jdieck
New member
Insure your freshly mixed water is balanced before the water change. If necessary adjust the parameters with manual supplementation to the levels you want to maintain in the main tank before the water change.
GEO Calcium Reactor 618 - Help!
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
edandsandy
Active member
Jose thanks for the reply and links,
A) we added the second chamber because the 618 just was not keeping up with the demand of the tank, and we thought it might help with breaking down the CO2......
B) as far as I can tell the Kalk reactor is keeping up the top off.
C) Controller, I STILL have a hard time setting the set points, so I call American Marine the other day and they helped me dial the number in
BUT your expatiation has help too.
D) we have the reactors side by side, one controller, regulator and flow meter...
I didn't realize they each had to have their own equipment... that makes sense now.....I still have all my old Milwaukee equipment.....
Looks like Ed has a new project this weekend.
E):thumbsup:
F) YES, those were the numbers from the reactors effluent....
I did not measure the PH from the effluent.... sorry.....
A) we added the second chamber because the 618 just was not keeping up with the demand of the tank, and we thought it might help with breaking down the CO2......
B) as far as I can tell the Kalk reactor is keeping up the top off.
C) Controller, I STILL have a hard time setting the set points, so I call American Marine the other day and they helped me dial the number in
BUT your expatiation has help too.D) we have the reactors side by side, one controller, regulator and flow meter...
I didn't realize they each had to have their own equipment... that makes sense now.....I still have all my old Milwaukee equipment.....
Looks like Ed has a new project this weekend.
E):thumbsup:
F) YES, those were the numbers from the reactors effluent....
I did not measure the PH from the effluent.... sorry.....
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edandsandy
Active member
We tried that before, but like I said we were concerned about pesticides...
We made a tube with a 1/8" line coming in to a 1" PVC tube filled with floss carbon and floss, but to me it really didn't help, so we are looking into something else now. We have a Deltec AP902 protein skimmer, and we only tried that on one intake, or maybe we should try both pumps?.?
edandsandy
Active member
Here are the reading from the last 2 days...
7-13
tank PH 7.74
calcium 500
Alk 1.82 dKH 5.1
adjusted the BPM to 79, no adjustments to effluent
7-14
tank PH 7.77
calcium 470
Alk 2.85 dKH 8.0
Mag 1470
NO3 0
PO4 0
7-13
tank PH 7.74
calcium 500
Alk 1.82 dKH 5.1
adjusted the BPM to 79, no adjustments to effluent
7-14
tank PH 7.77
calcium 470
Alk 2.85 dKH 8.0
Mag 1470
NO3 0
PO4 0
jdieck
New member
Jose thanks for the reply and links,
A) we added the second chamber because the 618 just was not keeping up with the demand of the tank, and we thought it might help with breaking down the CO2......
B) as far as I can tell the Kalk reactor is keeping up the top off.
C) Controller, I STILL have a hard time setting the set points, so I call American Marine the other day and they helped me dial the number in
D) we have the reactors side by side, one controller, regulator and flow meter...
I didn't realize they each had to have their own equipment... that makes sense now.....I still have all my old Milwaukee equipment.....
Looks like Ed has a new project this weekend.
E):thumbsup:
F) YES, those were the numbers from the reactors effluent....
I did not measure the PH from the effluent.... sorry.....
Do you have one 618 with a second chamer or two 618 reactors??If you still need help with the controller let me know and I can guide you step by step..
jdieck
New member
Did you noticed any precipitation or whitish dust suspended in teh water? It does not seem possible that the calcium dropped when the alkalinity increased unless testing error or you had some "snow" effect. If so, the addition might be too high.
edandsandy
Active member
If you still need help with the controller let me know and I can guide you step by step..
I have a GEO 618 with a second chamber.
A few pictures are worth a thousand words :love1:
I'm not the best photographer, but I hope these help...
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edandsandy
Active member
I didn't notice any precipitation, maybe it was an old test kit...
I did replace all my test kits on Sunday.
I hope all will be well in the tank, Ed will :uzi: me if this tank crashes!
All the corals seem fine, great polyp expansion, even the clam is fine....
