Calcium reactor

[FreakinReefin]

To be honest with you. With your size tank and I'm not sure if you are SPS dominate or not. You really don't need a CaRx if you are already topping off with lime water. I did just fine with my 40b SPS dominated tank without a CaRx for 3 years just by topping off with lime water. The SPS grew like mad in my 40B. I sure miss that tank!

I am getting heavy on the calcium demand side though. A lot of it has to do with the ease of keeping the dKh under control too. Right now I am just too convinced to go the automation route and have the dKh and Ca kept rock solid and not have to worry about it. I'm not sure why, but the Kalk reactor is not keeping the levels where they should be. I have to continuously dose 2 part and do a 25-30% water change every week to keep things in control. I shouldn't have to do a water change that often while dosing like I am.

 

[tamarindthai]

http://akamai.f3images.com/IMD/UserManuals/KL1502.pdf[/QUOTE]

i recomended you read this this instruction throughly,,and you will have fun with your reactor for sure

 

[FreakinReefin]

http://akamai.f3images.com/IMD/UserManuals/KL1502.pdf

i recomended you read this this instruction throughly,,and you will have fun with your reactor for sure[/QUOTE]

Hey Tamarind, The white pad that sits on top of the separator plate on the bottom of the reactor is missing...do I need to get this replaced or can I use something different?

 

[tamarindthai]

i recomended you read this this instruction throughly,,and you will have fun with your reactor for sure

Hey Tamarind, The white pad that sits on top of the separator plate on the bottom of the reactor is missing...do I need to get this replaced or can I use something different?[/QUOTE]

egg creat witll do it too with sponge form pad

 

[FreakinReefin]

Now this has got to be a moron question...I don't know how to use this regulator. Obviously turning on the gas is easy, however, does the large black knob on the regulator just handle the pressure? What psi am I supposed to keep the gas at? I see another chrome knob on the solenoid, is this just for fine tuning the bubble counter?

 

[NaTe R]

step 1
close regualtor (big black nob) left is off. close needle valve open tank valve left gage should read something like 50ish lbs
2. open effuent valve all the way w/ feed pump on.
3. turn regulator to the right till gage reads something like 15-20lbs
4. very slowly open needle valve till you get 1 bubble per second
5. close effluent vave to 1 drip per second
6. it may take a day or more to get chamber ph to drop to 6.4 -6.5 run cal reactor for three days monitoring Alk level in display. adjust from there drip/bubble count. this is were having a controller would be nice, Because you can turn up bubble count and controller would take care of the CO2 input not worrying about over doing it, . With a monitor you going to have to check and check and adjust and adjust. IMO every day or two for a month or more and by the time you get it pretty dialed the CO2 tank will be empty and you will have to fill it and start over again. good luck!:

 

[FreakinReefin]

IMO every day or two for a month or more and by the time you get it pretty dialed the CO2 tank will be empty and you will have to fill it and start over again. good luck!:

LOL thanks!

 

[NaTe R]

To Help Maintain Ph when you get rollin..........

help maintain better PH once you get it dialed in

See Ph in Reactor 6.4

drip in cup and run air stone in effluent now ph at 7.4 before entering sump/refugium

 

[NaTe R]

LOL thanks!

sorry man i might be a bit negative about not having a controller because if you think of it in a Math equasion there is so many variable to ever get a bubble count exactly right to hold chamber ph. You might get it soooo close by luck and then after a week it will be off again and then you make the slightest move on that needle valve and its going to be off again.

 

[FreakinReefin]

Awesome! This is the type of help I'm looking for. So you have the Milwaukee controller? The only problem is I don't have a probe adaptor for the Korallin to measure the PH in the reactor. Is it really that difficult to dial that in?

Do you have that cup sitting in the sump the whole time with the effluent dripping in it? That's a great idea to disburse the CO2 and raise the PH before getting in the water.

 

[NaTe R]

yes the Milwaukee it is nice to have the monitor too to watch the display ph.
The cup is always in there i do pull it to be safe when i do water changes so i don't flood it in to the sump. Air stones clogg up every week i have 4 or 5 spares and when i m about out i soak them in vinegar for a night and there ready again

This my friend is the way i would do it. $70 plus a controller and you can save your self some headache
http://www.marinedepot.com/Korallin_Lid_with_pH_Probe_Port_for_C_1502_3002_Calcium_Reactor_Replacement_Parts-Korallin-KL3123-FICRRP-vi.html

 

[FreakinReefin]

yes the Milwaukee it is nice to have the monitor too to watch the display ph.
The cup is always in there i do pull it to be safe when i do water changes so i don't flood it in to the sump. Air stones clogg up every week i have 4 or 5 spares and when i m about out i soak them in vinegar for a night and there ready again

This my friend is the way i would do it. $70 plus a controller and you can save your self some headache
http://www.marinedepot.com/Korallin_Lid_with_pH_Probe_Port_for_C_1502_3002_Calcium_Reactor_Replacement_Parts-Korallin-KL3123-FICRRP-vi.html

Dude...GREAT work my friend! That is exactly what I am going to do. So let me see if I understand this correctly...You set the controller to the PH you want and it will shut the solenoid off if it is creeping to low? Does it do anything else?(not that it needs to...)

