Korallin Calcium Reactor

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14455166#post14455166 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Haksar
Hey Jdieck,

My reactor has been behaving quite steady last few days with setting of ph 6.8-7.0.Alk is 9.So far so good.

After yesterdays WC my ph did not go down below 6.9 and later climbed back to 7.0.It has been the same all day and now I increased the BPM to 22 as before.Since then the controller has switched off.I think it could be the BPM playing funny after few days of controller being off.Since the last four hours the controller has been off so I am assuming everything is back to normal.

By controller OFF you mean no CO2?
If by controller has been off you man the oposite, that the CO2 is always on just keep in mind that although optimal, when operating in that mode the PH of the reactor will change a little bit as the PH of the input water PH changes troughout the day.
See, because in this case there is no excess CO2 to take care of the increase of PH when lights ON then the reactor PH will slightly increase and the oposite will be true during lights off. That is normal.

 

[ojafri]

Thanks Jdieck...let me make the adjustments tomorrow after taking the reading of the adjustment that I made today. As of now the effluent pH is holding at 6.5, co2 BPM at 16 and the effluent at 5.5ml. If I take this ratio then my Co2 bubles will be around 116....doesn't seem right !! Should I start at say 20 Bubbles and 40ml ??

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14455949#post14455949 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ojafri
Thanks Jdieck...let me make the adjustments tomorrow after taking the reading of the adjustment that I made today. As of now the effluent pH is holding at 6.5, co2 BPM at 16 and the effluent at 5.5ml. If I take this ratio then my Co2 bubles will be around 116....doesn't seem right !! Should I start at say 20 Bubbles and 40ml ??

No, at an effluent of 40 ml/min your bubble rate will be in the range of 25 to 35 bpm to achieve the 6.6 PH

 

[ojafri]

Perfect and thanks for your help in advance...Let me try this and will report back !!

 

[jdieck]

:thumbsup:

 

[ojafri]

Hi jdieck:

I did the adjustments.....C02 @ 28BPM, Effluent @ 40ml/min. After almost 7 hrs of operation, Effluent dKH is 16 and Effluent pH 6.7.

Before I did the adjustments C02 BPM 16, Effluent BPM 5.5ml/min, Effluent dKH 39 and Effluent pH 6.5

Should I do some adjustments again or wait for 24 hrs and then try again....If it stays the way it is now...any recommendations on the settings ?

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14461431#post14461431 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ojafri
Hi jdieck:

I did the adjustments.....C02 @ 28BPM, Effluent @ 40ml/min. After almost 7 hrs of operation, Effluent dKH is 16 and Effluent pH 6.7.

Before I did the adjustments C02 BPM 16, Effluent BPM 5.5ml/min, Effluent dKH 39 and Effluent pH 6.5

Should I do some adjustments again or wait for 24 hrs and then try again....If it stays the way it is now...any recommendations on the settings ?

Leave it as is, if the alkalinity drops and the effluent dKh does not drop then increase the bubble rate to 35 (So the PH drops to around 6.5-6.6) and wait another 24 hours.

 

[ojafri]

Thanks jdieck, will do but doesnt the effluent dKH have to be above 25 ?

 

[Haksar]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14455701#post14455701 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
By controller OFF you mean no CO2?
If by controller has been off you man the oposite, that the CO2 is always on just keep in mind that although optimal, when operating in that mode the PH of the reactor will change a little bit as the PH of the input water PH changes troughout the day.
See, because in this case there is no excess CO2 to take care of the increase of PH when lights ON then the reactor PH will slightly increase and the oposite will be true during lights off. That is normal.

Controller OFF meaning no Co2 after the set level in this case 6.7 bcos setting is 6.8-7.0.
Since the BPM increased to 22 my controller has been OFF no Co2.I have been following a three day light outage method to tackle diatoms.May be due to this reason and no ph fluctuation the controller is off.Which is good in my case I can save some Co2.

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14461572#post14461572 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ojafri
Thanks jdieck, will do but doesnt the effluent dKH have to be above 25 ?

No and Yes

Why not? In reality when adjusting the reactor what counts is the total alkalinity added over a period of time.
Say your tank alkalinity is at 8 and you were adding 5.5 ml of effluent at 39 dKh so you were adding 31 dKh. (=39-8)
In the second case you are adding 40 ml/min or 7.3 times more effluent (=40/5.5) but with incremental alkalinity of only 8 dKh (=16-8) the overall ratio will be that in the second case you are adding 88% more alkalinity (=(7.3 x 8)/31 -1) x 100) despite the lower incremental alkalinity of the addition.

Why yes? Although you can achieve the same level of alkalinity addition using higher effluent with less alkaliity (high PH) or using lower effluent with more alkalinity (low PH) it seems that the higher the alkalinity in the effluent (low effluent) there is less PH lowering effect in the main tank than with higher effluent but there are other things to consider too...

