Calcium reactor question..

[Heisenberg 78]

just wondering if someone could help me on this:

Does a calcium reactor need to reach a ph 6.5 to 6.8 for the effluent to be dissolved to be usable by coral.
Or..if I put the question another way, if the reactor had a total of 2400 bubbles spread evenly in a 24 hour period (which is 100 bubbles per hour), would the concentration of the output effluent be of a better quality or the same if I did fast set of 600 bubbles in an hour at 4 equal intervals throughout the day.

I run a reactor which is a steady 1 bubble per 5 seconds, and I don’t seem to be getting any growth and corals they don’t last too long which is a problem for me.
I’m trying to see if this phenomenon is the cause; my alk and cal are not at levels which is what is slumping me. Obviously the numbers on paper all tick the box and it doesn’t take a lot of co2 to elevate kh to high levels.
It’s for this reason that I’m wondering if I’m not dissolving the mag or cal in a fashion that the corals can use.

Hope someone can clear this up for me.
Cheers

 

[alex77619]

Do u have a ph probe in the reactor?

 

[Heisenberg 78]

Do u have a ph probe in the reactor?

No, not this time, when I had one I used to lower ph to 6.75 and let it rise.. all seemed good then.

I have since set a newer tank up without the ph probe, just leaving a slow and steady flow of bubbles into the reactor at 1 per 5 seconds.
Just trying to see if anyone knows if it will make a difference..

Like I say, the numbers all come out in my tests at dkh 9 mag 1280 and cal 385
Most would agree they are not by any means far off where they need to be.

 

[KrisReef]

I assume you have tested the effluent and Kh and Ca are elevated in the outflow?

 

[Heisenberg 78]

As ironic as it sounds no I haven’t..

I suppose that’s something I need to do ..cheers

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

just wondering if someone could help me on this:

Does a calcium reactor need to reach a ph 6.5 to 6.8 for the effluent to be dissolved to be usable by coral.
Or..if I put the question another way, if the reactor had a total of 2400 bubbles spread evenly in a 24 hour period (which is 100 bubbles per hour), would the concentration of the output effluent be of a better quality or the same if I did fast set of 600 bubbles in an hour at 4 equal intervals throughout the day.

I run a reactor which is a steady 1 bubble per 5 seconds, and I don’t seem to be getting any growth and corals they don’t last too long which is a problem for me.
I’m trying to see if this phenomenon is the cause; my alk and cal are not at levels which is what is slumping me. Obviously the numbers on paper all tick the box and it doesn’t take a lot of co2 to elevate kh to high levels.
It’s for this reason that I’m wondering if I’m not dissolving the mag or cal in a fashion that the corals can use.

Hope someone can clear this up for me.
Cheers

If you add CO2 but do not get to a pH low enough to dissolve the media, it is just wasted (except maybe lowering the tank pH needlessly). That level is down in the mid to upper 7's of pH. It does not need to be as low as pH 6.8, but it will be much slower and also less efficient in terms of CO2 added per alk delivered if the pH is higher.

In a low demand situation, my preference would be lower flow through the reactor, not higher pH.