Help with GEO REACTOR?

[gasman059]

Finally i got around to hookin my reactor etc. As i'm trying to hook up my reactor at the ph probe inlet there's some water leak/ anybody with this experince that may help or suggest any diff approach. TY

[/IMG]

 

[gasman059]

TYTAKEN CARE OFF

 

[Rogger Castells]

what was it?

 

[gasman059]

just needed some teflon tape duhhhhh.
Anyways i will be palyin with it this week so wish me luck

 

[jeffbrig]

Good luck! Let us know how it goes...

 

[gasman059]

reacto tunning

reacto tunning

reactor tunning

just hooked my reactor and everything is double checked
the solenoid i s connected to the back of the milwakee ph probe
all is ok-initial parameters were all ok.
Initial starting point-50 ml per minute and bmp 30
the ph at the milwakee probe monitor is set at 6.5(in the dial) the effluent ph at this moment is 7.7 pics
The alarm always on ??
My prevoius experiences have not included a probe.
Any suggestions

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[chrisaggie]

Sounds like you have a good start. One question, if your pH controller is set at 6.5, why is your effluent 7.7? Also, it is different for every tank, but I would guess your effluent rate will need to be much lower than 50mL/min at 6.5 pH with the ARM media.

 

[gasman059]

well chris this is my problem LOL. THE PH READING IS CURRENTLY AT 7.2 at the probe and the dial on the milwakee montior is at 6.7 or so when it gets to 6.7 or so it will shut off the solenoid correct.
The alarm is always on/off .Am i missing something

 

[chrisaggie]

The pH of the effluent should be + or - 0.05 of something similar of what you have the milwakee controller set at. If you have it set at 6.7 then the pH of the effluent should be in the range of 6.65 to 6.75. If the pH is not getting low enough then you need to turn the bubble count up when the controller is on. I would reccomend you set the controller at 6.55 and set your effluent at 20mL/min. After you have done that and it is running well use 2 part to adjust your tank calcium and alkalinity to exactly where you want them. Then over the next few days watch your alkalinity and see if it goes up or down.

Did you just start the CO2 and are waiting for the pH of the effluent to drop?

 

[gasman059]

yes just started the co2 this morning is now at 7.1

 

[chrisaggie]

ah...gotcha, keep us updated

 

[gasman059]

so we r at 7.1 and shut off at 6.5 is it gonna take a while to get there? /remember chris never before i've used a ph probe to dial one of this is LOL
Instant gratification is no good in this hobby ! LOL

 

[chrisaggie]

If the pH does not get down to your set point after a few hours then turn the bubble count on the CO2 up a little.

 

[gasman059]

we r at 7.o now bpm at about 40/min

 

[chrisaggie]

You might try decresing your flow rate to 20-30mL/min. This will help drive the pH down.

 

[Rogger Castells]

Gasman, if the controller is shutting down the solenoide before it reaches 6.5 then you need to turn the setpoint on the controller down a hair, remember the numbers arround the controller set point dial are just reference, you will need to actually calibrate this manually with the milwakee controller.
IMO 50 ml/hr was just find for a start drip, the 30 dpm was also perfect, in actuality the drop rate don't really matter as much when you are using a controller.
Do meassure your alkalinity on the effluent

 

[chrisaggie]

50mL/min at the right pH is enough to support a medium stocked 180g sps tank. It is too high for a 200 gallon tank with a low sps stock. If you do want to run at 50mL/min you can turn the pH a little higher so the effluent alkalinity is not as high.

 

[chrisaggie]

Here is a great article on setting up a calcium reactor. It talks a little bit about flow rate.

 

[Rogger Castells]

I guess I desagree with you Chris, remember he is running this set up with a controller. 50ml/m is actually a conservative drip rate for that tank but a good baseline.
The bubble rate is not as significant at least this is my observation from running a set up with a controler

 

[chrisaggie]

Rogger, it's ok to disagree, but what makes you think 50mL/min is "conservative"? I have many years of calcium reactor experience resulting in steady calcium and alkalinty. If you read articles by the "experts" you will find that they reccomend a starting point far below 50mL/min. I guarantee that if the reactor is set up properly 50mL/min will be way too much for that tank at this point. I think discussion like this is important and helps advance the hobby but we need to back it up with facts or experience. BTW, it makes no difference (in respect to effluent water flow, not CO2) if he is running a controller or not.