Korallin Calcium Reactor

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11663180#post11663180 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishfanatic06
Also should I worry about having the co2 tank in my room where I sleep? Is it toxic if a 5lb co2 tank leaks?
Thanks!
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CO2 is not toxic but can cause asphixia by displacing the air you breathe.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11663122#post11663122 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishfanatic06
psi is now at 10
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Do you still have CO2 in the cylinder? If the presure in the cylinder (Gauge closer to the cylinder valve) is below 800 psi the cylinder is empty.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11662729#post11662729 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishfanatic06
I also noticed my psi dropped off from 15 to 12.5 today. Also the ph of my reactor is 6.9 with 10 bubbles a minute and 40 drops a minute. Any advice?
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If the cylinder has product (Pressure between 800 and 1000 psi) then the regulator is having trouble regulating the low pressure side. Increasing the pressure to 25 psi might help but many single stage regulators will be fluctuating up and down as the regulator closes and opens.
Again there are two things you are looking for, alkalinity addition that matches the tank consumption and stability of the set points.

Effluent flow is more stable at 25 ml/min or more, try using a small measuring cup (you can get one at the pharmacy) and a stop watch to measure the volume of effluent accumulated in one minute.

Once you have a stable effluent you can adjust the CO2 bubble rate, with constant effluent adding more CO2 will drop the PH more and will increase the amount of alkalinity added, start with a CO2 enough to give 6.9 PH in the effluent. Measure your tank alkalinity and wait 24 hours and measure again. If the alkalinity of the tank dropped then increase the CO2 and repeat the measurements until the alkalinity in the tank no longer drops between measurements. That is where you want to be.
If at this point the alkalinity is too low then add some baking soda to bring it up and the reactor will keep it there.
 
Okay here is the scoop. When I was installing it yesterday i forgot to put the pinch valve on the 1/4 inch output dead center on top of the reactor. So there was a constant, fast stream of water moving out of the water. That is also why the ph in the reactor was almost 7. Could this also be why the psi dropped? I fixed the problem, and now the ph in the reactor and everything else is starting to stabilize. I also took your advice and decided to feed the reactor with a pump. The cylinder is still full. I just want to know if the 5lb tank were to leak would it be lethal?
Thanks!
 
If the total 5 pounds get suddenly released that will be enough to create 41 cubic feet of CO2 gas in the room, that is enough to reduce the Oxygen level in a 10'x10'x7' room from normal 20.8% to about 15% enough to loose conciousness. As CO2 is heavier than air that concentration will be a lot lower on the bottom half of the room and certainly could be fatal.
If possible locate the cylinder outside of the room and hose line the gas in.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11664827#post11664827 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishfanatic06
Okay here is the scoop. When I was installing it yesterday i forgot to put the pinch valve on the 1/4 inch output dead center on top of the reactor. So there was a constant, fast stream of water moving out of the water. Could this also be why the psi dropped?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
No, I doubt the effluent fully open will be able to drop the pressure by 5 psi unless the regulator is so unsensitive that it did not detected a drop of 5 psi without compenstaing for it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11665184#post11665184 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishfanatic06
So now what do I do? If my door is open should that vent out any co2?
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Yes, keep the door open or even better place the cylinder outside the room and hose the gas in.
 
the co2 tank is 6 feet from the door. Its not really possible to "hose" it in. I can turn on the fan in my room too. Would that help?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11665258#post11665258 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishfanatic06
the co2 tank is 6 feet from the door. Its not really possible to "hose" it in. I can turn on the fan in my room too. Would that help?
Click to expand...
The good news is that the gas can be hosed from very far away. (basement, garage etc) without loosing anything or creating a presure drop as the flow is slow.
 
Some guy was telling me that any room with normal ventilation could handle a catastrophic incident where a 10lb co2 tank completely unloaded. He also said if there is a leak it will probably be small, and will not cause any ill-effects and if there was a large leak it would be loud enough to wake the dead. It would be tough to run a line of co2 from the second floor of a house to the basement or garage without making it unsightly.
Do you think leaving my door open and turning on a fan would work to prevent co2 poisoning?
 
