Ca Reactor Question

[Eric B]

Thanks Eric B. I also ordered the John Guest Needle Valve upgrade. Currently My ph is 6.52. I know per the instruction per Dragon_Slayer he wanted the ph between 6.5 and 7.0. What size tank is your reactor on?

It is the next size up from yours and is on a 300 gallon display with about a 100 gallon sump. If I think about it and have time I will take a picture of a close up of the top so you can see how I modified the second vent so as to not have to run 2 lines to the sump and it has worked great and trouble free since then. I only set mine higher because it kept giving me trouble and was never stable and always needed some adjusting. At the higher level it keeps my CA right where I need it so I have not messed with it!

 

[pickupman66]

If that's controlling the solenoid valve for the reactor, tighten up your hysteresis. Do on at 7.0 and off at 6.9. You have too great a range set now and it will yoyo.

For instance, I have mine set to 7.0 currently with a .05 hysteresis. Its on at at 7.05 and off at 6.95. Makes for a steady reactor. With my flow the solenoid opens about every 20 mins.

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[Alabamareef]

FOLLOW UP ON THE Ca REACTOR
Ok so I've got the apex controlling the solenoid valve keeping the ph around 6.5 inside the reactor. I know some have said this is low and but for now I'm trying to get the effluent within range. Currently my effluent out of the reactor is 22 dkh (3:1 mixture to get the dkh in degrees). I checked the gtts/min and they were around 90, to much, so I backed that off and expect my effluent dkh to elevate over the next few hours. Any advice is great or am I moving in the right direction.

Some confusion here. In the directions it basically says if PH is low, you need to either up the effluent DPM(drips/min, gtts/min), or decrease the CO2 BPM (bubbles/min). At this time with the reactor being new to the system its best to lower the CO2 into the reactor rather then upping the DPM.

If your dKH is not above 25 then your not getting enough CO2into the reactor and you need to up the CO2 BMP. Depending on your media in the reactor it should be about 30-50 dKH.

So that being said my confusion is that my apex is keeping my ph inside the reactor in check, so if my effluent dkh is less than 25 what do I need to do? Or has my gtts/min being 90 skewed my reading. I did back it off to about 48 gtts/min, thanks to the mod this is very easy, and will that maybe get the effluent dKH back where it needs to be?

 

[Reefpro]

Alabamareef, +1 with ericb, those are only suggested numbers. I have a 359 display and run the big Georeef reactor (bad *** reactor) and I am at 6.6 on my ph monitor and about 1.5 bbps I do t use a controller but test once a week my alk runs consistently at 8.5 without a hick up. Testing for ca and alk is the key, make adjustments as necessary. Reactors can increase your levels but they shows me done slowly and if need to lower you can can speed up effluent which in turn will reduce contact time and raise ph in reactor....the end result will be slowing the rate at which the media is dissolved it's just the opposite to raise alk levels. The key is take it slow . Hope this helps

 

[Alabamareef]

Reefpro, Thanks for the info and yes it helps to see what others are doing. My question is since my apex controls the solenoid valve its not a constant BBM. Instead when the ph is high it turns off and when it's low it turns on. What do you think about this?

 

[Reefpro]

This is why I use a milwaukie ph probe and monitor for my CA reactor. I like more control on this but as long as ur set points are correct on ur apex and bubble count stays consistent and your nit adjusting efflo rate ur ph level should consistent within ur reactor and apex not turning off and on frequently I am only hypothesizing on this I do not use the apex. But in theory based on what you have it should seem accurate

 

[Reefpro]

And so long as my ph does not drop below 6.5. My solenoid remains open and feeds co2 at a constant rate to maintain 6.7 inside the reactor

 

[kes]

go slow with adjustments, takes plenty of patience. main thing is to control the effluent flow, not clogging.

 

[Alabamareef]

GREAT, Thanks for all the info. So far my alk is low in the DT, to be expected,
I'll have it stabilized in a couple of weeks, I hope, with the reactor running
the show.

I've done the mod on this reactor, needle valve for the
effluent. I'll set the gtts/min around 45 but the next morning when I wake up it
will be more like 20/gtts/min. Any advice on this?

