Korallin Calcium Reactor

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8684289#post8684289 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BrokeColoReefer
OK folks, that's the ticket. There is no option to not have a small pump. I have tried this reactor three different ways, one was gravity fed from above, 2 was off the return pump, and 3rd was a mj1200 modded with a JG fitting. Its perfect, perfect drip rate, perfect bubble rate and just a minor leak at the flange because there is no o ring in it.
The troubles I was having with the gravity:
inconsistent bubble rate in the bubble counter
the troubles I was having tapped in the return:
way to much pressure in the reactor, I was seriously afraid it was going to explode and hurt me.
Now for the fun part.
THANK YOU for the help.

I had the same problem with plumbing off the sump return line. It took me a while to figure out how much to close the JG feed valve, but once you do, it'll work no different than the small pump option...just takes a lot of finessing, and help from jdieck

 

[BrokeColoReefer]

My problem was my return pump is a 1500 gph at a 31' head. It was to much pressure, the flow was right. Now im having issues with the bubble counter, the bubbles bubble at the correct rate, but stop eventually. I will play some more this weekend

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8692321#post8692321 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BrokeColoReefer
My problem was my return pump is a 1500 gph at a 31' head. It was to much pressure, the flow was right. Now im having issues with the bubble counter, the bubbles bubble at the correct rate, but stop eventually. I will play some more this weekend

This usually happens when you adjust the pressure regulator knob after you have adjusted the CO2 needle valve.
Try the following. Energize the solenoid valve. Unescrew the regulator pressure adjusting knob and wait for the pressure to go down to zero. Disconnect the CO2 line from the reactor, open the needle valve a full turn or two, slowly adjust the regulator knob increasing the output pressure to read 20 to 25 psi in the ouput gauge, disconnect the solenoid to close the flow, the output gauge reading should stay at around 20 to 25 psi.
Close the needle valve. connect the line back to teh reactor. Energize the solenoid, finally adjust the needle valve for the desired bubble rate.

 

[BrokeColoReefer]

Jd, i will do just that. FWIW, i dont adjust the main valve on the tank after i adjust the needle, the needle seems way to inaccurate for the 10 BPM. Im using a aquamedic regulator..

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8692509#post8692509 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BrokeColoReefer
Jd, i will do just that. FWIW, i dont adjust the main valve on the tank after i adjust the needle, the needle seems way to inaccurate for the 10 BPM. Im using a aquamedic regulator..

Sorry, did not know you were using the Aquamedic (and I should have asked), note that the aquamedic regulator does not have a pressure adjusting knob and it is supposed to operate at a fixed 22 psi outlet pressure so forget my instructions above.
The cylinder (tank) valve shall always be fully open. With the Aquamedic the only possible adjustment will be the needle valve so you are out of luck if the needle valve is not precise enough.
If you continue having that issue before thinking on replacing the needle valve try changing the CO2 check valve.

 

[BrokeColoReefer]

is there another valve i can put in line that is more precise?
is the aquamedic reg a POS?

it almost seems like the unit is building up enough pressure that the co2 cant flow. That doenst seem logical to me.

jd, you knowlede is wonderfull, thanks so much for all your help. As irritating as RC can be, this is the reason i hang out here. 99% of the time there are nice people to help. The other 1% well.... what can you do.

 

[jdieck]

I just ignore them

Anyhow for the CO2 not being able to enter the reactor I doubt it is pressure. At 22 psi it will be so high that the feeding powerhead will not be able to feed any water.
My best guess is that either the check valve or the bubble counter are plugged. It is not uncommon for the check valve to get some salt water and then after evaporating teh salt creep prevents it from properly opening, try testing the flow without it and see if you notice a change.
There are some good precision valves out there I got one from premium that although not super precise it does a decent job.
Unfortunately they do not have it anymore, the one they have now does not look that precise.
Look for a Clippard Needle valve Cat MNV-4K2 or a SwageLok / Nupro BSS-1

 

[BrokeColoReefer]

Well here is where im at. Got home from work and of course the BPM was down to about 3 per minute. Since i was taking the reactor apart i turned the feed pump off, and the BPM instantly skyrocketed. Strange. So i put the T in the line from the feed pump and that seemed to solve it.. sort of. If i get the BPM in the 10 or less range, they eventually stop.

Currently, my reactor PH is 7.68, it hasnt moved since this morning. So i have increased my BPM to around 30, and my drip rate is around 78. the second output is around 5 per minute. We will see what it looks like in the morning.

Tank is doing ok i guess, PH is 8.4, calcium is 400 and ALK is 150 mg/liter. I also have a kalkwasser reactor, i believe that is what is giving me these numbers, not the calcium reactor.

you know, i wonder if its my media, im using aragonite, caribsea flordia crushed coral. It might be to fine.

 

[BrokeColoReefer]

bummer, this morning the bubbles were not flowing again. This piece of equipment is a PITA, i hope it works as well as peple say it does once its dialed in. Reactot PH is still 7.68. The good news is my drips are still consistant, and there is no leaks

 

[jdieck]

It might be the media, too fine of a media will impede resirculation so the recirc pump may have a hard time pushing the water trough, not recirc. flow may impede the CO2 uptaking but I doubt anything other than shutting off the CO2 line could impede gas at 22 psi to go in.

