Getting a reactor ... what media to use?

[ostrow]

What do you use in your calcium reactor?

Anyone want to come to Oak Park to help me set it up Tuesday night after the kids are in bed (8:30)?

 

[aiko670]

No easy answer there Joel....

ARM is nice because you don't need to run the PH really low to dissolve the media but it gums up in the bottom and clogs...

Koralin is great because it doesn't clog and supplies a lot of CA and other trace but it's very dense and needs a lower ph to dissolve. I think I've also heard that it leaches some phosphates although minimal.

I've been using ARM and have been pretty happy with it, I'm afraid to drop the ph of my effluent any lower than it is already.

Good luck!
Adam

 

[ostrow]

I don't care about effluent pH as I drip kalk 24/7 for all topoff. Maybe I'll go koralin.

 

[jeemann99]

I use A.R.M, crushed sea shells, and dolomite in my reactor. LOVE IT

 

[aiko670]

I do all my topoff with KALK from a reactor and I still have PH issues... I think maybe I need to slow the drip down so it's more consistant

 

[BreadmanMike]

Get some dolomite from Menard and use Schuran or Gen-X media.

 

[aiko670]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9452378#post9452378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aquaticman74
Get some dolomite from Menard and use Schuran or Gen-X media.

My bad, I meant Schuran!!!!

 

[ostrow]

Menard is hard to get a hold of these days. Left him a voicemail. His email is dead.

So Schuran and Gen-X are better than the Koralith or ARM then, in terms of clogging up?

 

[TheGrog]

I use Knop KORALlith media and have gotten good Ca levels with no meltdown like ARM. Best of both worlds IMO. Costs a little more, but worth it.

 

[BreadmanMike]

The Schuran and Gen-x media is big pieces of coral skeleton. It's not supposed to mush up and clog lines.

If you want I'll pm Menard to call you. He's been answering pm's.

 

[ostrow]

Would be much obliged.

 

[mhurley]

Good luck Joel....Crossing my fingers for ya.

 

[BreadmanMike]

Sent him a pm Joel. If he doesn't get back to you, I can probably spare some dolomite.LMK...

 

[ostrow]

Crud I was just down your way when I drove to get the reactor (used). Oh well. I still haven't heard from him.

Mike: why the ominous tone? Do you foretell a screw-up on my part?

 

[mhurley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9457854#post9457854 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ostrow
Dr. Good Luck Himself

Oh and my personal preference when I was using a reactor was ultimately Gen-X/Schuran type media. I used ARM and Koralith as well but once I tried Gen-X, I stuck with it. The media didn't turn to goo in my reactor and when I started using Dolomite, it allowed me to drop the pH lower to a point I needed to do dissolve the dolomite, but not make mud out of the calcium media. Plus it's a lot easier to work with from a manual handling standpoint....big chunks instead of tiny pebbles of stuff. Everytime I used to fill my reactor with ARM, I'd be a bunch of tiny pieces stuck in the threads or o-ring seals.

 

[BreadmanMike]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9457854#post9457854 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ostrow
Crud I was just down your way when I drove to get the reactor (used). Oh well. I still haven't heard from him.

Mike: why the ominous tone? Do you foretell a screw-up on my part?

No, no ominous tone. I see no screw-up.

If you know the cafeteria people where you teach, I can get it to you easily. The place I work for delivers the bread there.

 

[ostrow]

Seriously! Well, I'll be there tomorrow all day and could go in. Leave the name "Dr. Ostrow" .... not "Dr. Good Luck Himself" .... and I'll owe you bigtime! But if not no biggie. Plan to set it up tomorrow though.

Cheers!

 

[ostrow]

Gex-X it is!

 

[BreadmanMike]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9458024#post9458024 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ostrow
Seriously! Well, I'll be there tomorrow all day and could go in. Leave the name "Dr. Ostrow" .... not "Dr. Good Luck Himself" .... and I'll owe you bigtime! But if not no biggie. Plan to set it up tomorrow though.

Cheers!

Joel,

I can get it to you on Wednesday. I pull out of Hammond IN. I'll have to send it on a truck to Chicago (where the Naperville route pulls out of).

It's no real big deal though. Just open the reactor up, pull some media out, and toss a few pieces of dolomite in. You want to put them in the main chamber if it's a dual stage.

 

[ostrow]

terrific! thanks