 

[Alabamareef]

Ok so I'm about 10 days into my Ca reactor. My Alk is around 7.7. I did have to supplement alk/Ca after the first week for a few days. Still want my Alk a little higher but this is within NSW limits so I'm happy. Ok so this is what I've found out worked for me.....

First a reminder I have a Korallin ca 1502. I have done the effluent needle valve and check valve modifications, a must. I also got the new reactor top with the ph probe hook up and it's ran through an apex. Got lots of good advice here and tried several but this is what is working for me. Lots of people said to run my ph at 6.5 with a gtts/min 45. I have found that the effluent dkh/degrees runs low at this dkh, around 22 dkh. Maybe this will change later but for now I've got the ph running around 6 and drip rate around 60 gtts/min. My effluent dkh now is 33.

Again I'm tring to get my Alk in the DT around 8-8.5. It's a sow process and I'll update in a week to try to get it stabilize.

 

[Alabamareef]

Got another question about the skimmer. The line with the effluent seems to get air bubbles trapped inside of it. So at night it may start at 80 dpm and in the morning its slowing down to 65 dpm. I've raised the reactor up so as to let gravity help. Also my reactor is feed from the return pump.

 

[Alabamareef]

Lol, not skimmer but my reactor

 

[Bluewater04]

Alabamareef,

I have been running a Ca/Rx for a few years. here is my best advice. Set the effluent to a steady drip. just under s solid stream. set the PH in the reactor to 7.0. Test your tank to get a baseline, then in a week, test again. if it the same, leave it, BUT if it went down, lower the PH in the reactor to 6.9. Repeat. If still losing ground in your tank, lower it a bit more. If you get to 6.5 and are still losing ground, turn the effluent up a bit. this is how I dialed in my Cr-5 Reactor on my 180. If you are using a controller to kick on a solenoid valve on your CO2 tank, then DONT sweat the bubble counting. just make sure it is a nice steady bubble so it lowers it from kick on time to the kick off time in about 10-20 seconds.

Give it a few weeks to dial in your reactor. they cant be adjusted every 30 mins to your tank.

NOW, if on the first test, you lost ALOT of ground, replinish with 2 part to keep it in respectable levels, then do a bit larger jump on the Reactor PH. you dont want to go TOO low on the reactor or you will turn your media to mush. I use teh ARM media in mine. it is way more potent than the previous stuff i used and I had to completely reset my reactor.

Doing it this way, you dont worry about maxing out a salifert kit. Ca/RX are maintainers and not designed to raise and lower tank levels. do that with 2 parts and dose only what you need to get that individual element up (Ca or Alk) I like to run my tank at 8.0 or 8.5. any higher and I tend to burn tips.

+1


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[Eric B]

Got another question about the skimmer. The line with the effluent seems to get air bubbles trapped inside of it. So at night it may start at 80 dpm and in the morning its slowing down to 65 dpm. I've raised the reactor up so as to let gravity help. Also my reactor is feed from the return pump.

I have modified mine so that the second vent line feeds back into the pump and I also put the john guest needle valve on the feed line of the reactor so it doesn't get clogged with the higher amount of CA coming out of the exit line and I just run the small ball valve (the one that comes with reactor) on the end of the exit line just for added security. After doing all this and it is feed off the return pump also I have had very, very few problems and usually runs like a champ. I am leaving in a few to head down to Miami for MACNA but when I get home will post a pic of the vent I modified for the top of reactor if you want because I was also getting air bubbles trapped in exit line as well and this modification seemed to fix it. I am also just in GA and if need be I can make one of the pieces that I made and mail it to you it was only a couple of bucks and a pipe tap and some john guest fittings. Glad you got it semi stable though and I think in the long run you will be happy with it.

 

[Alabamareef]

Hey Eric, man I was suppose to be in Miami also but they sold out of the passes to quick. Maybe next time. As for the skimmer all seems ok. Alk is now stable at 8.6 and Ca at 400. Need to check Mg but I need a new test kit. My only problem is that my effluent drip rate seems to slow down over a few days. I'll purge it and all seems ok but I would like to leave it alone for more than a few days and feel safe. Any ideas?