 

[gregr]

I hate to add to your woes but doesn't it seem wierd that the effluent pH stays the same even though the bubble rate dropped and the drip rate was the same? I would think the pH should've gone way up without the CO2.

 

[jdieck]

Broke:

what is the pressure reading on the regulator's inlet gauge? I am assuming you have the cylinder valve fully open right?

When the bubble count drops to a minimum what is the reading on the output gauge?

 

[BrokeColoReefer]

yes, i think its real weird. It actually makes no sense. Its a new PH computer with a freshly calibrated probe, the probe is in the reactor it self. I suppose its possible that there is co2 just sitting in the reator keeping the ph the same.
I will change the media, and see if that helps. I have relieved any and all backpressure points in the imput of the reactor except for the co2.
I agree that 20 PSI is way more then the feed pump is putting in, all im saying is when i turned off the feed and circulation pump, the co2 jumped to about 90 BPM.
I would think that aragonite would work, but maybe not.

 

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8699392#post8699392 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BrokeColoReefer
yes, i think its real weird. It actually makes no sense. Its a new PH computer with a freshly calibrated probe, the probe is in the reactor it self. I suppose its possible that there is co2 just sitting in the reator keeping the ph the same.
I will change the media, and see if that helps. I have relieved any and all backpressure points in the imput of the reactor except for the co2.
I agree that 20 PSI is way more then the feed pump is putting in, all im saying is when i turned off the feed and circulation pump, the co2 jumped to about 90 BPM.
I would think that aragonite would work, but maybe not.

So what is the pressure?
Really the trend is to move towards larger sized media to increase the recirculation. Think of recirculation as evey time the water passes around it goes trough an amount of media equivalent to the height of the chamber, If it goes say two times per minute for the water is equivalent to passing trough a chamber twice as long and if it turns ten times per minute it i equivalent to have it pass trough a chamber 10 times longer so in theory you are increasing the time the acidic water spends in contact with the media thus insuring that you have enough of it dissolved to consume all CO2 and achieve saturation.

 

[SDguy]

OK, time now for another pH problem

I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm not getting the pH/alk ratio that should come from the reactor. Some background:

I'm using the AC Jr. with lab grade pH probe. Probe has been calibrated on more than one occasion. It reads the calibration fluids correctly, and my tank water correctly, at least it seems like a normal pH. But these are the reading I get from the reactor, on various days during this reactor dialing-in process:

11-18-06
pH 5.8
60.2 dKH
38DPM/14BPM

11-23-06
pH 6.1
25.6 dKH
60DPM/16BPM

12-1-06
pH 5.62
63.0 dKH
57DPM/29BPM

12-3-06
pH 5.64
54.4 dKH
71DPM/26BPM

and today:
pH 6.2
18.6 dKH

So clearly the ratio I'm getting is reproducing relatively consistently.

My questions are: 1. Why is my dKH lower than I would expect at a certain pH? 2. How is it that my ARM hasn't turned to mud, when people on RC have said theirs did at pH 6?

TIA for any help.

 

[jdieck]

Nice follow up and tracking but do not forget to add the reading of the tank alkalinity to it, after all that is the ultimate parameter you want to keep constant.

1. Some of your readings seem to be skewed byt suspended solids.
In other words I would doubt any alkalinity measure above 35 dKh. If you get a higher reading the sample has suspended particles of media that will dissolve as you add the tritration acid to the test sample. Thus the alkalinity of those particles dissolving gets added to the actual alkalinity in the water. A normal reading usually ranges from 25 to 35 dKh Below 25 dkH you may need more CO2.

2. Yes you are turning it into mud. First it takes some time to turn it inot mud and second the alk readings indicate media particles in the effluent sample, meaning that the media is desintegrating and the "mud" is being carried by the effluent.

From those readings I would suggest try to maintain the reactor at about 60 dpm and 15 bpm and track the tank alkalinity over a week, see were it takes it. Again try tracking the tank alkalinity trend.

 

[SDguy]

Sorry, I, of course, have the tank alk readings, I just didn't include them in the post

OK, when people say turning to mud, I envisioned a reactor full of sand with channels of water running through it one morning. Thanks for the clarification.

My tanks alk is 10.3 today. Above where I want it. I'll set to your recommendation, and take it from there. Thanks for the help

 

[jdieck]

If the alkalinity keeps on rising just reduce the CO2 bubble rate. Less than 10 bpm is very difficult to maintain so if you need less than that then keep 10 bpm and reduce the effluent.

 

[jdieck]

If the alkalinity keeps on rising just reduce the CO2 bubble rate. Less than 10 bpm is very difficult to maintain so if you need less than that then keep 10 bpm and reduce the effluent.

 

[gregr]

My experience has been that before you see anything mud-like in the chamber the effluent lines begin to clog every couple days. So you get a warning of sorts that it's time to change the media.