how to keep up -Reactors

[clown2be]

I have extreme growth and a lot more SPS corals than I've had in the past. I use a Korraline 1502 reactor at 50-60 BPM and have the output pouring out like my top off from my RO/DI unit. I seem to still be adding Calcium and Alk buffers to my tank every 3 to 5 days. This sucks. If I miss checking Cal. and Alk for a week things are way off. Cal 360 and Dkh 6.9 and corals are starting to have STN.

Do I need another reactor? How are you guys keeping up with the demands for Cal. and DKH in your large SPS tanks. :mad2:

 

[Freed]

You need to check the alk, pH and calcium of the effluent coming out of the reactor. You definitely need to slow the effluent drip rate down that is coming out of it. Probably 30-40 ml per minute would be max coming out of it but you will only know if you test the pH, the alk and the calcium of the effluent. pH should be about 6.4-6.8ppm, alk should be 20+ and calcium you may not be able to check but it would be very high. Sounds like your effluent is coming out way too fast. Have you tested your effluent water coming out of the reactor?

 

[clown2be]

o.k. I had it at 30-40 for many weeks and just up it to 60 BPH. sorry about that. And no I don't test the effluent coming out. My bad. So you are telling me if I dial in my 1502 reactor it should be efficient at keep up the demand of a tank my size with the corals I have?

 

[Freed]

Yes, if it is the sufficient size reactor. I don't know which reactor you have and what size tank it should work up to but it really shouldn't matter if you have it dialed in right.

 

[jjjimmy]

If you have your effluent running to fast, you are not giving the lower Ph water time to react with and dissolve the media. If you are not dissolving the media, you are not releasing any calcium to your system.