Is pH probe necessary for Calcium reactor?

[Green_Lionfish]

I've been researching on Calcium reactor lately, and it seems like the newer ones come with pH probe slot. Is it necessary?

I have this calcium reactor, Minical calcium reactor by MTC, does not seem to have the slot for the pH probe.

http://www.marinetechnical.com/page13.html

Thanks.

 

[bertoni]

Many people run calcium reactors without pH probes, although apparently they can be useful in diagnosing problems. I haven't run a reactor, so I can't help much more than that.

 

[Green_Lionfish]

Many people run calcium reactors without pH probes, although apparently they can be useful in diagnosing problems. I haven't run a reactor, so I can't help much more than that.

Thanks for your response. At this point, I am just guessing, without the pH probe/monitor, you basically adjusted by the bubble counter.

 

[bertoni]

Yes, that's all there is to it. Sometimes, I think the pH meter in the reactor is more trouble than it's worth. It can be inaccurate, which leads to various types of thrashing. On the other hand, it can detect whether the calcium reactor is too small for the system.

 

[tmz]

I used a ph controller when I ran my calcium reactor but I kept in in the tank water as a safety so it would close off the CO2 when the tank water ph reached a preset low point , such as 8.0.
The needle valve//bubble counter and an occasional measure of the effluent ph was all I used to control CO2 flow into the reactor itself. It was very consistent that way without requiring adjustments once the flow and bubble counter was set as long as I didn't run out of CO2 in the bottle or mediain the reactor.
It never shut the solenoid down over several years of use. I took what the reactor gave me comfortably and didn't try to push more out of it in terms of alk and calcium but for my large system I also dosed limewater.

Machine gun stops and starts with probes in the reactors can wear out a solenoid and cause other issues per several reports . Inaccuracy in the probes as noted may also cause issues. Some report success with them in the reactors though. Each his own.

 

[Green_Lionfish]

Yes, that's all there is to it. Sometimes, I think the pH meter in the reactor is more trouble than it's worth. It can be inaccurate, which leads to various types of thrashing. On the other hand, it can detect whether the calcium reactor is too small for the system.

Oh, I need to find out how that ph can actually detect if the system is too small or not.

I used a ph controller when I ran my calcium reactor but I kept in in the tank water as a safety so it would close off the CO2 when the tank water ph reached a preset low point , such as 8.0.
The needle valve//bubble counter and an occasional measure of the effluent ph was all I used to control CO2 flow into the reactor itself. It was very consistent that way without requiring adjustments once the flow and bubble counter was set as long as I didn't run out of CO2 in the bottle or mediain the reactor.
It never shut the solenoid down over several years of use. I took what the reactor gave me comfortably and didn't try to push more out of it in terms of alk and calcium but for my large system I also dosed limewater.

Machine gun stops and starts with probes in the reactors can wear out a solenoid and cause other issues per several reports . Inaccuracy in the probes as noted may also cause issues. Some report success with them in the reactors though. Each his own.

Thanks for the info Tom. That's where my confusion is. I am about to get APEX controller. It has the pH probe for the tank. And there is another slot if you want to use it with Calcium Reactor. I was thinking that the pH probe is needed in the tank or sump, would be sufficient.

Btw, you mentioned, "You used to." Does it mean you don't have Calcium reactor anymore?

 

[tmz]

I have it but don't use it. haven't in about 4 or 5 years. I like kalkwasser better with a little extra from two part dosing.

I'm not familiar with the apex. Most applications for ph with reactors are via controllers, ie a probe a meter and a solenoid switch.

 

[Green_Lionfish]

Ok, let me clear what my confusion is. :spin2: Please correct me if I am wrong.

My knowledge of CO2, based on my planted tank. CO2 tank comes with regulator, solenoid, pH meter, Bubble counter, Needle valve, etc. The pH meter will let the solenoid knows whether the pH is too high or too low. This will trigger the solenoid to shut off.

Now, the calcium reactor. Basically you run the CO2 via the reactor by adjusting the bubbles from the CO2 tank. If the pH is too high or too low, then it will shut off the solenoid, hence there is no CO2 coming in the reactor.

Now, the APEX does the same thing. It will monitor the pH using the probe. If the pH is too high, or too low, it will shut off whatever that's affecting pH.

What's confusing me is that I have seen people have the pH probe in both the tank and in the calcium reactor. :uhoh3: It does make sense that you need it, in the tank. But the new reactor actually comes with the slot for pH probe as if it's needed to be in there.

 

[Dave & Monica]

Just know the tenant of the Calc reactor is to set and forget. The Apex PH probes need calibration often (every few months). I just recalibrated both of my PH probes and they were off by .5 (After only 3 months) -- So I thought my ph was at 8.2, but it's more like 7.8.

I never set up a calc reactor, but have one that I use still as a sulfur denitrator. I have the second ph probe in my sump, because I was thinking of using the Calc reactor and did all the research. I found this to be the best write up on how to set one up. No offense to anyone else who wrote something, this one simply addressed all the questions/doubts I had.

http://reef.diesyst.com/crarticle/crarticle.htm

 

[bertoni]

If the pH in the reactor chamber is very low, and the tank's alkalinity is still dropping, that's a good sign that the reactor is too small. The idea of running a probe in the reactor is to allow you to control the pH there, and check that it's not dropping too low. A very low pH can turn the media into sludge.

The goal of running a pH probe in the tank is to turn off the reactor if the pH drops too low, as Tom stated.

I suspect lots of people run without a probe in the tank and without a probe in the chamber.

 

[tmz]

The J. Dieck article lined in post # 9 posted is an excellent comprehisive summary for anyone setting u a calcimractor. . We miss his contributions to this forum.