LifeReef Calcium Reactor

Yeah, it doesn't matter but people usually suggests putting it into a high turbulence area or by the skimmer pump intake to aerate it and release extra co2 to help prevent your tank pH from dropping.
 
d2mini, are you using a rio800 pump as your feed pump? if so, it has a 1/2 output and the reactor (at least the one LCR1 i have) has 1/4 input to the reactor. Is yours the same?
 
clugo said:
d2mini, are you using a rio800 pump as your feed pump? if so, it has a 1/2 output and the reactor (at least the one LCR1 i have) has 1/4 input to the reactor. Is yours the same?
Click to expand...

Yes, it came with a 1/4" fitting attached to a piece of 1/2 hose that connects to the rio.
 
clugo said:
How long is ur run from the feed pump to the reactor? Did u dial down the rio?
Click to expand...

About 3-4' across and 2-3' up.
No reason to dial it back.
Effluent flow is controlled via the clamp on the output line.
Don't restrict the flow in to the reactor.
 
So that little pump is pushing water 5-7 ft! Wow. Ok. So where I'm thinking of placing it shouldn't be a problem. About a 3 ft run to the reactor. Thx
 
Yeah, just try it.
If you have too much head pressure for the pump to fill the reactor with tank water, then you can always get a larger pump. But it should be fine.
 
Which is preferred way : 3-4 ft run from feed pump to reactor or a 3-4 ft run from the co2 to the reactor? Is one preferred over the other or does it not matter either way?

Thx and sorry for the dumb questions.
 
d2mini, on your rio800, did you use an adapter it came with to reduce the outlet of the pump from 1/2 to 3/8?

If so, the adapter LR gave you is from 3/8 to 1/4, right?

Im trying to figure this all out. i bought a used LCR1 thats in great shape. I then went and bought a rio 800 from amazon and the adapter Jeff is referring me to does not come with that model. So, I'm a sitting duck right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
clugo said:
Which is preferred way : 3-4 ft run from feed pump to reactor or a 3-4 ft run from the co2 to the reactor? Is one preferred over the other or does it not matter either way?

Thx and sorry for the dumb questions.
Click to expand...
If it doesn't matter to you, i'd run the longer length of co2 line. I keep mine coiled up next to the reactor instead of cutting it short, just in case the check valve lets some water back up into the line. Don't want it getting to the regulator.

clugo said:
d2mini, on your rio800, did you use an adapter it came with to reduce the outlet of the pump from 1/2 to 3/8?

If so, the adapter LR gave you is from 3/8 to 1/4, right?

Im trying to figure this all out. i bought a used LCR1 thats in great shape. I then went and bought a rio 800 from amazon and the adapter Jeff is referring me to does not come with that model. So, I'm a sitting duck right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
I'll have to check when I'm home and let you know. I don't remember what it looked like.
 
UPDATE:

The Aquarium Plants Carbon Doser has been hooked up and running for 48 hours and ROCKS!!!! OMG, what a difference. I have it set to 4 seconds per bubble and it's holding my reactor ph rock solid steady at 6.35 with my effluent rate at 60ml.

This seems to be holding my tank alk steady, or pretty darn close to it. About 8.2 dkh.
Need to keep watching it and see if any minor adjustments need to be made but I think I finally got it all figured out. Maybe now I can stop going through hanna alk reagent like water.

Couple Cliff Notes or things I've learned in the process…

1) Try try try to ignore the bubble count when comparing to OTHER reactors. For whatever reason, this reactor probably creates slightly smaller bubbles than other reactors which may lead you to think you are using a lot more co2 than someone with a different reactor.

2) Standard needle valves suck. Get the AP Carbon Doser. Worth every penny.

3) For whatever reason, my tank has a high demand. I may eventually need another reactor or an extension on this one to hold more media. But for now I think I'm good.

4) ARM seems harder to dissolve. The Reborn dissolves at a higher ph.

That's it for now.
Will updated again after giving it a little time to run at current settings.
 
d2mini, are you happy with the Lifereef reactor? I need to get a CA reactor as well because running 2 part is just ridiculous at this point going through 300-400ml per day. Trying to decide what reactor to get. Seems like the Aquarium Plants regulator though is the way to go with that.
 
With the reborn media and the AP regulator, everything seems to be working great.
In fact i slightly upped my bubbles per second and increased my effluent to raise my ph slightly last night because my tank alk was ever so slowly still climbing. Will have to recheck tonite.

But i have nothing to compare it to since this was my first CaRx.

Effluent dkh still seems to max out for me (when running about 60ml per minute) at about 24 dkh.
 
ken6217 said:
d2mini said:
You started using your reactor almost 2 1/2 months ago and it's still not dialed in. At some point you have to stop blaming yourself for the reason and look at the product.
Ken
Click to expand...

Did you have a bad experience using life reef products? You suggested people buy another brand in the skimmer thread, and now said this. You said you had heard of people having issues with the life reef calcium reactor, what were they?
Click to expand...
 
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