Korallin Calcium Reactor

Hello,

I've read a lot of this thread and still haven't put a dent into the majority of it. Good info here...

I just bought the 1502 package with tank and Gen-X deluxe regulator and am in the process of setting it up.

I have a problem related to the regulator and gauges and hope that I can express the problem clearly.

Summary: The minimum outgoing pressure that I can get on my 2nd gauge is 40psi.

Here's a pic before turning on any knobs:

103647Regulator1.jpg


In order from there I:
1) Turn off all valves & make sure the solenoid is unplugged
2) Open up the black regulator knob but keep the orange knob on the green tube turned off.
3) Open up the tank's cylinder knob
4) Plug in the solenoid

At this point, the gauges look like this:

103647Regulator2.jpg


Pressure on the gauge on the right is reading 900psi which sounds correct. Pressure on the Left gauge is reading 40psi, too high since I'm shooting for 10psi.

So, here's what I do next:

1) Close the black knob on the regulator
2) Open up the orange valve on the green line
3) SLOWLY open up the black valve on the regulator a little bit until I see some bubbles.

Unfortunately the psi on the (left-side) gauge still reads 40 no matter if I have the regulator valve all the way off or partially on.

Am I doing something out of order?

I know that I need to use a needle valve instead of the orange valve on the green tubing but this issue precedes that.

How do I get the left side valve down to 10psi so that I can control my bubble rate more accurately?

Thanks for your advice!

Mark
 
As far as it seems the Gen-X is a fixed pressure regulator (more often called Flow regulator) so 40 psi is what you will get. The black big knob is the needle valve (very convinient as the big knob makes it easy for fine adjustments), use it to adjust your bubble rate. Keep the red one fully open.
Enjoy!
 
Quick question- my 1502 is hooked to a ph contoller as stated before, the efluent ph bounces between 6.50-6.59. Is it O.K. to run the reactor with the ph bouncing around like this or should I take it off the controller and get a more steady #. I set the Hi end to 6.61 and the low end to 6.39. This is the closest Hi-Low ratio that the controller can bet set(.21 gap between Hi-Low) Also if this is the correct way to use the controller how fast should I have the bpm set. I have it set at a rate of 60bpm. Should this cycle at a fast rate or should it cycle at a slower rate.Is there any reason not to increase the bubble rate to bring the ph down rapidly then let it slowly raise. Or is it better to let it lower the ph over a period of time at a slower rate.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7000132#post7000132 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tybox
Quick question- my 1502 is hooked to a ph controller as stated before, the effluent ph bounces between 6.50-6.59. Is it O.K. to run the reactor with the ph bouncing around like this or should I take it off the controller and get a more steady #. I set the Hi end to 6.61 and the low end to 6.39. This is the closest Hi-Low ratio that the controller can bet set(.21 gap between Hi-Low) Also if this is the correct way to use the controller how fast should I have the bpm set. I have it set at a rate of 60bpm. Should this cycle at a fast rate or should it cycle at a slower rate.Is there any reason not to increase the bubble rate to bring the ph down rapidly then let it slowly raise. Or is it better to let it lower the ph over a period of time at a slower rate.
Click to expand...

By your description of the operation I assume you have the Pin Point PH controller. Note that although the difference between high and low is 0.2 it will actually turn on half way.
Say you have a set range from 6.4 to 6.6, the plug on the top left (Seeing the controller from the front) will turn OFF at low PH ( 6.5) and OFF at high PH ( 6.6) This is the one you use for the Calcium Reactor. The plug on the top right operates the opposite, it will Turn ON at low PH 6.4 and turn on OFF at high PH (6.5) and it is used for a Kalk reactor to prevent the Kalk addition to rise the PH too much.
So your Calcium reactor turning on the CO2 at 6.5 and off at 6.6 is the right operation.
Now on the frequency of switching, to reduce wear on the controller, Ideally you do not want it to be turning on or off, the idea is to setup your bubble rate to maintain a PH in between 6.5 and 6.6 (The middle of the range) so the controller does not turn on and off constantly. In reality it is difficult to do but try to adjust your bubble rate so the PH drops as slow as possible (In mine it takes about one hour to get from the higher set point to the lowest). Besides reducing the wear on the controller it is also for safety. If the controller fails to close the CO2 the PH will not continue dropping indefinitely if the bubble rate is set to keep it within the range. If you set your bubble rate to lower the PH very fast you need to use excess CO2 and if the controller fails to cut it off the PH will continue dropping to dangerous levels passing CO2 gas directly to the output.
 
b) Low PH: Usually the tank PH with a Calcium reactor runs low but it does not create large swings and with 9.3 dKH is not bad.
Click to expand...

