LifeReef Calcium Reactor

I keep wondering if I'm doing something wrong, like my settings are wonky or something.
Look at sseaner's numbers. His effluent rate and bubble count (even considering you can't really compare bubble counts) are pretty close to each other. Mine on the other hand are way off... bubble count being more than double my effluent rate.

I had raised my effluent rate by 10% like someone posted earlier and my effluent ph dropped from 17.5 to 17 dkh and my alk dropped from 145 ppm to 139 ppm over 24 hrs. So that obviously didn't work. lol
I think i need to focus on getting the effluent more concentrated.

Also, is two-part that much more concentrated than CaRx effluent?
I was putting about 300 ml of two-part into the tank every day (600 if you combine the alk and calc amounts). If I'm putting in 100ml of effluent every minute, that's a heck of a lot more!!!
 
One thing I would check.

If you are out gassing co2 your bubble count won't matter, you are not using all the gas you are injecting. Put the effluent in a cup of tank water and see if you get bubbles out. At is point I would make sure you are not putting in more than it can dissolve, it does happen. Though I doubt it is an issue here, there is no way of knowing without being there in person to see what the issue is.
 
Jack, i put the effluent tube into a cup of tank water and I don't see any bubbles at all. So that's good, right?
 
That's what you want, no bubbles. I doubted you were losing gas out the effluent but had to make sure.
 
What i find interesting is it says to run the ph at 6.0-6.5. Lower than you would typically see instructed.
And it says the effluent should be 35-40dkh, which mine is no where near.

Tonite i brought the effluent rate AND bubble rate down a little bit, keeping the ph the same, and it has already raised the effluent dkh a couple points. So same pH, higher dkh. But of course slower effluent flow. So not yet sure how it will effect the ph of the tank.
 
I never checked my ph in the reactor. I don't care what it is. All I care about is the alkalinity in the tank. I just strive for 10 - 11 dkh.
 
I don't think I ever measured my effluent DKH, rarely checked calcium, just the tanks alk. I only check pH a couple times a year, it is mostly an irrelevant number, especially with as much surface area as you have.
 
sirreal63 said:
I don't think I ever measured my effluent DKH, rarely checked calcium, just the tanks alk. I only check pH a couple times a year, it is mostly an irrelevant number, especially with as much surface area as you have.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but in this case it's helping me diagnose the problem. If my effluent dkh is not much higher than my tank's dkh, then i know something is wrong.

This morning my tank's dkh is exactly the same as it was last night.
I dropped the effluent rate in half and brought the bubble count down a little bit.
New settings are...
50 ml/hour and 175 bpm, with a effluent dkh of 24.
But my pH dropped a little bit to around 6.18

I would think, that my effluent rate should still be quite a bit more concentrated than that.
 
d2mini said:
Yeah, but in this case it's helping me diagnose the problem. If my effluent dkh is not much higher than my tank's dkh, then i know something is wrong.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about why you check your Ph or or alkalinity?

Honestly, setting a calcium reactor isn't supposed to be so difficult, nor a science project. All it is setting the bubbles and effluent. Screwing around with the a Ph probe is a waste. Keep the CO2 on until you hit your target alkalinity. Once you do, see if it stays steady at the rates. If it does, then fine. If it doesn't then adjust either the CO2 or the effluent.

Either it is the media or the reactor. If it's not the media, then dump the reactor and go with another brand.

It's not you, it's not the Ph, it's not the constant tuning needed and still ending up nowhere. Think about it. If calcium reactors were this difficult to get to work properly, then everyone would stick to 2 part or kalkasser.
Ken
 
I was talking about the effluent kh.
I know you don't check your ph.

Here's a quick vid that shows my bubble size and rate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zUbl7Dwgag

New media will be coming soon. Looks like BRS got their carbon supply in finally.

But why would that ARM media work fine for everyone else and not me?
So i think it's something else.

Ken is the only one on the planet that says ph doesn't matter because everyone else is worried about "mud" clogging the lines. ;)

Regardless, I would think that my high bubble count would produce a more potent effluent than it currently is. Unless my bubbles are much smaller than everyone else, which is why I posted the video.
 
d2mini said:
I was talking about the effluent kh.
I know you don't check your ph.

Here's a quick vid that shows my bubble size and rate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zUbl7Dwgag

New media will be coming soon. Looks like BRS got their carbon supply in finally.

But why would that ARM media work fine for everyone else and not me?
So i think it's something else.

Ken is the only one on the planet that says ph doesn't matter because everyone else is worried about "mud" clogging the lines. ;)

Regardless, I would think that my high bubble count would produce a more potent effluent than it currently is. Unless my bubbles are much smaller than everyone else, which is why I posted the video.
Click to expand...

Me, and the guy who posted a few posts up.

"I don't think I ever measured my effluent DKH, rarely checked calcium, just the tanks alk. I only check pH a couple times a year, it is mostly an irrelevant number, especially with as much surface area as you have."


