Calcium reactor PH?

[Brooks Allman]

i just watched a video that said to never mess with the effluent drip and keep it very steady and someone fast. Their video claimed to start your reactor ph at on 7.4 off 7.3 then dial in your need with the internal ph. I have a low demand right now.. about 25ml of cal and 25ml of all daily two part. I want the stability a calcium reactor brings so I was curious about this.

Let me know your experience!
Thank you

 

[GoVols]

i just watched a video that said to never mess with the effluent drip and keep it very steady and someone fast. Their video claimed to start your reactor ph at on 7.4 off 7.3 then dial in your need with the internal ph. I have a low demand right now.. about 25ml of cal and 25ml of all daily two part. I want the stability a calcium reactor brings so I was curious about this.

Let me know your experience!
Thank you

Been running that method for over a year and love it. No more dripping / clogging and alk spikes.

Don't run off a manifold or your main pump. It will mess up your constant stream during water changes.
Running the Sicce 1.0 for the feed pump.

 

[GoVols]

Matched up my output's stream to @hybridazn 's

 

[ca1ore]

The best way to run a CaRx is to keep the effluent and CO2 rates constant. This means somevtrial and error initially. Also means you have to top off the media a little more frequently otherwise it throws off the settings. What you set the pH to depends somewhat on the media you use. I use reborn and find 6.8 to be the best number.

 

[GoVols]

The best way to run a CaRx is to keep the effluent and CO2 rates constant.

(lol)
I'm never going back to dripping the effluent..

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

First off making the switch to calcium reactor was the best choice I have made in the hobby. I tried this method and for me I always got a higher alk and my calcium needed dosed every few weeks to reach over 400. The media states a the best ph is 6.5 for proper breakdown of the media so I switched to that and slowed my drip rate to 1.5 seconds a drip and now my calcium and alkalinity are both in line. I have not had any clogging or swings and I think a good calcium reactor design is a must. I use a geo and it’s the best design I have found very nicely thought out

 

[Brooks Allman]

That’s what I was thinking! But I have a very low demand right now I will be using a perialastic pump so hopefully it’s slow enough for the drip rate!

First off making the switch to calcium reactor was the best choice I have made in the hobby. I tried this method and for me I always got a higher alk and my calcium needed dosed every few weeks to reach over 400. The media states a the best ph is 6.5 for proper breakdown of the media so I switched to that and slowed my drip rate to 1.5 seconds a drip and now my calcium and alkalinity are both in line. I have not had any clogging or swings and I think a good calcium reactor design is a must. I use a geo and it’s the best design I have found very nicely thought out

ats what I

 

[jda]

The best way to run a CaRx is to keep the effluent and CO2 rates constant.

I agree. This can become even more clear when you really have a stacked-full tank that is pushing the limits of your reactor. Throw the pH probe away, learn how to tune a reactor and rely on effluent dKh to let you know where you stand (not pH).

The dumping, on/off nature of pH controller driven systems are OK for smaller demand, but cannot keep up like a constant, well-tuned reactor can.

 

[jda]

I wrote a lot on this thread... don't want to retype it. You can scroll to the end to see that the OP switched and is now stable and happy. His reactor quickly was not keeping up even though it probably could have handled 10x the amount of demand if done correctly.

Let me know if you have any questions, but this method is by-far better than the method described in that video, IMO:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/calcium-reactor-cant-keep-up-with-alk.484529/

Again, might not be a huge deal for some, but when you start to melt 50 lbs of media every 5-6 months, then it can be huge. You also do not need a second chamber when you tune a reactor correctly... nor does the tank pH move very much (mine maybe .25 to .5).