Originally posted by LunarCubes
KC,
Do you think its worth it to invest in a PH controller or even another PH monitor?
No, if you have a monitor allready thats all you need. unless your just to lazy to move the monitor back and forth when you want to read the tank or effluent one is more then plenty, i've got only a single monitor and i've got 7 systems up and going and with everything properly adjusted out, i only check things once a week or so.
So your saying that I only need to monitor the effluent of the reactor while I am setting it up and then after its all calibrated it will stay at the level I set and not fluctuate?
if your reactor/CO2 equipment/feed pump are all in working order, yes. if you have cheap CO2 equip your bubble count will never stay constant so a controller is a wise investment and then do as seeker said set the bubble high but close and let the controller do its thing and hope for the best.
The problem I have now is keeping the bubble and drips constant. I just set up the reactor yesterday so maybe it needs to break in. Also, I was doing around 10 bpm and 44 dpm and my PH stayed steady at ~ 6.70 then a few hours later I checked on it and rates were about the same but PH went down to 6.30. Do you know why that happened? Thanks...
all of the above is your trying to get in to big of a hurry, you cant make adjustments and expect to see the finish results right them, it takes a few hours for everything to settle in at what you just adjusted it out at. be patient, it will save you a ton of frustration. go back and read the setup instructions and it explains it all step by step.
Originally posted by jimsar
I have a hard time achieving this. Right now the controller is set at 6.5. PH goes below this and shuts off the CO2. Any suggestions?
lower the BPM rate, this will keep the pH from dropping to the cut off point but 6.5 is a mid range setting depending on which media your using, if it's ARM then thats to low, if it's a German media, that really to high it should be around 6.0-6.2.
Originally posted by MikeSheridan
Dragon_Slayer can you comment on the size/type of pump that should be used to supply the reactor. I thought I read in here that a pressure releaf or "T" was suggested???
any pump that will provide more input to the reactor then your letting out via the effluent drip. you want the reactor to be pressurized to an extent, but you dont want a 1200gph pump directly connected to the reactor. i use mid sized power heads to feed my reactors with a gate valve to adjust the back pressure that is forced into the reactor feed lines. a T off the return pump will work, but it needs to be as close to the pump as practical or you'll loose any pressure the pump produces.
I could be very confused but I, like everyone else, surely appreciate the time and effort you put into writing specific instructions for the reactor set up.
Thanks, it's the appreciation that makes it all worth the while.
kc
the reason for the required lower pH is due to a more pure form of CaCO3 (has less undesirables in it such as PO4)
