LifeReef Calcium Reactor

[ksed]

The issue with fine media is it packs and channels.

 

[ken6217]

That must be brand specific. I only use the fine and have them on two reactors that I have used for years and never had that happen to me.

 

[tkeracer619]

Not fine as in crushed coral (which should never be used) but fine as is ARM fine.

It doesn't channel.

 

[ken6217]

Yes. That what I use.

 

[d2mini]

Recalibrated the probe last night.
Kind of a pain in the butt, this American Marine Pinpoint controller. Seems like you have to leave the probe in the solution for soooo long because it slowly keeps changing and takes forever to stabilize. And then you have to keep going back and forth between the two solutions. It takes forever and I'm still not sure if it's completely accurate or if I just ran out of patience. Luckily I just need to be in the ballpark. My GHL probe calibrations process is so much easier!

Also turned my dosers back on and alk is slowly climbing.
Should be where i want it in another day or two.

 

[ken6217]

You really do not need a ph probe. Your alkalinity is your guide.

You see your bubble rate and test after 12-24 hours. You adjust the amount of bubbles based on your Alk. I would start out at 1 bubble a second.

Once it is stabilized, you should not have to touch the reactor at all.

Besides not needing the ph probe. You have the hassle of calibrating it and keeping it calibrated.
Ken

 

[d2mini]

I need the pH probe as a guide to start off with.
Without, i have no idea if I'm even close to the correct pH to dissolve the media and I'm going in blind. With the probe, i can get close immediately and then fine tune my alk from there.
Once I have more experience with CA reactors, I suppose it won't be as necessary.

 

[ridetheducati]

Dennis - your going the long route.

Stick with adjusting the bubbles. Trying to dialin the reactor with bubbles and the pH monitor is asking for headache.

If alk is dropping, increase bubbles by 8-10 bpm and retest 12-24 hours later. Do not dose alk during this process as it will prolong the process. This is a common mistake by new reactor users. The process is simple if you only count bubbles.

 

[d2mini]

Everything i've read (including others here) say to get your alk stable first and not to use the reactor to correct for alk in the beginning. Mine had fallen right before i got the reactor running, which is why I'm dosing it back up while the media breaks in. Once it's at the correct level again I'll pull the doser offline and see if the reactor causes my alk to raise or lower and begin making adjustments. I got the ph probe mostly just for MONITORING and satisfying my curiosity once things are running stable. It's not controlling anything. I do realize that if Alk drops, I need to increase my bubble count, that's how it works. For whatever reason, I really want to know what it is. I like knowing what my ORP is too, even though we don't really need to know.

By tomorrow I should be able to pull the doser so it's only an extra couple days. Not a big deal.

 

[ken6217]

Dennis, you can use the probe but you are not blind without it. Go with 1 bubble a second and see what your Alk is in 24 hours.

You may think you are doing this blind because you have no prior experience. However experience says start with 1 bubble a second.
Ken

 

[ridetheducati]

Everything i've read (including others here) say to get your alk stable first and not to use the reactor to correct for alk in the beginning. Mine had fallen right before i got the reactor running, which is why I'm dosing it back up while the media breaks in. Once it's at the correct level again I'll pull the doser offline and see if the reactor causes my alk to raise or lower and begin making adjustments. I got the ph probe mostly just for MONITORING and satisfying my curiosity once things are running stable. It's not controlling anything. I do realize that if Alk drops, I need to increase my bubble count, that's how it works. For whatever reason, I really want to know what it is. I like knowing what my ORP is too, even though we don't really need to know.

By tomorrow I should be able to pull the doser so it's only an extra couple days. Not a big deal.

I suppose there is nothing wrong taking the scenic route, you will get there.

For new reactor users that may read this thread, there is a lot of misinformation on the Interwebs including calcium reactor media needing to break in. In addition, there is no need to stablize alk before dialing in the reactor because it will fluctuate during the process. Dial in the reactor and then add sodium carbonate to reach desired levels. The reactor will maintain that desired level. If you overshoot the desired level, turn off CO2 and let alk drop into desired range. Finally, adjust calcium and magnesium if needed.

 

[billwill]

Read these. I'm two weeks into my new calcium reactor setup and friends steered me with these.

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forum...ad.php?t=56499

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/

http://reef.diesyst.com/crarticle/crarticle.htm

 

[d2mini]

Read these. I'm two weeks into my new calcium reactor setup and friends steered me with these.

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forum...ad.php?t=56499

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/sh/feature/

http://reef.diesyst.com/crarticle/crarticle.htm

Yup, i've been using those second two articles as a guide as well as the guide from LifeReef. In fact, i was going to post them and ask if the information provided is wrong.

