LifeReef Calcium Reactor

[ridetheducati]

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!

We hear ya. Now you will know your equipment inside and out as you should. If I could add one other thing. Although the reactor is capable, it is good practice not to use it to raise levels. To raise alk or calcium, just bump levels with raw material such as sodium (bi)carbonate or calcium chloride. Once desired levels are reached, the reactor will maintain those levels.

I have received a lot of PMs and emails regarding setting up a CaRx, so bear with me as I am using your thread to satisfy those inquiries.

 

[ridetheducati]

It is safe to bump alk 1 dkh per day, but I recommend not exceeding .5 dkh per day if your running an ULNS. One or more dkh swing may trigger a delayed tissue necrosis event.

 

[d2mini]

We hear ya. Now you will know your equipment inside and out as you should. If I could add one other thing. Although the reactor is capable, it is good practice not to use it to raise levels. To raise alk or calcium, just bump levels with raw material such as sodium (bi)carbonate or calcium chloride. Once desired levels are reached, the reactor will maintain those levels.

I have received a lot of PMs and emails regarding setting up a CaRx, so bear with me as I am using your thread to satisfy those inquiries.

Awesome. That's kinda why I made a separate thread for this outside of my build thread. Partially as a journal of sorts for myself but also so it would be easier for others to learn. And Sireall63 or someone else had let me know about not using the reactor to raise the levels the other day, which is why i was getting it back up via the two-part. Now that I've yanked that out of the equation I can focus on dialing in the CaRx.

It is safe to bump alk 1 dkh per day, but I recommend not exceeding .5 dkh per day if your running an ULNS. One or more dkh swing may trigger a delayed tissue necrosis event.

Good to know. My system should be pretty far from ULNS.

 

[sirreal63]

What you want to do is get the alk to hold and not use the reactor to raise the alk. Once the alk is no longer dropping, use baking soda or your two part alk to raise it where you want it, then the reactor should be able to hold it there. Once it is dialed in it will only take small tweaks to adjust it as consumption changes. Trying to use the reactor to raise alk is difficult, it is too easy to overshoot your desired alk.

Sorry I wasn't clear Dennis, once the reactor is holding the alk steady, it is meeting the demand of the tank, adjustments with an alk source are then used to put the alk where you want it. That is the only time you should need to add alk, just to get it where you want it. As alk demand increases then to adjust it you either slightly lower the reactor pH or increase the effluent.

 

[rogergolf66]

It's easier to slightly lower ph then to ever change effluent. Jeff makes great products!!!

 

[Kharn]

Jeff does some quality work at LifeReef, I have had a HOB Prefilter of his running for over 4years without a single failure...sold me on them completely, just about to get 8 more sent ...

 

[jgalen0025]

I was about to pull the trigger on my first carrx but im am stuck between a lcr1 or a geo. I need some guidance? Why does jeff say you dont need an electronic reg on his reactors. I was goig to buy an aquarium plants carbn doser reg. Any specifics? I was leaning towards the lifereef though.

 

[d2mini]

Sorry I wasn't clear Dennis, once the reactor is holding the alk steady, it is meeting the demand of the tank, adjustments with an alk source are then used to put the alk where you want it. That is the only time you should need to add alk, just to get it where you want it. As alk demand increases then to adjust it you either slightly lower the reactor pH or increase the effluent.

No, you're good Jack. I'm pretty sure I understood you correctly. Originally I was going to use the CaRx to raise my alk, until you made your initial suggestion. So instead, I used the two part to raise my alk, and now my goal is to get the CaRx to hold it steady. I know there will be some up/down as I dial it in, but hopefully it will be minimal.

 

[d2mini]

Just tested alk this morning.
I'm down a little bit from 8.57 to 8.34

BPM = 53
EFFLUENT = 65 ml/min

So now what would you suggest I do to stabilize and it maybe raise it a little bit?
A 10 BPM increase and leave the effluent as-is?

 

[ken6217]

Just tested alk this morning.
I'm down a little bit from 8.57 to 8.34

BPM = 53
EFFLUENT = 65 ml/min

So now what would you suggest I do to stabilize and it maybe raise it a little bit?
A 10 BPM increase and leave the effluent as-is?

I run my effluent at 50 mil/min or thereabouts. That was recommended rate from the maker of my reactor. It looks like a fast drip (not a steady stream).

You can try lowering it a little or increase the CO2.

A lot of this is going to be trial and error until you get it set correctly.

Btw, as mentioned, the Ph probe is not needed. The proof of that is, tell me how it's helped you so far.

At the end of the day, it is the effluent and CO2 rates that are going to affect your alkalinity, and then you test for it. The Ph reading isn't going to get you there.

If you think about it, if you get a reading for instance of 6.8, 6.5, 6.3 and so on, are you going to surmise, hmmm this equates to 9 dkh, or 11 dkh etc? That is just introducing more work and thinking into a very simple process.

Just using the effluent rate and bubble rates mentioned in this post, WILL get you in that PH range that you need to dissolve the media.

If you just want to know what the PH is in the reactor just for curiosity sake, then that's another story.

Ken

 

[billwill]

What is the ph of effluent at your settings above? How often is solenoid kicking on and off? I'd recommend higher effluent drip rate, while setting c02 bubble count to keep effluent ph around 6.6 without cycling the solenoid. Check out melevs reef too for another calcium reactor experience

 

[ken6217]

At the effluent rate he is using, he should not increase it. It will increase his Ph.

He needs to increase the CO2 to dissolve the media quicker.
Ken

 

[d2mini]

Thank you both!

Ph is 6.7.
The solenoid is always on. Its not being controlled.

I'm just using ph to keep an eye on it and make sure I'm in a decent range to make sure the media can dissolve but not turn to mud. I don't want to accidentally end up with a ph of 5.5 or 7.25 or something like that. So part curiosity, part safety check as i learn.

 

[d2mini]

At the effluent rate he is using, he should not increase it. It will increase his Ph.

He needs to increase the CO2 to dissolve the media quicker.
Ken

Which will lower my ph but thats ok as long as it does not go too low, correct?

 

[ridetheducati]

Which will lower my ph but thats ok as long as it does not go too low, correct?

Correct.

 

[ken6217]

Which will lower my ph but thats ok as long as it does not go too low, correct?

Yes, but it won't go too low unless you go crazy with adding CO2.

You are at 53 bpm. I would at least get to 60 bpm (1 bubble a second - easier to count).

What does the effluent rate look like? Is it a fast drip or more like a steady stream? If it is a stream, then you need to cut it back to a fast drip.

 

[ridetheducati]

For reference, a reactor pH of around 6.2, which is driving the reactor really hard, will begin to turn media to mush and potentially clog. Not good.

 

[d2mini]

The effluent looks like a really fast drip.
Not a steady stream, but the drops seem connected if that makes sense.

 

[billwill]

Dennis, it sounds like you're really close to dialed in! Great idea to document what you're doing with input from others to hopefully give the next person to do this a good link to find.

 

[ridetheducati]

The effluent looks like a really fast drip.
Not a steady stream, but the drops seem connected if that makes sense.

Measure the effluent rate. Do not trust your eyes and all micro ball valves are not created equal. I recommend anywhere between 60 - 80 ml/min.