Cal reactor

[Nibrown9]

So im having issues with my calcium reactor not staying acurate on the bubble counter. also my reactor doesnt have a port for the ph probe inside. i was going to add one to it. has anyone done this in town? Have you seen parts avalible in town? my thought is to remove the bubble counter and just base the numbers off the actual ph of the reactor to dial in my levels and leave them alone since i cant seem to keep the bubble counter accurate anymore and effluent ph constant since bubble rate either goes extremely low or slow to none. i have tested the manifold for leaks and everything is holding proper levels and pressure.

 

[m-six hundred]

What kind of reactor and regulator are you using? How old are they?

 

[Nibrown9]

The cal reactor is a oceanvue regulator I can't remember of the top of my head I'll check tonight. I know they are older equipment as I picked them up used but before this recent tank upgrade it worked great.

 

[Finnaddict]

Check out this article. He has his effluent dripping into a cup that his probe is in since he didn't have a port for his PH probe on his reactor.

http://melevsreef.com/calcium_reactor.html

 

[Nibrown9]

Check out this article. He has his effluent dripping into a cup that his probe is in since he didn't have a port for his PH probe on his reactor.

http://melevsreef.com/calcium_reactor.html

That's the way I have it now and I want a little but more accuracy

 

[Stolireef]

If you are having problems with maintaining a steady bubble rate, consider an Aquarium Plants electronic regulator. Makes worries about bubble count a thing of the past. I used to use the probe in a cup to measure effluent pH and it worked perfectly.

 

[cromag08]

If you are having problems with maintaining a steady bubble rate, consider an Aquarium Plants electronic regulator. Makes worries about bubble count a thing of the past. I used to use the probe in a cup to measure effluent pH and it worked perfectly.

Expensive, but those are the best in the biz. still need a ph monitor/probe though.

 

[Stolireef]

Expensive, but those are the best in the biz. still need a ph monitor/probe though.

They are a bit pricey but when I think about how many hours I spent adjusting the needle valve on my old regulator, it was money very well spent. IMO, the measurement of the effluent pH is just a rough gauge to keep the pH in the reactor low enough to dissolve the media. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just needs to turn on the CO2 when the pH gets too high. I really don't even spend much effort on callibrating the pH probe in my reactor. I just check the effluent occasionally to ensure that it's in the ballpark.

 

[Nibrown9]

I have a controller, the regulator is aquatek...after taking everything apart and cleaning out the needle valve to insure no obstructions I found that the solenoid is failing. The connection is melted and not opening regularly. Prob part of the problem. Since I have it all apart I'm gonna fill the tank and see what I can find on a replacement solenoid or upgrade to the aquarium plant one Allen mentioned

 

[Nibrown9]

so I made this today out of 1/2 in John gusset fitting. Drilled out the stop and probe fits perfect and no leaks, now just need to find a regulator in town for the time being if anyone has one