I came up with this solution after fighting "endlessly" with my calcium reactor to get it dialed in just right. 550 Gallons of water can be tricky to manage some times and keeping my Calcium and Magnesium stable has been a battle for quite some time. I either had too much flow through the reactor, too much Co2 causing the reactor pump to air lock, or not enough Co2 to actually dissolve the media. All in all it was a royal pain and something needed to be done.
As it turns out, the Profilux can do this, with the addition of one extra 3rd party item (available at many stores that sell RO unit parts *cough*).
Step One: Open your calcium reactors effluent line so it operates unrestricted (wide open). Measure the amount of output in a one minute period (in mL/minute). Open the "Timers" section of your Profilux software and create a timer using "Auto Dosing". Enter the mL that you measured earlier as the flowrate of the pump. Next, set your dosings per day to 24.
Step Two: Calculate your ideal dosing volume based on your reactors performance. Rough calculations are usually enough for this using the guide of 20 drops per mL of water. If your reactor runs best at 2 drops per second, this would yield 2 drops per second x 60 seconds x 60 minutes = 7200 drops Divided by 20 drops per mL = 360mL per Hour (ie: 360mL per dose x 24 doses in a day). Enter this number as your "Rate per dosing"
Step Three (extra hardware required): Install a fluid solenoid on the line that feeds water into the calcium reactor. Plug this solenoid into a socket that the profilux controls and define it as the timer you created earlier.
Step Four (Optional, if you have a Ph probe in your reactor monitored by the profilux): Configure your Ph probe for the ideal Ph to react with your media (typically between 6.1 and 6.5).
So how does this work? What we now have, is the Profilux maintaining a stable Ph in the reactor of Approximately 6.1-6.4. We also have a PRECISE metered dose of Calcium (and possibly magnesium in certain reactors or media) that can be precisely adjusted by increasing your "Rate per dose". No more guesswork!
By allowing the Profilux to dose for a brief period once per hour, this will allow for a much longer contact time of Co2 to Media, allowing it to react more efficiently. This also makes better use of Co2, preventing the loss of some of it to outgassing from the effluent.
Hope this helps someone, it was fun to tinker with!
As it turns out, the Profilux can do this, with the addition of one extra 3rd party item (available at many stores that sell RO unit parts *cough*).
Step One: Open your calcium reactors effluent line so it operates unrestricted (wide open). Measure the amount of output in a one minute period (in mL/minute). Open the "Timers" section of your Profilux software and create a timer using "Auto Dosing". Enter the mL that you measured earlier as the flowrate of the pump. Next, set your dosings per day to 24.
Step Two: Calculate your ideal dosing volume based on your reactors performance. Rough calculations are usually enough for this using the guide of 20 drops per mL of water. If your reactor runs best at 2 drops per second, this would yield 2 drops per second x 60 seconds x 60 minutes = 7200 drops Divided by 20 drops per mL = 360mL per Hour (ie: 360mL per dose x 24 doses in a day). Enter this number as your "Rate per dosing"
Step Three (extra hardware required): Install a fluid solenoid on the line that feeds water into the calcium reactor. Plug this solenoid into a socket that the profilux controls and define it as the timer you created earlier.
Step Four (Optional, if you have a Ph probe in your reactor monitored by the profilux): Configure your Ph probe for the ideal Ph to react with your media (typically between 6.1 and 6.5).
So how does this work? What we now have, is the Profilux maintaining a stable Ph in the reactor of Approximately 6.1-6.4. We also have a PRECISE metered dose of Calcium (and possibly magnesium in certain reactors or media) that can be precisely adjusted by increasing your "Rate per dose". No more guesswork!
By allowing the Profilux to dose for a brief period once per hour, this will allow for a much longer contact time of Co2 to Media, allowing it to react more efficiently. This also makes better use of Co2, preventing the loss of some of it to outgassing from the effluent.
Hope this helps someone, it was fun to tinker with!