This morning my Alk is up to 8.624, right where i want it.
Just pulled the doser offline. Will see what happens over the next 12 hours.
No more "scenic route".

Effluent is running at about 70 ml/min and bubble count is about 130 bubbles/min or just over 2 bubbles/sec.

I do have one other question.
I get that increasing C02 (raising the bubble count) will dissolve more media, so this will increase saturation in the effluent and raise your parameters. But why can't you increase the effluent amount? Everyone says to keep the effluent steady and increase bubble count. But according to the articles above and elsewhere, pH needs to be within a certain range to dissolve the media.

 

[dkeller_nc]

I do have one other question.
I get that increasing C02 (raising the bubble count) will dissolve more media, so this will increase saturation in the effluent and raise your parameters. But why can't you increase the effluent amount? Everyone says to keep the effluent steady and increase bubble count. But according to the articles above and elsewhere, pH needs to be within a certain range to dissolve the media.

If you increase the effluent amount, then the pH in your reactor will rise, assuming your CO2 injection rate is constant. So the concentration of calcium and alkalinity in the effluent will fall. If you think about it, this makes sense - the CO2 is the "acid" that dissolves the media, so if you want more C & A, you add more CO2.

By the way, the calibration issues you had with the pinpoint monitor/controller isn't the fault of the controller, it's an issue with the pH probe. Over time, the junction in all pH probes will clog, which leads to slow response and/or calibration drift. You can clean pH probes to an extent - soaking them in dilute hydrochloric acid is probably the easiest thing for the average aquarist to do.

 

[d2mini]

If you increase the effluent amount, then the pH in your reactor will rise, assuming your CO2 injection rate is constant. So the concentration of calcium and alkalinity in the effluent will fall. If you think about it, this makes sense - the CO2 is the "acid" that dissolves the media, so if you want more C & A, you add more CO2.

By the way, the calibration issues you had with the pinpoint monitor/controller isn't the fault of the controller, it's an issue with the pH probe. Over time, the junction in all pH probes will clog, which leads to slow response and/or calibration drift. You can clean pH probes to an extent - soaking them in dilute hydrochloric acid is probably the easiest thing for the average aquarist to do.

hmmm... ok, still trying to wrap my head around that first part. lol

As for the ph probe, the probe and meter are brand new.

 

[billwill]

130 bpm c02 is crazy high! Is your ph controller turning your solenoid on for only a few minutes at a time ? I'm running 85 ml/min and 22 bpm c02. I'm striving to run mine so that the controller is only a backup to shut down the c02, rather than turning on on and off continuously.

 

[ridetheducati]

130 bpm c02 is crazy high! Is your ph controller turning your solenoid on for only a few minutes at a time ? I'm running 85 ml/min and 22 bpm c02. I'm striving to run mine so that the controller is only a backup to shut down the c02, rather than turning on on and off continuously.

+1

Wow, 130 is extremely high for a system (350g) that probably loses 1 dkh per day. Something does not seem right. One possibility is the bubble counter may provide small bubbles instead of tear drop size. Six months from now you going to have problems counting the bubbles as you will be in the 160-180 bpm range.

Start saving for the digital regulator.

 

[ridetheducati]

hmmm... ok, still trying to wrap my head around that first part. lol

As for the ph probe, the probe and meter are brand new.

Assuming 1) the bpm is constant and 2) a controller is not used to control CO2 because what I am about to explain does not apply.

Increasing the effluent rate will cause the reactor pH to go up, for example 6.8 to 6.9; therefore lessening the alk/ca concentration. [low dwell time]

Decreasing the effluent rate will cause the reactor pH to go down, for example 6.8 to 6.6; therefore increasing the alk/ca concentration. [high dwell time]

I know you are not using a controller, but be aware this changes if using a controller.

 

[d2mini]

Ah dwell time! Now it clicked. Thanks!

Yes, i realize that the bubble count was pretty high. Remember, i was trying to get my alk up for the past day. Just as a learning experience I was leaving that setting (after stopping the two-part) for 12 hours to see what happened. But now you all freaked out so I lowered it.
Sorry, i just have a hard time with "do it because I told you so". If i somehow nailed the exact settings from the start and had it running perfectly, I wouldn't know what happens when things are adjusted not quite right and then not know how to make corrections if something went wrong.
So please bear with me. I'm having a blast learning how this stuff works. I do appreciate the tips.

Also realized i had air in lines. I was in too much of a hurry and missed part of the setup instructions. I opened up the effluent line completely and let it flush the air out for 10 minutes. Looks like i'm all clear now.

Will report back after the next test!

 

[billwill]

Cool! I'm a big believer in trial and error for the sake of learning too. Don't take any comments as gospel; just as a reason to review and confirm. Once it clicks, you'll see that it's amazingly simple compared to dosing.