I am having a problem with my reactor and I thought it would be best to chime in here and see what folks think. I have tried the usual methods for increasing pH such as aeration, kalk, etc with no luck. My pH doesnt get above 7.9 and its getting frustrating.

My reactor is current running with a CO2 bubble rate of about 12/minute and my effluent is about 38ml per minute. My alk and calc are fine at 10.8 and 440, with little fluctuation over the last couple of weeks.

However, my effluent pH is 7.0 and my effluent alk is 14dkh. Does this have something to do with my pH problem? Any thoughts or help would be great.
 
drock59.

At that relatively low bubble rate and effluent and maintaining an alkalinity of 10.8 dKH the effect of the Ca reactor shall be about 0.05 to 0.1 drop in the PH and you shall be able to run the tank at 8.1 or above without a problem.

If you have tried the aeration just insure that when you did you used fresh air and not just the inside of the house air. If you did the test inside, try aerating it with a stone and pump outside to a sample of a couple of cups of aquarium water, test the PH before an after and wee what you get.
Also insure that the testing of the PH is correct, chemical tests are not that accurate and if you are using a PH monitor insure that is properly calibrated.

Also if you are using a skimmer try dripping the effluent near the inlet and to hose fresh air from the outside for the skimmer's air suction.
 
How are you measuring the PH of the tank and the effluent?

Try reducing the effluent to 25 ml/min without changing the bubble rate. The PH in the reactor shall drop and the effluent alkalinity will increase compensating for the effluent drop but because the saturation of the effluent increases in total you will be adding less CO2 to the system as more of it will be used to dissolve additional media but you will be adding fairly the same amount of Alkalinity. The effluent alkalinity shall increase to above 20 dKH
If you are not using ARM try it is easier to dissolve than other media so that may also allow for less CO2 addition.
See if that helps.
 
Two freshly calibrated pH probes.


Ill try that, it makes sense, i just hadnt thought about it. :)

Im trying not to fiddle too much as things are doing well besides the pH. Id like to see pH up a bit to increase the rate at which my corals lay down new calcium.
 
ive dropped the effluent to 22ml/minute. We shall see if that helps tomorrow.

I am not too worried about alk as it should balance out but I will certainly test like a mad man.
 
forgot to mention i have a pH controller on the reactor that keeps the pH at 7.0. How low should i set it? 6.9? 6.7?
 
Try 6.7 and after 24 hours test the tank and the effluent Alkalinity
to keep the same addition of 38 ml/min at 14 dKh with at 25 ml/min you are targeting 21 dKh in the effluent.
 
jdieck

I am trying to raise the PH in my tank and have ordered a second canster for my CR. 2 weeks waiting time. In the mean time I have taken a plastic coke bottle and drilled small holes in the top, cut the buttom off, turned it upside down and filled it with arm. I have it hanging above my skimmer with the effluent dripping into it and then the bottle dripping into the skimmer intake area. Do you think this will help raise my PH for the time being?

Thanks
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7110505#post7110505 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mikeatjac
jdieck

I am trying to raise the PH in my tank and have ordered a second canster for my CR. 2 weeks waiting time. In the mean time I have taken a plastic coke bottle and drilled small holes in the top, cut the buttom off, turned it upside down and filled it with arm. I have it hanging above my skimmer with the effluent dripping into it and then the bottle dripping into the skimmer intake area. Do you think this will help raise my PH for the time being?

Thanks
Click to expand...
If the effluent is not fully saturated it might help in degassing the effluent and in dissolving additional media if there is excess CO2/Carbonic Acid supporting higher effluent PH.
 
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