ph probe in calcium reactor or sump?

[walkerbrody]

Im setting up a calcium reactor for the first time. My aquacontroller Jr only has one ph probe. Should I put the probe into the fitting on the reactor to control the ph of the effelunt inside or should I put the probe into the sump to controll the over all ph of my system?

 

[Curtie44]

I would put it in the sump so you know what your tank pH is at a glance. Once you get the reactor dialed in you shouldn't have to worry about it too much (I'd still test the effluent once in a while, though) It'll be easy enough to fill a cup with effluent and dip your tank pH probe in it to get a reading, not so easy to unscrew the cord grip, pull the probe out of the reactor, dip it in tank water, reinstall it in reacor.

 

[fsn77]

If you put the pH probe in the sump, will you be controlling the feed pump with your AC Jr? If so, you will have to watch the bubble count more closely and make sure it is consistent, otherwise your reactor may not hold the proper pH to dissolve the media. You may want to install a one way valve on your feed line as well, as my calcium reactor set-up will back siphon and pull air into the reactor if the feed pump shuts off. That can eventually be a problem for the recirculating pump if too much air builds up in the reactor.

If you put the pH probe in the reactor, you can control the CO2 solenoid on the regulator, keeping the pH in the reactor is in the right range to dissolve the media.

 

[Curtie44]

If you put the pH probe in the sump, will you be controlling the feed pump with your AC Jr? If so, you will have to watch the bubble count more closely and make sure it is consistent, otherwise your reactor may not hold the proper pH to dissolve the media. You may want to install a one way valve on your feed line as well, as my calcium reactor set-up will back siphon and pull air into the reactor if the feed pump shuts off. That can eventually be a problem for the recirculating pump if too much air builds up in the reactor.

If you put the pH probe in the reactor, you can control the CO2 solenoid on the regulator, keeping the pH in the reactor is in the right range to dissolve the media.

Why would you want to shut off your feed pump to the reactor? I keep mine running 24/7

 

[walkerbrody]

I would use my aquacontroler to cut off the co2 solenoid.

 

[LegoZ81]

I use my ACjr to monitor tank pH and a ReefFanatic pH controller to take care of the reactor. Keep in mind if you hook the ACJr up to a computer it causes a ground loop and will screw your pH readings. There is an isolator to fix this however I did the HIGHLY unrecommended thing by removing the ground prong from my pc's power to "fix" the difference in ground.

Check the LegoZ's Reef Tank link in my Sig for the live video feed and current stats of my system.

Two different versions both pulling info from my ACJr via the serial port and using ACSerial2Web

ACSerial2Web

All of this being said I gave up on my CaRx and going back to dosing 2part. I could not get a steady effluent rate thru the reactor, and have run out of paitence for now to keep messing with it.