I Recently Set Up A K2r Calcium Reactor On My 75 Gal Reef And Would Like Some Help Setting Up The Effluent And Co2 Induction Rate The Instructions Were Rather Vague Or Didn't Quite Make Sense. It Has Koralith Media, An 1046 Ehem Pump,bubble Counter On Blueline Reg And Reactor Itself. My Reefdevil Has A John Guest Fitting For Ca Induction To System. Will Flow Thru System As Follows, From Reef Devil To Refuge To Maintank.
Calcium Reactor Set Up
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DonW
R.I.P.
Here's what works for me. Assuming you got it installed. Set the drip rate at about 20dpm then start adding co2 at about 6 bpm. Wait over night then check effluent dkh. If you tank target is 10 then shoot for 30. If its high or low then adjust the co2 up or down. Keep doing this until you get it.
Then just monitor you tank. If its not keeping up with alk the increase the drips and the co2 slightly. Keep doing this until it keeps the tank where you want it. The process takes days to get perfect but once you get the hang of it, its easy.
Keep in mind you should have your tank in balance before you start the process.
Hope this helps
Don
Then just monitor you tank. If its not keeping up with alk the increase the drips and the co2 slightly. Keep doing this until it keeps the tank where you want it. The process takes days to get perfect but once you get the hang of it, its easy.
Keep in mind you should have your tank in balance before you start the process.
Hope this helps
Don
thetedinator
Apolemichthys xanthopunct
DonW said:
Don,
A couple of questions. Which test kit do you use to measure dkH? My salifert doesn't go to 30. Also, what do you mean by "in balance"?
Thanks,
Ted
DonW
R.I.P.
thetedinator said:
Salifert, sure it dose. Use the lower resolution (saves regents).
2ml tank water, 1/2 spoon #1, 4 drops #2 do the test normaly but double your results. So if you use a full seringe of #3 then your alk is 16x2=32.
Ca, alk and mg should all be in balance with each other and close to where you would like them to stay. If for example you ca is 450 and your alk is 8 then your out of balance. So your new reactor will just keep you out of balance since the effluent output is balanced.
If you go to the calculators section I think there is a calc that you input your desired ca or alk. This will give you the balanced numbers. It doesnt have to be exact just close. Check your Mg also since it messes everything up if it to high. Should be about 1275 again doesnt have to be exact just close.
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
thetedinator
Apolemichthys xanthopunct
Thanks for info.
thetedinator
Apolemichthys xanthopunct
Thanks to o2manyfish and DonW
I want to thank both Dave and Don for the info gleaned from them both over the last week. Thanks to this information, my Ca, dKH and pH levels are back where I like them and the system is starting to hum again.
Over the last month or so, I have had some issues with my ph, Ca and dKH. pH was getting lower and lower, Ca slipped from 420 to 350 and dKH slipped to around 7 from 12. I have never run kalkwasser or a kalk reactor and until recently, my PM 422 had been keeping the Ca, dKH and pH very stable. I was slowly adding B-Ionic to try to raise Ca and dKH but not making any real headway (because it turns out I wasn't aggressive enough because of other issues). I spoke to Dave and he pointed out that my PM 422 should be able to keep everything in balance. He recommended some values for pH and dKH from the effluent. He also told me about a neat trick to enhance the effluent and raise the pH (drip the effluent into a cup with some CaC03 media). The residual C02 reacts with media and the extra aeration helps bleed CO2. I adjusted the effluent pH but hadn't figured out how to use a Salifert kit to measure the high dKH in the effluent. That's when the info in this thread helped. With Don's information I was able to determine the effluent pH was ok but the dKH was about 1/2 of what I wanted. I readjusted the PM 422 and got the effluent where I wanted it. I then measured the Ca and dKH in the tank and used the Ca/dKH calculator mentioned in this thread to calculate how much B-Ionic to add. I added about 1/2 the recommended dosage over 24 hours and then let the PM take over the rest.
Two days later, the PM has got everything locked in and stabile.
Again, my thanks to Dave and Don.
Ted
I want to thank both Dave and Don for the info gleaned from them both over the last week. Thanks to this information, my Ca, dKH and pH levels are back where I like them and the system is starting to hum again.
Over the last month or so, I have had some issues with my ph, Ca and dKH. pH was getting lower and lower, Ca slipped from 420 to 350 and dKH slipped to around 7 from 12. I have never run kalkwasser or a kalk reactor and until recently, my PM 422 had been keeping the Ca, dKH and pH very stable. I was slowly adding B-Ionic to try to raise Ca and dKH but not making any real headway (because it turns out I wasn't aggressive enough because of other issues). I spoke to Dave and he pointed out that my PM 422 should be able to keep everything in balance. He recommended some values for pH and dKH from the effluent. He also told me about a neat trick to enhance the effluent and raise the pH (drip the effluent into a cup with some CaC03 media). The residual C02 reacts with media and the extra aeration helps bleed CO2. I adjusted the effluent pH but hadn't figured out how to use a Salifert kit to measure the high dKH in the effluent. That's when the info in this thread helped. With Don's information I was able to determine the effluent pH was ok but the dKH was about 1/2 of what I wanted. I readjusted the PM 422 and got the effluent where I wanted it. I then measured the Ca and dKH in the tank and used the Ca/dKH calculator mentioned in this thread to calculate how much B-Ionic to add. I added about 1/2 the recommended dosage over 24 hours and then let the PM take over the rest.
Two days later, the PM has got everything locked in and stabile.
Again, my thanks to Dave and Don.
Ted
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2004
- Messages
- 109
I dont measure drip count on the Ca Reactors effluent. Instead I measure by PH using a Milwuakee PH Controller/Monitor 122. This device is worth every penny and makes it very convenient to balance your Alk. I also used a PH probe holder that www.aquaticimagesystem.com made for me in order to continuously test my Ca effluent. I have recently replaced it with this one in order to lessen PO4 from my Ca Reactor using Biophos 3 from captiveoceans.com
DonW
R.I.P.
Cool little gismo. I understand the theory that lower ph is supposed to prevent leaching. Do you know how it would react to a product like Rowa Phos?
Don
Don
DonW
R.I.P.
Cool, What effluent dkh did you end up with?
Don
Don
thetedinator
Apolemichthys xanthopunct
Effluent is ~30
Katchupoy
Well-known member
I have this cheat sheet for everyday use... for a quick look...
http://66.213.194.54/myreef/misc/calciumcalc.htm
hope it helps...
http://66.213.194.54/myreef/misc/calciumcalc.htm
hope it helps...
thetedinator
Apolemichthys xanthopunct
ereefic said:
Sorry to get behind in this thread.
Dripping the effluent thru media may or may not be that helpful. Hard to tell. Currently, I bubble about 30/min CO2 and drip 30ml/min of effluent. The pH of the effluent (after going thru the extra media) is 6.65. The dKH is somewhere in excess of 30. Tank Ca is 400 and dKH is 11.2. Things look good.
Ted