Fish are fine too.
I'm usually very careful when I test the water, I go very slow, drop and swirl, drop and swirl......
And YES, you can help me dial in the PH controller, if needed.....:crazy1:
edandsandy
Active member
Today's measurements are:
Effluent
dKH 25.0 ALK 8.89
Calcium 560
PH 7.13
Tank
dKH 5.4 ALK 1.93
Calcium 490
I'm not sure what's going on, :headwalls::headwalls::headwalls:
No adjustments were made at all yesterday. I tested twice using Salifert.
:debi:
Effluent
dKH 25.0 ALK 8.89
Calcium 560
PH 7.13
Tank
dKH 5.4 ALK 1.93
Calcium 490
I'm not sure what's going on, :headwalls::headwalls::headwalls:
No adjustments were made at all yesterday. I tested twice using Salifert.
:debi:
jdieck
New member
jdieck
New member
Now that reactor output is more likely. It takes a while to get the reactor stable so I am not surprized it took a couple of days.
I'll post some notes on the controller setup later on today. For starters you need to manually increase the alkalinity. Use baked baking soda as I mentioned earlier and leave the calcium reactor as it is.
Can you tell me what is your effluent flow? Is it still 30 ml/min? with that I can estimate how much alkalinity the reactor is adding.
jdieck
New member
Six easy steps to set the controller: (Follow the numbers in the picture)
1. Insure the plug of the solenoid is in the proper outlet.
Plug it to the outlet farther left looking the controller from the front.
2. Insure the Range screw is at the minimum:
Turn the range screw all the way clockwise. You will never have to touch it again.
3. Turn the reading switch to High:
Move the switch to the highest position so the display shows the higher value of the range.
4. Adjust the Center Value Screw to read 6.5:
Turn the Center Value screw clockwise or counterclockwise so the reading in the display is set to be 6.5; this will be the set point at the maximum of the range, in other words the CO2 will open when the PH reads 6.5
Potentially irrelevant note: The “Center” Value screw adjusts the center value by adjusting either the high or the low value because in reality it moves the whole range up or down. You will never see a reading of the center value in the display so it needs to be calculated by adding the high value and the low value and dividing them by 2
5. Check the low set point, it shall read approx. 6.3:
Turn the switch to the low (lowest) position. The display shall read anywhere from about 6.29 to 6.31, you do not need to adjust anything here, just check the reading.
The minimum set point of the range is determined by using the range adjusting screw (2 in the pic). Because the screw is at the minimum, It shall read the minimum range allowed by the controller which is about 0.2 PH units below the high set point of 6.5 so the low shall read 6.3.
The mid range then will be 6.4, ([6.5+6.3]/2) which is the mid point between 6.3 and 6.5. This is the point at which the CO2 will close.
6. Move the read switch to the center:
With the switch in the center (Read) position, the display will show the PH being measured by the probe inside the chamber. THis reading shall be between 6.4 and 6.5 if the bubble rate is adjusted properly.
That’s it!
A couple of tips:
A. If the reading of the PH never goes below 6.5 then increase the bubble rate.
B. If the solenoid turns off too fast after the controller has turned it on then reduce the bubble rate.
With this setting the PH in the main chamber will change between 6.4 and 6.5 unless the bubble rate is too low and the PH never drops below 6.5
C. Take some media out of the first chamber, the probe should be about ½” above the media and should be inserted a minimum of ½” into the chamber so the top of the media shall be not higher than 1” from the underside of the top flange of the chamber.
The probe should not touch the media otherwise you run the risk of the probe measuring the point at the surface of the media that will have a higher PH than the surrounding water, also you run the risk of scratching the reading glass bulb of the probe or worst, breaking it when the top flange of the chamber is tightened.
D. For increased efficiency of the second chamber you can use small size media in it to increase the surface area exposed to the acidic water. There is no problem with carry over because the second chamber has a very slow flow.
E. Increase the alkalinity of the system to 3.5 meq/lt using baked baking soda over a period of three to four days. Assuming you have 400 gallons in your system and you need to increase from 1.93 meq/lt to 3.5 meq/lt, you will need in total about 125 grams or about 30 teaspoons dissolved in RO/DI. Remember to add it slowly or even better, drip it over the three or four days to prevent a sudden increase in PH.
