Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

[IUfan]

Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

Thank god for Apex and there Advanced Leak Detectors. Just had a regretful email notification to tell me I had a leak in the Calcium Station (where the CA reactor and CP reside), everything did what it was supposed to and turned off, checked and was expecting a leak on the CA reactor only to find the silicon tubing (the bit that's being rolled) had split, ran this setup for a few years now and never had tubing split like this, and it was only 2 months old.

Anyway:

1. Did I just get unlucky or is there an issue with the pump head?

2. When the pump heads get old do they damage the tubing more? Time for a replacement head?

3 Am I supposed to lubricator the rollers?


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[hkgar]

Thank god for Apex and there Advanced Leak Detectors. Just had a regretful email notification to tell me I had a leak in the Calcium Station (where the CA reactor and CP reside), everything did what it was supposed to and turned off, checked and was expecting a leak on the CA reactor only to find the silicon tubing (the bit that's being rolled) had split, ran this setup for a few years now and never had tubing split like this, and it was only 2 months old.

Anyway:

1. Did I just get unlucky or is there an issue with the pump head? Possible pump head issue. What tubing are you using? the recommended tubing should last 5000 hours.

2. When the pump heads get old do they damage the tubing more? Time for a replacement head? Check the rollers for bad pots and also the interior of the head.

3 Am I supposed to lubricator the rollers? I would say no, the rollers do not need to be lubricated.


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[IUfan]

Using the Tygon LS17 pharmed tubing, what is recommended in the first post.

I left the unit off, so will check them this weekend more closely. May just spend some money and buy a new pump head


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[tkeracer619]

Check the reactor for clogs, it can split like that if the system is building too much pressure.

You can use penetrating grease (not wd40 but an actual penetrating grease) to lube the rollers. Cole-Parmer doesn't actually recommend lube though.

Check for bearing wear. It was likely a fluke.

 

[IUfan]

I'm currently using a 7518-00 pump head, the newer model is 7516-00, if the 7518 works with my pump, will the 7516 work also?


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[hkgar]

It is not a question of working with the pump, it is a question of working with the LS-17 tubing. Both pumps will work wit the tubing.

 

[tkeracer619]

I'm currently using a 7518-00 pump head, the newer model is 7516-00, if the 7518 works with my pump, will the 7516 work also?


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Yes, they are both precision tubing compatible and wkll work with your drive. You should look fot a stainless rotor head though.

 

[IUfan]

Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

Is there any way to identify a pump head with a stainless rotor head?


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[slief]

Is there any way to identify a pump head with a stainless rotor head?


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Yea, by the model/part number. The 7518-10 has stainless rotors. If you look the model number up on the Cole Parmer site, the Specification table tells you what the rotor material is.
7518-10
https://www.coleparmer.com/i/master...precision-tubing-psf-housing-ss-rotor/0751810

7516-00
In the case of the 7516-00 as well as the 7518-00, they both use cold rolled steel rotors.
https://www.coleparmer.com/i/master...bing-pps-crs-rotor/0751600?searchterm=7516-00

7518-00
https://www.coleparmer.com/i/master...-housing-crs-rotor/0751800?searchterm=7518-00

 

[hkgar]

I recently switched from a Reef Octopus reactor to an Aquamax3. I use a Cole Parmer 7523-80 with a 7518-00 head and an Aquarium Plants regulator. My flow rate is 90ml/min. What is the drawback to colled rolled steel rollers?

With the Reef Octopus the reactor ph held very steady but with the Aquamax the ph continuous swings. Not much but a variance of .03-.04 (see attached graph).

The other change was from using ARM media to now a combination of Arm and Newborn.

I know the variance is small but I think it is making more difficult to maintain my tank dKH.

 

[tkeracer619]

What is the drawback to colled rolled steel rollers?

Just built a little better and survives in our environment better. I wouldn't go out and buy a SS version if I already had a CRS version. Just if you're shopping for a new head...

With the Reef Octopus the reactor ph held very steady but with the Aquamax the ph continuous swings. Not much but a variance of .03-.04 (see attached graph).

The other change was from using ARM media to now a combination of Arm and Newborn.

I know the variance is small but I think it is making more difficult to maintain my tank dKH.

If I had to guess it would be the way that reactor injects and recirculates co2.

