MRC Club
- Thread starter gregt
- Start date
- Status
RCA
New member
Dual Nano up and running
Dual Nano up and running
For those thinking of a reactor on a sub-90 gal reef.
I have a loaded 55 gal with SPS and am only hoping for more growth. The spray bar in my opinion is over rated if you're running the Mag 2 as your circulation pump on the reactor. The Mag 2 has enough pressure/velocity such that the media is in constant motion. There is plenty of motion for a complete dissolution of carbonate the spray bar simply isn't necessary.
I grabbed the upgrade with the probe and controller, and so far it's been a fun "plug-and-play" game to see how I want to dial this in. Not hard for even a beginner. The hardest part IMO was getting the controller calibrated. Currently with the reactor up and going for 1 week I've had to add only part 2 to get my Ca reading up, but my alk/ca readings are 9.0/345 respectively which is not bad considering that two weeks ago I was kicking it with 11/240. THis time next week I hope to be up around 390/400 on the calcium side of things, but I'll watch that alk reading.
The dual nano has been a great addition, and the only complaint that I would actually have so far is the weld job around the base of the acryllic tubes to the base since my second chamber has a minute leak at the base. I'm going to leave it and hope that the salt build up with seal it shut. Also the pH controller port which I guess is unique to MRC wasn't wrapped with teflon so that leaked pretty bad, however it was a simple fix. Overall the consruction was excellent on this unit.
One final note that I didn't expect, but came as a welcome surprise is the needle valve that MRC puts on the return line to the sump. I bought a needle valve from Aqua medic and anticipated putting it on the end of the outlet before my sump, but the MRC has one built in, so when I set it up and everything was running, it was quite literally "dialing it into my tank settings" I'm running about 2 drips a second into the sump. My effluent in the main chamber at about 6.84 (the controller fluctuates this from 6.94 when it kicks the CO2 on down to 6.7 or so when it kicks off) Great to NOT have to think about that thing. Just watch the corals in the tank grow
-Ryan
Dual Nano up and running
For those thinking of a reactor on a sub-90 gal reef.
I have a loaded 55 gal with SPS and am only hoping for more growth. The spray bar in my opinion is over rated if you're running the Mag 2 as your circulation pump on the reactor. The Mag 2 has enough pressure/velocity such that the media is in constant motion. There is plenty of motion for a complete dissolution of carbonate the spray bar simply isn't necessary.
I grabbed the upgrade with the probe and controller, and so far it's been a fun "plug-and-play" game to see how I want to dial this in. Not hard for even a beginner. The hardest part IMO was getting the controller calibrated. Currently with the reactor up and going for 1 week I've had to add only part 2 to get my Ca reading up, but my alk/ca readings are 9.0/345 respectively which is not bad considering that two weeks ago I was kicking it with 11/240. THis time next week I hope to be up around 390/400 on the calcium side of things, but I'll watch that alk reading.
The dual nano has been a great addition, and the only complaint that I would actually have so far is the weld job around the base of the acryllic tubes to the base since my second chamber has a minute leak at the base. I'm going to leave it and hope that the salt build up with seal it shut. Also the pH controller port which I guess is unique to MRC wasn't wrapped with teflon so that leaked pretty bad, however it was a simple fix. Overall the consruction was excellent on this unit.
One final note that I didn't expect, but came as a welcome surprise is the needle valve that MRC puts on the return line to the sump. I bought a needle valve from Aqua medic and anticipated putting it on the end of the outlet before my sump, but the MRC has one built in, so when I set it up and everything was running, it was quite literally "dialing it into my tank settings" I'm running about 2 drips a second into the sump. My effluent in the main chamber at about 6.84 (the controller fluctuates this from 6.94 when it kicks the CO2 on down to 6.7 or so when it kicks off) Great to NOT have to think about that thing. Just watch the corals in the tank grow
-Ryan
mcox33
New member
This is the spec's from the site I bought mine from, are you saying it isn't big enough for my 90 gallon
MRC Dual Nano Calcium Reactor
Model CR-Nano Dual
Total Height 15"
Chamber OD 4 1/2" & 3"
Tube Height 12"
Footprint 12" x 12"
Water Inlet 1/2" Barb
Water Outlet 1/4" Joh Guest Speedfit
Feed Method Gravity or Pump/Powerhead
Needle Valve Standard
Bubble Counter Standard
Tank Size 200 Gallons
Water Pump Not Included Requires Mag 2
Media Capacity 6lbs.
