Does anyone use a Pro-Cal calcium reactor?

[DeniseAndy]

Thank you so much for the pictures and answer. I was hoping I could get away without the flow meter. Looks like with some adjustment I can. I do not run a probe on it though. Does that really matter? Should I look into the remodel with a probe? Thanks again.
I have not had to deal with this for years. Just runs and my clams and corals have been growing and happy. Just replace the CO2, the media regularly and the pump once (about 7 years ago). Clean yearly. Oh, I did get a new regulator last year. Mine was not working after 16 years or so.

 

[ca1ore]

FWIW, MTC actually got rid of the flow meter a while back. Recent versions of the pro cal did not have it. Apparently it became hard to find and/or expensive and wasn’t really necessary. Many of the peri pumps will show flow level, and if not is easy enough to eyeball out of the effluent tube.

 

[ca1ore]

Curious if you have pictures of your modification. What pump do you use, etc? I have had mine about 16 years and the flow meter is not sealing properly. Tried to use silicon to get it working, but think I need to replace it. I have been searching, but cannot find anything that looks the same. Is there something else I can use? I can repair it again, but curious if some other type of flow meter can be incorporated. Thanks.

I actually finally retired the pro cal last year and built a larger version with three chambers. There’s a thread on it over in the DIY section. Still follows the same basic design of the pro cal though. I just needed bigger .... and, frankly, wanted to try to make one LOL.

 

[ca1ore]

Building a Large, Modular Calcium Reactor

Seawitch submitted a new Article: Building a Large, Modular Calcium Reactor I have long cited a calcium reactor (CaRx) as THE piece of equipment that got me over the hump with SPS. That was back in 1997, and the reactor was a Marine Technical Concepts ProCal. Those who may be familiar with my...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[chicago]

Nice .. i just posted a thread with pics of adding an additional chamber.

How to Push Calcium Reactor - need more ALK and Calcium

thank you all. I bumped up the output to 30ml/hr. I increased the bubble count and set the low end of the ph to be at 6.35 and it is now holding steady there now. The dkh is now 30.4 at 30ml/hr. . I may set it for 35 ml/hr and increase bubble count to keep at 6.35 ph in the reactor and...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Bills_Reef1]

I have a Pro Series Pro-Calcium reactor that I have a few questions about.
If anyone uses one I would love to pick your brain a little bit...

Thanks.

Here is a pic of mine... it is empty right now as I'm doing a leak test.

 

[Bills_Reef1]

I have a Pro Series Pro-Calcium reactor that I have a few questions about.
If anyone uses one I would love to pick your brain a little bit...

Thanks.

Here is a pic of mine... it is empty right now as I'm doing a leak test.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I just modified mine after creating a new effluent rate from the pieces of the old one. I do not have the picture yet. I will get one when I remember. Could be a while.

 

[chicago]

I just modified mine a bit further.. I added my MTC reactor as a third chamber.. the third chamber is more of a enlarged middle chamber.. it is not in line like a daisy chain.. but rather.. i TEE off from the pump this new chamber.. and the new chamber feeds back into the pump and can directly provide effluent to the tank - I am not using it to feed effluent to the tank only use it to allow return to the main chamber.. in other words. Right now it only feeds back to the original chamber.. in other words I have enlarged the original first chamber...

The pic below shows the modification where it only goes back to the original chamber.

Here is a pic.. I know it sounds confusing..

 

[chicago]

I just modified mine a bit further.. I added my MTC reactor as a third chamber.. the third chamber is more of a enlarged middle chamber.. it is not in line like a daisy chain.. but rather.. i TEE off from the pump this new chamber.. and the new chamber feeds back into the pump and can directly provide effluent to the tank - I am not using it to feed effluent to the tank only use it to allow return to the main chamber.. in other words. Right now it only feeds back to the original chamber.. in other words I have enlarged the original first chamber...

The pic below shows the modification where it only goes back to the original chamber.

Here is a pic.. I know it sounds confusing..

HERE IS A PIC WITH THE LAST TEE OFF TO SUMP MODIFICATION.. sorry for caps..

 

[JMetaxas]

Pretty cool mod ! I have the MTC Pro-Cal myself running on a newly set up 180 gallon mixed reef. I owned this same type Ca+ reactor 20 years ago and still believe they're the best "on the market". (not made anymore)

Curious why you needed to do this mod? Was it not putting out enough Alk/Ca+ to feed your needs?

 

[chicago]

wanted to push the limits of what it would produce.. in the end.. not sure if I got the bump up that I needed.. at 30 ml/min.. we are at 36 dkh. that is with the addition of the third unit only.. again...only recirculating.. I have not tired to see what happens if I allow the effluent to flow directly out of it to the DT.

 

[ca1ore]

Looks good! I built a larger CaRx because I had reached the limit of the original Pro-Cal (450 gallon tank packed with SPS).

 

[Luke_l]

Running a pro cal myself for about a year now... cant seem to really get this thing to put out... that being said... I've melted 2 chambers worth of media...

Just curious what everybody is getting for alkalinity of the affluent , flow rate and internal reactor pH

 

[JMetaxas]

Running a pro cal myself for about a year now... cant seem to really get this thing to put out... that being said... I've melted 2 chambers worth of media...

Just curious what everybody is getting for alkalinity of the affluent , flow rate and internal reactor pH

I run mine about 1 bubble per second, with a flow rate of ~40ml/minute. Effluent pH can vary around 6.5-6.8. Alk of effluent is ~25-40dKh. My only variable really is my bubble rate, which I struggle to keep consistent with a cheap Co2 regulator. What is your bubble rate?

 

[Luke_l]

I run mine about 1 bubble per second, with a flow rate of ~40ml/minute. Effluent pH can vary around 6.5-6.8. Alk of effluent is ~25-40dKh. My only variable really is my bubble rate, which I struggle to keep consistent with a cheap Co2 regulator. What is your bubble rate?

Sorry for the late reply I enabled push notifications but didn't get it...
Just tested....
45ml/min
109 bubbles/min
6.32 ph
30 dkh
I just cleaned it yesterday... seems to be performing a little better...

 

[JMetaxas]

Luke: What media do you run?

 

[Luke_l]

Luke: What media do you run?

I was running reborn, but it's hard to find all of a sudden, running arm coarse now.

 

[JMetaxas]

I'm surprised your dKh isn't lower. Perhaps the ARM doesn't dissolve as well as Reborn. BTW, you can find Reborn. It's less coarse than it used to be but that's not a problem, I used to run crushed coral in the MTC Pro-Cal 20 years ago because that was all we had and it worked great. The pumps on the MTC create a lot of pressure and can push through any media.

I just checked my Pro-Cal:

pH of Effluent 6.71
Alk of Effluent 26.6
Bubble Count: 70 per minute
Effluent Rate: ~40ml/min.
Tank Alk: 9.1dKh (180 gallon with a few SPS colonies and many frags.)

 

[polywise]

I have had mine since 2003 -- only mod was to put a PH probe in the first chamber. That way you are always working with a constant PH range vs having to adjust it if you tweak the bubble count or drip rate. I haven't melted any media due to drip rate slow down since.

I also don't use the flow meter any more.

I had been running it on a 600 gallon system with good amount of SPS stock. Would have to refill 70 % of first chamber every 2-3 months .