MTC Procal help - reaction chamber won't clear aur

[thefuz]

Hello all. I've been running a dual chamber MTC Procal reactor for about a month. PH on the effluent line has been stable for a few weeks and got Alk dialed in for about 2 weeks.

Early this morning reactor pH spiked to 7 then went down to 6.67 (shutoff point for the Apex). When I came down to check out there was a huge pocket of air at the top of the reaction chamber. I removed the Masterflex from the loop so the effluent could flow freely and the reaction chamber refuses to clear the bubble.

Any Procal owners out there experience this before? I don't expect MTC is going to get back to me ASAP on a Sunday.

 

[ca1ore]

The main chamber has that float that is supposed to purge gas buildups. If you removed it, as I did with mine, you need to reconfigure the hoses so that the second chamber takes water from the top of the first chamber. That will prevent gas buildup. I run mine - feed from tank to first chamber, from lid of first chamber to bottom of second chamber, lid of second chamber to masterflex, masterflex to sump.

 

[thefuz]

Ah, there we go. I thought I recall you doing something like this. Thanks for the refresher! I'll try tonight.

So, you're talking about taking over the "vent" line (usually red tube)? Did you just cap the original 2nd chamber input line?

Also, am I guessing correctly that there weren't any subsequent issues with gas buildup or flow performance with the 2nd chamber?

 

[ca1ore]

Correct, use the red line (but remove the float) and cap the original 2nd chamber feed line. There is no longer any need for the vent line - not that it really worked all that well anyhow. No more problems with gas buildup or flow either.

 

[tkeracer619]

Yup, that is what you need to do for this reactor. I never have and never will understand this design... Why complicate things that don't need complicating.