And then there is MTC who made my reactor.

My reactor seems to work fine and no clogging.

Just to clarify, I didn't say Ph doesn't matter. I said that I don't need to know what out is.

At some point you will have to look at the elephant in the room and stop blaming the CO2, Ph, media, effluent, your tank, and yourself and just say that the reactor is not a good one.
Ken
 
To clarify, I don't worry with the tank pH but I do use a controller for the CaRx, when I am using it, which I haven't in a while. Kalk is keeping up with my demand currently.
 
ken6217 said:
At some point you will have to look at the elephant in the room and stop blaming the CO2, Ph, media, effluent, your tank, and yourself and just say that the reactor is not a good one.
Ken
Click to expand...

Ken, i have no problem with that and you've been inferring it from the start before I even got the reactor. If that's true, then fine. I have zero emotional investment in the matter. But I'm not going to go wasting money trying different reactors until i know for sure that is the case. I'm not an equipment junkie. And I'll really be ticked off if I get another reactor and have the same issues. Sseaner seems to have no problems with his yet. Nor do other people I've talked to with LR reactors. And in my reef chemistry forum thread, no one was able to say whether one reactor should really give different results than another. The basic designs are very similar, just like a protein skimmer.

And Jack didn't say ph doesn't matter, just that he probably doesn't check it because once set up and running properly you shouldn't need to. I bet it's not 5.0, but somewhere closer to 6.5. If you were able to tell me your effluent is in the 35-40 range with a ph of 6.3, that would actually help. In fact, I would really like to know your bubble count, effluent rate, and effluent dkh just for comparison's sake, as well as a comment on the video i posted. But if your ph is really really low, then that's not really helping me. I'm trying to compare to everyone who is running in the recommended ranges. Even your reactor instructions recommend a ph of 6.0-6.5.

So all I'm trying to figure out right now is if the reactor is really underperforming and what's causing it.

For instance, look at the last set of numbers I posted this morning.
Using the video I posted as a guide for bubble size, does it seem odd that i'm running that bubble rate and effluent rate and have an effluent dkh of only 24?
 
Dennis,

Again, I didn't say that Ph doesn't matter, I said that I don't need to know what it is. For me on my reactor, my process works.

With regards to your first statement, did it occur to you that maybe I had some prior knowledge and that's why I said it? I just didn't want to go into detail.

I'm just trying to help. I'll butt out if you wish.
Ken
 
d2mini said:
Tonite i brought the effluent rate AND bubble rate down a little bit, keeping the ph the same, and it has already raised the effluent dkh a couple points. So same pH, higher dkh. But of course slower effluent flow.
Click to expand...

You tried this before but the effluent volume was not enough to keep up.
 
ken6217 said:
With regards to your first statement, did it occur to you that maybe I had some prior knowledge and that's why I said it? I just didn't want to go into detail.
Click to expand...
Sorry, didn't know you had experience with LR, GEO and others to compare and know they are all inferior and yours is pure magic. Detail is exactly what I've been looking for, why would I not want detail? But you haven't been able to tell me what ANY of your settings are… just that your reactor works great. Sorry ken, but that's just not helping because what if I was to buy your reactor and I get the same results because all along you've been running your reactor at a ph of 5.0 and just didn't know it.

ridetheducati said:
Viewed the video. Bubble counter looks normal. The rate is fast. To confirm, you have 350g of actual water volume? Yes, 200g display, probably 75 in the sump, plus a small frag tank and a display refugium.

The only bubble counter I know that can manipulate bubble size is the Carbon Doser regulator.
Click to expand...
Ok, thanks for looking. Just wanted to make sure since its possible for the size of the bubble to vary from needle valve to needle valve. In other words, if my bubbles looked really tiny, that would explain the high bubble count.

ridetheducati said:
You tried this before but the effluent volume was not enough to keep up.
Click to expand...
I know. Thinking maybe I over shot it? With the slower effluent, it's more concentrated but less goes in the tank. Faster effluent is less concentrated but the tank gets more of it. Wondering if there is a sweet spot there or not.
 
d2mini said:
Sorry, didn't know you had experience with LR, GEO and others to compare and know they are all inferior and yours is pure magic. Detail is exactly what I've been looking for, why would I not want detail? But you haven't been able to tell me what ANY of your settings are"¦ just that your reactor works great. Sorry ken, but that's just not helping because what if I was to buy your reactor and I get the same results because all along you've been running your reactor at a ph of 5.0 and just didn't know it.

Sure I did. Go back to my posts on 2/15 and 2/17 where I mentioned my effluent and bubble settings.

I never said I know all reactors. Just heard about other people with issues with LR reactor. I wasn't going to air it on the forum.

Why would my reactor be running at a Ph of 5.0? That would not be possible based on the CO2 and effluent rates of other users and the manufacturer.

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...
 
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