Hi I have a c 4002 & my tank sump& refugium total 350gals, I have read alot of posts to this thread,but most of them are with the 1502 model. I get the concept of increasing effluent& increasing co2 what should my effluent be at in your opinion ,Right now i am at 20bpm&30mil per min. my ph is 8.45day &8.32at night cal is at 390& alk is at 7. If i increase co2& effluent will my ph go to high.I use a Milwaukee controller on reactor its at 6.7 & another for tank showed readings.any help would be great. Thanks
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11665513#post11665513 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishfanatic06
Some guy was telling me that any room with normal ventilation could handle a catastrophic incident where a 10lb co2 tank completely unloaded. He also said if there is a leak it will probably be small, and will not cause any ill-effects and if there was a large leak it would be loud enough to wake the dead. It would be tough to run a line of co2 from the second floor of a house to the basement or garage without making it unsightly.
Do you think leaving my door open and turning on a fan would work to prevent co2 poisoning?
Click to expand...
Yes good ventillation will help a lot. The probability of heaving a total release is low. Keep the cylinder tied vertically so it does not fall and break the valve.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11665645#post11665645 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by paveking1
Hi I have a c 4002 & my tank sump& refugium total 350gals, I have read alot of posts to this thread,but most of them are with the 1502 model. I get the concept of increasing effluent& increasing co2 what should my effluent be at in your opinion ,Right now i am at 20bpm&30mil per min. my ph is 8.45day &8.32at night cal is at 390& alk is at 7. If i increase co2& effluent will my ph go to high.I use a Milwaukee controller on reactor its at 6.7 & another for tank showed readings.any help would be great. Thanks
Click to expand...
If your tank alkalinity is maintained at 7 without the need to keep making adjustments or having to add other supplements then your set up is OK regardless of the effluent flow or effluent alkalinity.
Even when your numbers are low, if they remain the same then the reactor is adding your consumption, the only thing you need is to increase the numbers with one time manual addition and the reactor will tend to keep the new level.

If you keep adding manual supplementation despite the reactor or your alkalinity keeps dropping , then you need to increase the alkalinity that the reactor adds; to do so you have two choices:

1. lower the PH of the effluent without moving the effluent quantity by increasing the CO2 bubble rate (and lowering the set point of the controller)

2. Increase the effluent flow and at the same time increase the CO2 bubble rate to compensate for the added volume (but without changing the controller set point)

Use number 1 above if your effluent PH is higher than 6.5
Use number 2 above if your effluent PH is around 6.5
Use number two without increasing CO2 bubble rate if your PH is below 6.5

Make small adjustments at a time and no more than one every 24 hours, test your tank alkalinity until it is constant.
Do not try to increase alkalinity with the reactor and disregard the calcium readings until the reactor is setup. Once set up adjust your calcium with manual addition of TurboCalcium or calcium chloride and the reactor willl keep it there.
 
Hello JD. That explanation listed above is exactly what I have been looking for. My dkh has been around 7. In 2 days it went down to about 6.4. I did dose a little ALK supplement tonight to bring my dkh back up to the 7 range. I increased my efflunet to 25ml per min and my BPM has been increased to 29. My effluent ph was increased from 6.5 to 6.7 when I did the effluent increase. I did not change my controller setting. I am just trying to maintain a set ALK. Are my readings ok so far? I know you have gone over this with me but I had to step back for a minute. In my absence my dkh was 7-8. My BPM and DPM was lower but in about 2days my dkh would drop. Also I have kalkwasser that I do not use in my top off. I don't have a drip method. I would normally just add the kalk to my top off and it would just add one large dose when adding top off water. Should I use the kalk to help maintain my CA and ALK?
 
You can use your Kalk although I would advise again having the top off add it in bunches. If you get an adjustable dosing pump for your top off that will make posible to add the kalk at a slow pace when the top off requires it.
If your alkalinity in the main is dropping the kalk could make for the difference or you can still increase the CO2 bubble rate and lower the effluent PH back to 6.5 so there is more alkalinity in the effluent.
You can make a manual alkalinity adition to increase it to 9 or 10 which is about the middle of the recommended range of 7 to 11 dKh
 
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