F. Set the reactor effluent rate to about 75 ml/min and adjust the bubble rate as per tips A and B. Keep measuring the daily alkalinity during these changes for the next three days then check every two days and adjust the effluent rate and bubble rate accordingly to maintain a constant alkalinity in the main tank. Do not try to increase the alkalinity with the reactor or you will never be able to set it up. It takes the reactor two or three days to stabilize as you just found.
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edandsandy
Active member
We added baking soda to help raise the alkalinity...it was slowly added in a high flow area in the sump.
Yes, effluent flow is still at 30 ml/ min...
I discovered yesterday morning we have a bigger problem, the solenoid valve is not working properly on the CO2 reactor, It is sticking in the closed position.
So, I ordered a new CO2 regulator
http://www.aquacave.com/deluxe-co2-regulator-brwith-solenoid-valve-brby-reef-fanatic-1631.html
And we decided to replace the PH controller too, we will move the old one to the 40g frag tanks.
So here are yesterday's measurements
Calcium 490
dKH 7.0. ALK 2.50
edandsandy
Active member
Thanks for the tips on setting up the controller too..
:wavehand:
Today's test.
Tank PH 7.87
Calcium 490
dKH 6.4 ALK 2.28
We are slowly adding baking soda again....
:wavehand:
Today's test.
Tank PH 7.87
Calcium 490
dKH 6.4 ALK 2.28
We are slowly adding baking soda again....
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jdieck
New member
Why baking soda and not baked baking soda? adding it after being baked will help increase the PH when adding it contrary to just plain baking soda which tends to drop the PH.
Baking the baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate) ill turn it inot soda ash (Sodium carbonate).
To bake it, spread the baking soda powder in an oven safe container, you can use a cookie sheet but I prefer a glass Pyrex. Preheat the oven to 350*F and bake the powder for an hour and a half, let it cool in the oven and use it as you would the baking soda just note that you will need a bit less powder for the same alkalinity increase.
Keep on manually adding it until your alkalinity reaches above 3 meq/lt but no more than 4.
jdieck
New member
I am not really a fan of pre-set fixed delivery pressure regulators but it will work and if you have kids around less chance for them to re-set your regulator :>D
Why to replace the controller? That is quite an expense.
Once you setup the new regulator and controller and you have the alkalinity under control try adjusting the bubble rate so the solenoid does not open and closes too often to extend it's life.
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edandsandy
Active member
Well I wish I waited to order the regulator now :crazy1:
When we were cleaning the tank the other day, water accidentally got on the controllers led display, and the bottom part of the middle number is not displaying properly, so we were concerned that it is just a matter of time before the salt creep would take the controller out...
On the 17th we removed some of the media, to the line on the GEO label
Adjusted the probe as per your instructions. And adjusted the effluent to 40 ml/min. BPM still 79
Tank readings on the 18th
Tank PH 8.06
Calcium 490
dKH 9.3 ALK 3.30
Today's reading
Tank PH 7.84
calcium 480
dKH 8.9
ALK 3.19
edandsandy
Active member
Oh, Im sorry I meant to say baked baking soda :eek1:
I bake mine on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil....
I pray to GOD that the foil is not a problem:uhoh2:
I bake mine on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil....
I pray to GOD that the foil is not a problem:uhoh2:
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jdieck
New member
Probably the foil is not an isue but I would prefer to avoid it.. just in case
who knows what kind of reaction you may get between the CO2 being released in the reaction and the aluminum.
To other things, as you can see the reactors are not adding enough alkalinity to maintain your level, as soon as you stopped dosing it went down again.
What is the PH in the reactor? Did you get the new controller yet?
Try reactor between 6.4 and 6.5 as per the above adjustments but increase the effluent flow to 65 ml/min. and keep monitoring the alkalinity.
BTW, the bubble rate does not say much, it is the PH in the reactor what counts. THe controller should read the PH in the reactor when the switch is in the middle (Read)
