Calcium reactor question

[Tabeaubi]

Recently my calcium reactor has been unable to keep up with the calcium demand in my tank. I purchased a add on chamber and need some info regarding the monitoring of pH.

Here's the details.

Primary reactor is a MRC-1 running:
- Maxi jet 1200 feed pump
- MAg-2 REcirculation pump
- Pinpoint pH controller
- ARM & Shuran Media
- Secondary chamber is an MRC XL reactor chamber able to hangle 14lbs of material. There is a input and output only on this reactor.

The effluent is monitored with the pH controller to keep the pH within 6.75 - 6.89.

My reactors don't have the ability to mount the pH probe within them.

So, when I add this second chamber the ph will be higher than the effluent coming out of the first chamber.

What is the best way to make sure that I don't melt all the media in the first chamber?

Would monitoring the effluent of the pH out of the 1st chamber, getting a reading. Than hooking the 2nd chamber in-line and monitor the effluent coming out of it and figure out how much the pH rises after passing through it and adjust the controller accordingly. Seems a little sketchy to do it that way.

Any thoughts/ideas/brainstorming would be helpful.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[gotfish8]

Basiclly the second chamber is only used to burn up excess co2. It won't really help to boost cal. Take your PH down to 6.5 in your main chamber increase your drip to 2-3ml
Have you seen this
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/reactor.html

 

[gotfish8]

double post

 

[gotfish8]

And if you are running schuran media in the first chaber bring the ph down to 6.2 that stuff is harder to melt

 

[Tabeaubi]

2-3ml/min?

 

[gotfish8]

yes

 

[Tabeaubi]

So, basically what your telling me is that the second chamber I bought isn't going to do a damn thing for my calcium level, just blow off Co2. I was hoping that extra contact time would help the calciuum level.

 

[gotfish8]

it is there just to look pretty. It may help a little little bit

There is know flow going thru the second chamber just the effluent

 

[Tabeaubi]

Your killing me.

I should have bought the bigger reactor.

Tom

 

[jjjimmy]

The second chamber will help with your Ca some. It uses the excess CO2 to burn the media in the second chamber. The media in the second chamber will also last much longer than in the first.

Also as Justin mentioned above, that Schuran media requires much lower Ph to disolve. My guess is that is why your Ca demands are not being kept up.

 

[gotfish8]

I refilled my main chaber twice and have yet to even add any in the second it is still full

 

[menard]

Tom
You need a PH of 6.0 for the Schuran media to dissolve.
If I were U I woud make 2 separate Co2 line, one for each reactor.
Go buy some fittings and another needle valve, split the one line and make'em 2 .

 

[gotfish8]

And for initial question, just set the ph in the first chamber and then hook up your second chamber

 

[Bryan89]

FWIW I got rid of my MRC CR-4 reactor because it could not handle the high co2 levels needed to get to a pH of 6.2 for the Schuran media without cavitating the heck out of the blueline 20 recirculation pump. I have had far better performance with the Schruan Jetstream 1 than i ever did with the CR-4. So, if you are intent on using hte Schuran media and your reactor is undersized, I would buy a Jetstream 1. I got a deal on mine here on RC, but I think PA had em for about $400 brand new a while back.

HTH

Bryan

 

[kerusso316]

I run my K2r at 6.0.It melts about 1/2 of it capasity in 6 months.Dont be fearful to drop to 6.0.Just drip close to your shimmer.

 

[fijiblue]

Tom-

Try putting the Schuran media in the first chamber and ARM in the second. You probably will dissolve more than you think of it in your second chamber. I run mine at 7.0 and keep CA at 420. It probably wont solve the problem totally because of your tank volume and CA demand, but that's probably the best way to utilize that second chamber.

 

[Tabeaubi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7887643#post7887643 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dr. JMadscientist
Tom-

Try putting the Schuran media in the first chamber and ARM in the second. You probably will dissolve more than you think of it in your second chamber. I run mine at 7.0 and keep CA at 420. It probably wont solve the problem totally because of your tank volume and CA demand, but that's probably the best way to utilize that second chamber.

Justin,
That's my game plan at this point. Run the Shuran media in the first reactor, run ARM in the second. Hopefully by the time the effluent at 6.0-6.2 ph from the 1st chamber hit the second chamber the effluent pH will be about 6.8-7.2 that the ARM would need to disolve.


Thanks everyone for the responses. Hopefully this plan will work. If not, I'll have an MRC-1 for sale very soon.

Thanks
TOM