Other Necessary Parts (not included) CO2 Kit, CO2 Tank, Reactor, Media, pH Monitor or Controller, Feed Pump (optional)
Details
Manufacturer: My Reef Creations
MRC Dual Nano Calcium Reactor
Model CR-Nano Dual
Total Height 15"
Chamber OD 4 1/2" & 3"
Tube Height 12"
Footprint 12" x 12"
Water Inlet 1/2" Barb
Water Outlet 1/4" Joh Guest Speedfit
Feed Method Gravity or Pump/Powerhead
Needle Valve Standard
Bubble Counter Standard
Tank Size 200 Gallons
Water Pump Not Included Requires Mag 2
Media Capacity 6lbs.
Other Necessary Parts (not included) CO2 Kit, CO2 Tank, Reactor, Media, pH Monitor or Controller, Feed Pump (optional)
Details
Manufacturer: My Reef Creations
MdM31
Premium Member
why go with the dual nano? get a cr6 or a dual chamber and save yourself the headaches of not having metting calcium demands. a 90 gallon tank definetly isnt a nano tank. The singled chamber is 10 bucks cheaper and is rated for up to 300 gallons.
http://myreefcreations.com/castandard.htm
-Mike
http://myreefcreations.com/castandard.htm
-Mike
I am interested in an MR2 unit, to be used IN MY SUMP. Looking at the MRC skimmer, the gate valve is placed low on the box. What water level should one run in their sump to actually keep the skimmer in the sump, under the stand and hidden. All the pictures I have seen on this thread have the skimmer mounted externally, next to the tank (UGLY!) and externally ,remotely, in a fish room (don't have one of those). My sump runs at about 11" of water. With any of the other skimmers (ETSS especially) I have owned in the past, putting the output of the skimmer below water really affected the way the skimmer performed.
ALSO, I would want to keep my existing MAG 18 pump for this setup. I was wondering if this pump is too weak for 2 injectors ( I don't think I'll buy an extra, but was just wondering ). Will this pump work well for a single injector?
ALSO, I would want to keep my existing MAG 18 pump for this setup. I was wondering if this pump is too weak for 2 injectors ( I don't think I'll buy an extra, but was just wondering ). Will this pump work well for a single injector?
I run mine in sump also...... 11 1/4" of water. The one catch is the water level has to be very stable with no variation but that's the same with all skimmers.
I think the skimmer is nice looking
The Mag 18 is underpowered for just one injector IMO and way underpowered for two. For two you want to go with something equivalent to an Iwaki 70 rlt. For one something along the line of a 55 rlt is more in line.
hth, Chris
p4ck37p1mp
Premium Member
I just got my MR2, wow this thing is a monster! Workmanship is amazing also. I can't wait to hook this bad boy up!!
I've read a lot of the info on these in this thread so I don't think I have any questions yet, but maybe later.
From what people have said they're completely water tight, so I', planning on putting this in a closet behind my tank plumbed without any kind of container around it. I'll probably use a 5 gal bucket as my waste container in the hopes it might help with any overflows.
OK, I lied I do have one question. Does anyone use an overflow on their waste container back to their sump just in case everything overflows? I guess you'd be putting some skimmate back into the tank, but thats better than running the pump dry and all the other horrors no? Can always fix the problem and skim it back out.
I've read a lot of the info on these in this thread so I don't think I have any questions yet, but maybe later.
From what people have said they're completely water tight, so I', planning on putting this in a closet behind my tank plumbed without any kind of container around it. I'll probably use a 5 gal bucket as my waste container in the hopes it might help with any overflows. OK, I lied I do have one question. Does anyone use an overflow on their waste container back to their sump just in case everything overflows? I guess you'd be putting some skimmate back into the tank, but thats better than running the pump dry and all the other horrors no? Can always fix the problem and skim it back out.
p4ck37p1mp
Premium Member
I saw someone using a toilet flapper to do it, maybe thats the way to go.
HippieSmell
Occupy Reef Central
You can also get a ping-pong style shutoff valve from HD for around $5 I think. I haven't used one myself, but it should work just like the MRC style.
HippieSmell
Occupy Reef Central
It's a piece of PVC that has a ping-pong ball in it. When the skimmate fills the container it floats the ball up and it closes the hole in the container. That shuts the skimmer down. It's just like the toilet flapper, only a ping-pong.
- Status
