Little help understanding a calcium reactor

[ZoaFan08]

I do not have a place to insert the pH probe in the reactor or effluent chamber, do you have to drill it yourself?

So far my reactor has been up for 5 days and it raised the ALK to 10 from 8.2 so I adjusted the bubble count to one every 5 seconds, it was one every 3 seconds. My magnesium raised but my calcium lowered from 420 to 400. But I think I was being counterproductive by adjusting both at once.

 

[AZDesertRat]

I didn't have a place to put my pH probe in the reactor either plus i really don't like that method since it ties up your pH probe. By suspending it over the specimen container I can pull it out and stick it in the sump, new saltwater barrel or display to check pH at other locations too. If it was stuck in the chamber I couldn't do that.

Hold you bubble count there for 24 hrs and monitor things. If the pH is not low enough the media will not dissolve and the calcium may drop more. If need be then adjust the bubble count so you maintain a pH in your desired range over a one or two day period, I keep my pH between 6.7 and 6.9 using Aqua Medic Hydrocarbonat calcium media in the large grain size and it works well for me.

Ideally you want to get the display at optimum levels first with 2 part then slowly introduce the reactor. Reactors are not designed or intended to raise calcium levels only to maintain so its important to be at your target when you start so you have a baseline to go from. If levels drop increase the drip rate OR lower the pH by increasing the bubble count and if calcium levels rise do the opposite, one at a time.

 

[ZoaFan08]

Ok thanks, I would prefer to keep my probe out of the reactor as well.

I will monitor the pH today to see where it is, I bet it is high which is making my calcium drop.

I had my parameters where I wanted them but when my reactor came on it shot my alk up and lowered my calcium. I am dosing a little daily calcium to get it back up to where it should be.

 

[ZoaFan08]

Ok so I let the effluent drop into a cup and stuck my pH probe in it and it said the pH was 7.24..... That can't be right can it?

 

[reefdan]

with a bubble rate of 12 per minute it can definitely be right. 30 bpm is a good place to start

 

[AZDesertRat]

I think Geo recommends starting out at 30 bubbles per minute, you probably are not feeding enough Co2 to lower the pH where it needs to be.

 

[ZoaFan08]

Ok so how did my alk raise so much in the first 3 days if the pH was not low enough to melt the media?

 

[reefdan]

good question. i don't know.

was your effluent rate really slow? how big is your system and what kind of reactor do you own?

 

[iani]

Increasing your effluent and dropping the bubble count will both increase the pH in the reactor. The pH was probably a lot lower before.

 

[ZoaFan08]

good question. i don't know.

was your effluent rate really slow? how big is your system and what kind of reactor do you own?

Effluent rate was a little mroe than drops, like a small stream.

System is 120g tank and 20g sump, the reactor is a BIG reactor, rated for 600g system. Its the Precisium Marine 6" one with effluent chamber.

 

[ZoaFan08]

Increasing your effluent and dropping the bubble count will both increase the pH in the reactor. The pH was probably a lot lower before.

OK I did that, I was originally adjusting both and not one at a time. After AZDESERTRAT helping me the last few days I am learning to only adjust one at a time and let it sit for 24 hours.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Remember alkalinity and calcium are kind of the inverse of each other. As calcium drops alk rises and so forth. There is a relationship there but offhand I don't remember exactly how or why it works.

 

[ZoaFan08]

That explains why my calcium went down from 430 to 395 and my alk raised. If my pH was never low enough to melt the media I am still curious as to how my alk raised so much.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Because your calcium was being depleted.

 

[iani]

That explains why my calcium went down from 430 to 395 and my alk raised. If my pH was never low enough to melt the media I am still curious as to how my alk raised so much.

Why do you think the pH was never low enough to melt the media? You tested the pH of your calcium reactor AFTER you made 2 changes which raise the pH in the calcium reactor. The pH in the reactor was probably low enough PRIOR to the changes for the media to dissolve.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Ok so I let the effluent drop into a cup and stuck my pH probe in it and it said the pH was 7.24..... That can't be right can it?

Because the effluent from the reactor was 7.24 dripping into a cup seperate from the main display. Thats straight from the reactor which should be somewhere in the 6.4 to 6.9 range depending on what media he is using.
Obviously he has a demand for calcium if he adjusted the calcium and alkalinity prior to making adjustments.

 

[ZoaFan08]

Ok so I just got home and my ALK is 12.8.....

I have no idea what is going on here..

 

[reefdan]

here's what you do:
- take the reactor offline
- adjust your alk and mg to your desired parameters using 2 part
- wait until they've stabilized
- then put the reactor back online
- start with a steady drip and 30 bpm from the reactor
- check and adjust daily

 

[ZoaFan08]

I already took the reactor offline. I'm going to buffer my calcium and that should bring my ALK down.

 

[ZoaFan08]

Here is a rundown of my parameters over the past weeks:
8/25 calc 390 alk 7.8 I (start dosing)
8/27 calc 415 alk 8.1
8/30 calc 420 alk 8.6 (reactor goes online with 1 bubble every 3 seconds)
8/31 calc 390 alk 9.4
9/1 calc 400 alk 10.0
9/2 calc 400 alk 9.6 (change to 1 bubble every 5 seconds and make effluent faster)
9/3 calc 395 alk 9.9
9/4 calc 405 alk 12.8

Why would my alk jump so high when the reactor has the same settings as it did 3 days ago?