A higher effluent rate is more stable and you get a more stable reactor operation. I usually recommend to start adjustments with an effluent higher than 30 ml/min or higher for this mere reason but all reactor installations behave differently to stability and some can be stable with as low as 10 ml/min.

At higher effluent, it takes longer for the reactor PH to reach its lower point and it's alkalinity content can keep on increasing for up to 24 hours, this is why I asked you to wait 24 hours before changing the setting. This will help you (and me get more familiar to how your installation is reacting so the next adjustment can be easier and closer to the needs.

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14462847#post14462847 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Haksar
Controller OFF meaning no Co2 after the set level in this case 6.7 bcos setting is 6.8-7.0.
Since the BPM increased to 22 my controller has been OFF no Co2.I have been following a three day light outage method to tackle diatoms.May be due to this reason and no ph fluctuation the controller is off.Which is good in my case I can save some Co2.

Then if your main tank alkalinity is being maintained you may reduce your bubble rate, if is not and it drops then you need to lower the controller set point.
OT: Are you using Reef Crystals, IO or Red Sea salt by any chance? I have been fighting some diatoms myself and trying to find the source of silicates. I have found some in those salts although not enough to be of any problem or enough to cause a bloom.

 

[ojafri]

Hi jdieck:

24 hours into operation and here are the results....

C02 stable @ 28BPM, Effluent @ 40ml/min. Effluent dKH is 15 (dropped by 1 dkh from 16) and Effluent pH 6.7 though in the morning it was 6.6.

Tank Kh stable at 10 and pH 8.17.

Waiting for your recommendations.....

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14469857#post14469857 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ojafri
Hi jdieck:

24 hours into operation and here are the results....

C02 stable @ 28BPM, Effluent @ 40ml/min. Effluent dKH is 15 (dropped by 1 dkh from 16) and Effluent pH 6.7 though in the morning it was 6.6.

Tank Kh stable at 10 and pH 8.17.

Waiting for your recommendations.....

OK, if your tank alkalinity is stable (10 dKh) lets reduce the effluent rate to 30 ml/min and keep the same bubble rate, if you are using a controller keep the high (Turn On Co2) setting at 6.6.

 

[ojafri]

Should I do it now or wait another 24 hrs ??

Also the controller I have is the Miwaukee SMS 122. I have set the cutoff at 6.5 should I make it 6.6 ??

 

[Haksar]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14464956#post14464956 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
Then if your main tank alkalinity is being maintained you may reduce your bubble rate, if is not and it drops then you need to lower the controller set point.
OT: Are you using Reef Crystals, IO or Red Sea salt by any chance? I have been fighting some diatoms myself and trying to find the source of silicates. I have found some in those salts although not enough to be of any problem or enough to cause a bloom.

My controller is still OFF and today is the 03rd day of my light outage.Alk is 10.So I will leave ;ike this for tomorrow once lights on and see to reduce the bubble rate or reduce the setting.I am using Sea Salt the german brand.Earlier I was using IO but a lot of peolple suggested Sera and so far so good.I need to change my cartridges of my RO/DI.Its almost a year.May be this cud be the reason for my diatoms and GHA.
Thanks Mate.

 

[ojafri]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14470413#post14470413 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
OK, if your tank alkalinity is stable (10 dKh) lets reduce the effluent rate to 30 ml/min and keep the same bubble rate, if you are using a controller keep the high (Turn On Co2) setting at 6.6.

Alrighty, made the recommended change...will report back the result in next 24 hrs !!

 

[chillncm]

I recently bought C1502 reactor and Co2 with bubble counter. I am quite confused how to connect them together. I notice that c1502 has its own bubble counter and Co2 with its own bubble counter as well. My question is that how does that works? how to connect them together? what kind of liquid do I need to put in the CO2 bubble counter? thanks

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14474204#post14474204 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chillncm
I recently bought C1502 reactor and Co2 with bubble counter. I am quite confused how to connect them together. I notice that c1502 has its own bubble counter and Co2 with its own bubble counter as well. My question is that how does that works? how to connect them together? what kind of liquid do I need to put in the CO2 bubble counter? thanks

In the regulator counter use just RO/DI water, the reactor counter usually fills itself with tank water.
Conect the output of the regulator bubble counter directly to the reactor's check valve (bronze part with blue connector).
Both bubble rate counters will be connected in series and both will be bubbling, slect one of them for your adjustments and ignore the other.

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14472666#post14472666 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ojafri
Alrighty, made the recommended change...will report back the result in next 24 hrs !!

Looking forward to the result.

 

[chillncm]

Thank you, jdieck