 

[Nanook]

I've got a GEO 8x18 that has the JG fittings and it's currently just circulating saltwater through it without CO2. For the extremely unhandy folks, can you point me to a diagram of how to hook up the masterflex pump? Any recommendations for the masterflex pump these days? Thanks

 

[zachtos]

The pump is easy to hook up, you would just need a 0-10v dc source.

You bridge the start circuit and put the dc signal to the pump. No other connections are necessary unless you want control over that feature. Simply supplying a 0v signal will stop the drive.

Has anyone actually tried this? I'm an electrical engineer (mostly design prototypes), and I could get this working no problem. I just bought an APEX and will be planning to find a way to control this with the 0-10V signal... so when the TRIDENT CA/ALK monitor arrives, I can remotely control my calc/alk, as I'm not interested in going back to 2 part dosing again.



*Also, in the user manual, it says I can control it with RS232 / Serial, so easily could be controlled with an Arduino for home users. Full control could then be granted, giving you access to see the motor speed/direction, change speed/direction, start/stop, prime. But for most of our usage needs, I think adding the 0-10V from the apex to throttle up/down will be enough.

APEX could only send 0-10V for speed. You can set in device to make 0V = 0ml/minute and 10V to = X ml/min, so you can choose max flow to be 100ml/min for instance, if you wanted to limit max speed via remote control.

 

[zachtos]

Funny you mention the 0-10v signal. I was reading up on the remote interface and saw mention of 0-10v control. My first thought was that one could connect it to an Apex. I looked at the diagram for the 15 pin connector and noted that pin 1 is the +10v and pin 3 is the ground. That said, my guess is that you would need more than just the 0-10v control in remote mode. It has a start/stop signal, a forward/reverse signal, Prime signal that would all need to be communicated some how. Still would be interesting to be able to control the RPM via a controller based on tank ph, reactor ph or other variables.

Also note, if someone wants to test for me, let me know. I won't have my unit for a few weeks, but will integrate when arrival.

The manual says STOP/START , DIRECTONCW/CCW, PRIM via contact closure... so I THINK that means if you short the +/- terminal for START/STOP, then the motor will START in shorted, and STOP if opened... same for prime, same for direction... that can be done with a paperclip or solder on the back of your connector... Someone let me know, this is easy to test. Put 10V on the 10V pins, then short the start/stop pins and it should go. You need to download the manual and read how to get into remote control mode.

 

[tkeracer619]

Has anyone actually tried this?

APEX could only send 0-10V for speed. You can set in device to make 0V = 0ml/minute and 10V to = X ml/min, so you can choose max flow to be 100ml/min for instance, if you wanted to limit max speed via remote control.

Yes, I had a controller that I bought a long time ago that had some keypad damage for $10. I was able to operate it with a potentiometer. I dropped it a while back and it let the smoke out.

Setting the max ml/min in the controller is smart.

 

[tkeracer619]

I've got a GEO 8x18 that has the JG fittings and it's currently just circulating saltwater through it without CO2. For the extremely unhandy folks, can you point me to a diagram of how to hook up the masterflex pump? Any recommendations for the masterflex pump these days? Thanks

Sure, give me a little time and I'll see what I can find!

 

[tkeracer619]

I've got a GEO 8x18 that has the JG fittings and it's currently just circulating saltwater through it without CO2. For the extremely unhandy folks, can you point me to a diagram of how to hook up the masterflex pump? Any recommendations for the masterflex pump these days? Thanks

Do you need quiet operation or is it going into a fish room?

 

[Nanook]

Do you need quiet operation or is it going into a fish room?

Fish room

 

[tkeracer619]

Unfortunately both of these are 100rpm but... they are brushless. I don't have any relation or contact with the seller, never bought from these people before. As always read the fine print, I can't vouch for anything here. Prices are good.


This one comes with a head wouldn't work with the tubing listed in this thread, you would need performance tube. It's a newer drive though.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Masterflex...018176?hash=item468569dc80:g:IFQAAOSwnntbntKW

This one is listed with a bunch of brushed drives for the same price. I'd definitely offer lower, seller doesn't know the difference.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/COLE-PARME...AOSwcmZa600E:sc:FedExHomeDelivery!80228!US!-1

 

[Normski619]

Would a CP Masterflex L/S Rigid PTFE-Tubing Pump Head Model# EW-77390-00 with a Masterflex L/S Digital Drive Model#EW-07522-20 work?