So I’ve setup my calcium reactor (Korallin 1502 on a 525xl (100 gallon display) running at ph 6.5, 100 ml/hr drip rate and my effluent alkalinity is 10.5.. my tank alk is 7.5 holding steady and would like to be in the 8.0-8.5 range. I’ve increased my alk with two part to get it in range but 24 hours later were back with tank alk 7.5. Does this mean my calcium reactor is too small for my system? Shouldn’t my effluent alk be higher? Will my media melt and cause a mess if I drop my ph further? * I calibrated my ph probe about a week ago but idk if the ph reading is staying “true” it’s an old probe. What do you guys think, should I purchase a bigger calcium reactor or double my effluent rate and keep my @ ph 6.5 or change the media inside the reactor who knows how old it is... Also forgot to note my magnesium is 1400
Effluent Alkalinity
- Thread starter dave57
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It sounds like this reactor has recently been added to your system. There is some additional information that would be helpful in this situation. How old are your test kits? How many corals, what type and size are in the tank? Are you using a controller or PH monitor on your system? I run a calcium reactor on my system. I am no expert, but there are plenty on here. This information should help someone to start figuring out how to correct your issue.
I would first make sure that your test kits are good. Use another kit to test your levels or have a friend, or LFS, check your water. Sometimes kits that are supposed to be good can give inaccurate readings. (Don't ask me how I know.)
If you are using a controller on your system, my first suspect would be the PH probe in the reactor. If the probe is going bad, it may be reading the PH as 6.5 when it is really a higher number. This would explain the lower than expected alkalinity of the effluent. Use a good PH test kit to test the effluent coming out of the reactor and see what result you get. This may confirm that the probe is malfunctioning. My PH probes usually need to be replaced between 1.5 and 2 years. I would start here and confirm that the PH is correct before making any adjustments to lower PH in the reactor to avoid melting the media. I will be curious to see what the PH test says. I hope you find the cause.
I’m currently testing alkalinity with the redsea pro test kit, I also have a Hanna dkh tester. I do believe my ph probe is faulty or needs replacement, this calcium reactor has been installed about a week ago.i am using a Milwaukee ph controller. Also the media inside of the reactor is probably old as I bought the reactor with the media inside already filled to the top. I would say it’s medium stocked.. was doing esv two part at 102 ml per day. Have mini sps colonies and some lps, softy with tons of coraline algae all over my rocks and glass. The highest all level on my effluent tested was 10.5. Dkh at 6.5 ph according to my ph controller.. about 1 bubble per 4 seconds on co2. Effluent rate is 100 ml per minute. So you recommend getting a new ph probe and going from there?
First, I would test the PH of the effluent coming from the reactor. If your test kit and probe do not agree, I would be inclined to say the probe is the culprit. However, I would try re-calibrating the probe one more time before tossing it because they are not inexpensive.
You could slightly increase the amount of CO 2 going into the reactor, but I would be sure to test the ph of the effluent exiting the reactor and the alkalinity level in the tank. You do not want to melt the media or increase the alkalinity to quickly. There are some good calculators online you can use to help dial in your reactor. I have used this one before: http://reef.diesyst.com/reactor/reactor.html
