sicce biopellet and media reactors are an undertaking by Sicce US, the American arm of Sicce Italia, and with that these media reactors are actually constructed in the good ole US of A. Italians are great at making motors and glass aquariums but Americans have a long history with working acrylic into aquarium products and it really shows in these two new aquarium reactor designs.
Every part of the new Sicce reactors is made from clear acrylic, save for the central outflow stem which is made of white PVC. Other than that, every other part of the reactor from the base to the body to the flange, and even the internal screens are made of high clarity acrylic. This is noteworthy because clear acrylic allows users to inspect every part of the reactor, and especially to evaluate how water flow is moving through them.
The Sicce media reactor has a simple spiraled filter screen machined from clear acrylic, and supporting a couple of course sponges to prevent chemical medias from escaping the reactor. Meanwhile the Sicce biopellet reactor has a much more intentionally designed filter screen, with the bottom level creating a ring of jets around the perimeter of the reactor to create a deliberate turnover of the bio-chemical media.
Unsurprisingly, Sicce will be pairing these up with their own pumps and bundling them with medias from their associated aquarium brand. The Sicce media reactor will be paired up with a Sicce Multi 800 while the Sicce Biopellet reactor will be paired up with a stronger Sicce Multi 1300 with the extra pressure required to drive the jets of water that effectively turnover the biopellets.
So far Sicce US has sold a few of these on a limited basis, but widespread production and availability is expected to ramp up in the coming months. We have to say we really like the balance of size and performance of these new reactors from Sicce – anyone can build a basic tube with simple inlets and outlets, but the build quality of the new Sicce Reactors, paired with some of the best pumps on the market really puts them at the top of our list for consideration on average sized aquariums.
