Calcium reactor capacity

[DonW]

What is more efficient more media or more water??

Assuming you had two identical 30" tall reactors. One with 8lbs arm and the other with 24lbs arm. Which one will handle the larger tank capacity??

Don

 

[o2manyfish]

The mechanics of a calcium reactor are not affected by size. A small reactor (size of a coke can) can handle the demands of a 1000g stocked SPS system. However you have to add media more often.

Large reactors just make less work for us.

As for efficiency, reverse flow is usually more efficient than top down flow, and fluidized reactor is usually the most efficient.

Dave B

 

[mojoreef]

I agree Dave and the media does play a large role also. Different media dissolves at different PH levels, and also some medias contain stuff you dont want like P and so on.

Mike

 

[DonW]

The mechanics of a calcium reactor are not affected by size. A small reactor (size of a coke can) can handle the demands of a 1000g stocked SPS system. However you have to add media more often.

Large reactors just make less work for us.

As for efficiency, reverse flow is usually more efficient than top down flow, and fluidized reactor is usually the most efficient.

Dave B

Am I understanding correctly. If I cut my reactor in half I'd just have to fill it more often?? Or maybe not decrease the size, just reduce the media by 2/3 from 8lbs to 2.5lbs. Then it would fluidize and be even more efficient?

Don

 

[mattseattle]

i have a question about the A.R.M. media. does it have a life span? i bought a used reactor that had the A.R.M. media in it and I don't know how long it has been in there. Does this stuff retain it's usefulness forever?

 

[bc_slc]

my understanding was that the "capacity" of a reactor was a combination of:
1) flow into/out of the reactor (effluent drip rate is important as you have to get cacium out of the reactor and into your tank).
2) surface area or surface contact time with the exposed media (i.e. a taller/larger reactor allows more contact time with the media)

Though a smaller reactor would need to be filled much more often than a larger reactor to support the same SPS system, a smaller reactor may not be able to support as much water passing through the system (i.e. from the tank back to the tank, or your effluent drip rate), and wouldn't allow as much contact time between your flowing water and the media.

I think in general a larger reactor allows a larger water volume to be acidified and therefore allows more calcium to be pulled into solution than a smaller reactor. At a steady state, this may make less of a difference since you only really need to replace minute by minute losses of calcium.

 

[DonW]

i have a question about the A.R.M. media. does it have a life span? i bought a used reactor that had the A.R.M. media in it and I don't know how long it has been in there. Does this stuff retain it's usefulness forever?

Matt,
My reactor uses the media. I dont need to replace it because I'm always adding to it.

Don

 

[mattseattle]

well that makes sense if the reactor is being used. this reactor had been sitting for quite a while. i went ahead and replaced the media anyway just to make sure it's all fresh. i am still curious though if there is a life to this media.

 

[DonW]

well that makes sense if the reactor is being used. this reactor had been sitting for quite a while. i went ahead and replaced the media anyway just to make sure it's all fresh. i am still curious though if there is a life to this media.

The shelf life would probably be forever. I would'nt reuse old media or someone elses media. You dont want to reintroduce the funk back into your system.

Don

 

[mattseattle]

eeks - didn't even think about the funk from other the other persons tank. well i did clean out the reactor before using it so i should be ok. i used vinegar and warm water on everything before i plugged it in.

 

[mojoreef]

Am I understanding correctly. If I cut my reactor in half I'd just have to fill it more often??

yep.

Or maybe not decrease the size, just reduce the media by 2/3 from 8lbs to 2.5lbs. Then it would fluidize and be even more efficient?

In order to fluidize the flow of water would have to come from the bottom up. It also depends upon the media type. I use rowalyth and it has smaller particles and is designed to fluidize. ARM are heavier and might not want to fluidize even with reverse flow, it would depend on how much flow.

I think in general a larger reactor allows a larger water volume to be acidified and therefore allows more calcium to be pulled into solution than a smaller reactor. At a steady state, this may make less of a difference since you only really need to replace minute by minute losses of calcium.

To a point yes. If you have a large chamber and it is top down flow only a small portion of the media will be exposed to the lower ph water so concentration would be relient on that. In a fluidized reactor all the media is suspended in the water thus melting all surfaces at the same time..a little more effective. With the small amount of drip rate coming out I dont know how much of an effect the larger chamber and more water would pertain.

Matt if the reactor was turned off and the media was still just sitting in it it would probibly begin to fuse together, and thus make it harder to melt as a whole.

Mike

 

[invincible569]

More water in the chamber is better IMO. Gives your media more circulation. What also helps is having Coarse media instead of fine. Koralith provides coarse media and works out just fine. I am using it and dissolves great.

 

[thetedinator]

invinicble,

Did the Barbie cup come with the Deltec or with the Korillan? LOL

Ted

 

[invincible569]

invinicble,

Did the Barbie cup come with the Deltec or with the Korillan? LOL

Ted

Neither.

I actually put that there to show the size of the granulate. That Barbie cup is the size of a shot glass.

 

[mojoreef]

Mines the opposite Invicible. The media is very fine, like coarse sand. and its always in motion being fluidised. I am pulling about 88dkh out of it, hows the koralith doing??

Mike

 

[invincible569]

Beautiful Reactor Mike! Love it! How much was that bad boy?

The coarse thicker granulate provides better circulation through each other in a non fluidized reactor. Your Deltec is fluidized and thats one of the key things I love about it. If you have better circulation you get less trapped detritus. With finer media, one side of the reactor would have no flow while the other does creating channels within the media, therefore increasing PO4.

 

[jks1]

just to piggy back on this, my reactor is non-fluidized and has been running for 7 months or so. I tested the effluent and got PH 6.4. The prob is I havent seen any of the ARM media dissolve in this time. Looks the same as when I put it in (it was used as well). Shouldnt some have dissolved by now?

 

[mojoreef]

Thanks Invincible. I was lucky and got it when the euro was a little better and before all the rights had been taken. I got it for 525 bucks. I thought you were refering to all styles of reactors sorry.

JKS you should see some, ARM melts at around 7ph. One thing maybe, it does tend to swell up over time, have you noticed that at all?? Also being used it might be a good idea to replace it anyway.


Mike

 

[jks1]

thank, I thnk Ill replace it tomorrow. Ive got some new media.. thanks