 

[NaTe R]

exactly. it leaves the solenoid open when chamber ph is above what you set the controller to. when it reaches the set point it shuts the solenoid down and stops Co2 from entering the chamber.

in turn this gives you a goal to adjust your bubble input while slolenoid is open to be just slightly more than it requires there for leaving the solenoid open for the longest duration you can achieve. so ph continually drops over the longest period of time you can get between solenoid opens/closes. (so its not open shut, open, shut 5 times a day your looking for more like a week if you can find that spot)

Then the more important things can be adjusted like finding your tanks demands for Alk, mag ect and adjusting effluent drip i would recommend starting like 1-2 drops per second and test every 48 hours or more to see whats happening. unless you already have a pretty heavy load then maybe a touch more so you don't get a dip in alk.

 

[Katchupoy]

FreakinReefin,

Sorry to jump in to your thread too late... I see that all your questions here are being answered already. Let me add some more as a previous owner of your reactor.

When i had that setup, I used to do it what like Roscoe was suggesting (with a cup and a ph monitor)... I started really slow.... There are two items that I monitor regularly, 1) how many bubbles you have on the bubble counter and 2) how many drops per second you have.

Like everybody is saying, Its easy to set this up and make it run, whats hard is dialing. And what Nate is saying, start with 1-2 drops per second and dont touch that until you zeroed in on the effluent's ph, by adjusting the bubble/s per minute.

Checking my old records, I used to set it up at 35ml per minute (drip) with 24 bubbles per minute on a 75 gallon (low calcium demand) setup. This is just a reference for you and not a bullet proof recipe for your tank. Just 2 cents.

I dont have a controller but I put it on a timer. If my calcium is going on the high side, I take 1 or 2 hours off the timer.

Suggestion.... Do everything slow.

 

[FreakinReefin]

To Help Maintain Ph when you get rollin..........

help maintain better PH once you get it dialed in

See Ph in Reactor 6.4

drip in cup and run air stone in effluent now ph at 7.4 before entering sump/refugium

Nate, do you have that cup just floating in the sump there? Is it just a plastic cup chillin with the probe and overflows with the effluent?

 

[NaTe R]

thats a glass sold as a small vase at fred meyer i would try and find one as tall as you can like 10" - 12" and drip it from 4"-6" above it helps to count and i think it helps gas exchange. dont really know if it helps all that much but anything is a good thing

add: I also just dropped the monitor in there to show results i usually have it monitoring tank ph not the effluent as it doesn't matter if you have the controller

 

[FreakinReefin]

FreakinReefin,

Sorry to jump in to your thread too late... I see that all your questions here are being answered already. Let me add some more as a previous owner of your reactor.

When i had that setup, I used to do it what like Roscoe was suggesting (with a cup and a ph monitor)... I started really slow.... There are two items that I monitor regularly, 1) how many bubbles you have on the bubble counter and 2) how many drops per second you have.

Like everybody is saying, Its easy to set this up and make it run, whats hard is dialing. And what Nate is saying, start with 1-2 drops per second and dont touch that until you zeroed in on the effluent's ph, by adjusting the bubble/s per minute.

Checking my old records, I used to set it up at 35ml per minute (drip) with 24 bubbles per minute on a 75 gallon (low calcium demand) setup. This is just a reference for you and not a bullet proof recipe for your tank. Just 2 cents.

I dont have a controller but I put it on a timer. If my calcium is going on the high side, I take 1 or 2 hours off the timer.

Suggestion.... Do everything slow.

Hey thanks again Ceasar! I am definitely going to take it slow and do it right. That's really how I've always worked with my tanks...well most of the time at least. I'll keep this thread going and let you know how it is working.

 

[FreakinReefin]

Okay, so I have the Milwaukee PH controller and probe as well as the lid(finally) that is appropriate for the reactor. I filled the reactor with the dry aragonite and I am going to put the probe in there...however, do I need to stick the probe as far as I can inside the reactor or do I just stick the tip in there and monitor the top effluent. The reason I ask is if I stick the probe in there I will pretty much be ramming it down into the aragonite and I don't want to damage it at all.

 

[NaTe R]

just get it an inch or so past the lid so if an air bubble develops, the probe will still be in the fluid

 

[NaTe R]

hey by the way freakin.

Those pictures i showed you with the ph at 6.4 and it coming to 7.4 might not be acurate. I checked my probe the other day and it read 6.0 so i had to re calibrate the Milwakee. Ooopps. So i will get some new readings here for you so you can see the change from using an air stone