Calcium reactor troubles

pasquale petrovia · Oct 20, 2019

Hopefully I am the only one with this issue. I have an Aquamax calcium reactor I am about to take out in the driveway and run it over with my truck. I have been battling tuning this thing for over a year and I am fed up. I bought the feed pump they suggested and the flow through the unit is very easy to set and maintain at about 60 drops per minute. The problem comes with the CO2 side. I have tried everything from Stainless check valves, Plastic ones, multiple needle valves, plastic air valves and cant keep this thing even close to 10 bubbles per minute. Most of the time it runs for a day at best and stops putting in bubbles. I have a Milwaukee regulator and changed the factory needle valve with ones from Marine depot that cost $35 or so. I have jacked up the pressure, Turned down the pressure. I have spent countless hours in a chair with a stopwatch watching and timing this thing. I have seen more expensive regulators, but if I pay $350 for a regulator and it does the same thing I will lose my SH##. Any help will be appreciated.

JPergamo · Oct 20, 2019

Unfortunately I will not be much help, I have a carbon doser like you were saying. Super expensive but I must say it is the easiest thing in the world to dial in. I hope you figure out what is causing the fluctuations.

Coral Euphoria · Oct 20, 2019

Yeah I hear you about the price of the regulator. Personally I couldn't run a reactor without the carbondoser regulator. It does the "same thing" kind of, but it's many times better than the other options out there. I like to think of it this way...

If you need to travel a long distance, yeah a bicycle will work, but a car is easier/better. I like to think of the carbondoser as the car.

maybe that's a terrible way to look at it, but what is the price you are willing to pay for convenience?

with all that said, I went back to 2-part

KrisReef · Oct 20, 2019

I've been in your shoes. I had one of those calcium reactors about 10 years ago but upgraded. A lot actually. I bought a new calcium reactor, a new regulator, and a newer regulator, and another one I got free from a friend, and a pH meter, and recently a dosing pump but so far I have not bought the bubble doser but I think that might be next. I had great luck with a small tank and the reactor you are using. As my tank population grew I bought a larger reactor and have been upgrading per the small list above (yeh, I think I may have omitted a few steps in the process as I've been really patient with the calcium reactor). They work fine for a while and then bubbles blow like a Titan rocket or stop like the mail on a holiday, or more like the mail at Xmas, really unpredictable but usually messed up some way, right? You betcha!

I only have one question that you didn't really explain earlier; How big are the tires on your truck? I think you'll be ok either way you go. I just was kinda curious how you would handle it.

I hope the mods don't kick me too hard. Sorry, been there, still there.

danreefman · Oct 20, 2019

Dastaco Reactor with a GLA regulator. Can't go wrong. Going to cost you. But rock solid.

Had an aquamax with carbon doser. Numbers were all over the place. Buddy had a carbon doser on his reactor. He hooked one of those glh alk controllers to his system. Pretty much figured out his carbon doser was a dud.

Geo works good for the money. Hook it up to a perisitic pump and let her go. GLA Regulator highly recommended. Hope you figure it out.