Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

For some reason getting this pump and reactor set up...without air trapped inside or any leaks has been a nightmare.
I'm running a geo 612 reactor with a 7521-40pump with a 7017-21 head. My recirculating pump is the standard eheim. I've tried both pulling from the effluent (which seemed to create the most bubbles) and now an pushing which has cut the trapped air down but still have some.
To top it all off when I came home from work the other day I had water spewing from the pump head so I can only surmise that I didn't mount the tubing correctly. Thankfully I had another head that came with the pump and that one doesn't seem to be leaking.
Sorry about the rant....i just am getting frustrated with something that should be straightforward.


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3ea1aa23094dcbd9feeccf1b1d3f61fc.jpg
 
I tried using my Masterflex to pull then I tried it to push and was getting air both ways, I now use my return to feed the reactor and the Masterflex to control the output and it runs flawless.
 
dadnjesse said:
I tried using my Masterflex to pull then I tried it to push and was getting air both ways, I now use my return to feed the reactor and the Masterflex to control the output and it runs flawless.
Click to expand...
That's interesting. How do you control the flow to the reactor though?

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dadnjesse said:
It's only fed by a 1/4 inch RO tubing there is only so much pressure that can go through.
Click to expand...

A Masterflex with LS17 tubing can produce upwards of 20 psi but unless the reactor is clogged or the output is restricted, there will never be much pressure inside the reactor other than the head pressure from the output to the sump.
 
slief said:
A Masterflex with LS17 tubing can produce upwards of 20 psi but unless the reactor is clogged or the output is restricted, there will never be much pressure inside the reactor other than the head pressure from the output to the sump.
Click to expand...
So the 20 psi would be at the top speed of the pump though..correct? If so, then won't I always have an air issue when running at a lower delivery speed?

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Mache62 said:
So the 20 psi would be at the top speed of the pump though..correct? If so, then won't I always have an air issue when running at a lower delivery speed?

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Click to expand...
The +app 20 PSI would be after the pump. There could be as much as -20 psi on the intake side. And I don't think the PSI has anything to do with pump speed but I could be wrong. If you were to block off the flow through the pump, that would be max PSI that the head could achieve before the water would essentially not pass by the rollers.

Why would you have an air issue? As long as you aren't putting more gas in that water out or don't have any vacuum leaks if you are pulling then you'd never have a gas issue.

Either way, you are reading too much into it. Air in the reactor has nothing to do with PSI. It has everything to do with being leak free and not having more gas the going in then the amount of water going through. It is critical to purge all the air out before turning the Co2 on. That means running the reactor for up to 24 hours before you turn the gas on. It can help to shut the circulation pump off during that time. If you are using the pump to push, you can lean the reactor back and forth to guide the air to the circulation pumps intake in the top center of the reactor while running the Masterflex at a high speed. It also helps to shake the reactor back and forth to free the air that is trapped in the media and get it to rise. You may need to repeat this process several times. It will also help to leave the circulation pump off for several hours so it's not sucking the air that rises back though to be distributed back into the media.
 
[MENTION=225253]slief[/MENTION] I have yet to turn on the gas! When I shut off the recirc pump the air sits in the line that's between the reactor and "out" side of the pump.
I have emptied and refilled the water in the rx chamber twice now and still cannot get rid of the air. I have a new Uniseal for the base of the reactor arriving today so I'll empty it once again and put that in and refill.
When everything is off I can see no air bubbles at any of the connection points that would indicate an air leak.


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Mache62 said:
[MENTION=225253]slief[/MENTION] I have yet to turn on the gas! When I shut off the recirc pump the air sits in the line that's between the reactor and "out" side of the pump.
I have emptied and refilled the water in the rx chamber twice now and still cannot get rid of the air. I have a new Uniseal for the base of the reactor arriving today so I'll empty it once again and put that in and refill.
When everything is off I can see no air bubbles at any of the connection points that would indicate an air leak.


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Click to expand...

If your water intake is in a location of the sump with any micro bubbles, you will get air in the reactor so keep that in mind as you are trouble shooting. You might consider placing the pump before the reactor (pushing) at least temporarily as that would show you where the leak is assuming you have one that is inside the reactor as you will see the leak.
 
I am currently pushing the water with the peristalic pump but just came downstairs to the pump head leaking again. I have LS 17 tubing in there but maybe it's the wrong thickness? I dunno....I'm getting to the point of just going back to the old way and feeding with a mj1200 and dealing with having to fiddle with the effluent again. I really want to make this work but it's just getting to be too much. This is a pic of the tubing I'm using..
a3ccb5a8203d42478826deba96c8413d.jpg


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Vinny Kreyling said:
Any picture I have seen of tubing it is sort of ivory colored.
I will however wait for confirmation by someone with a Masterflex pump.
Click to expand...

What you see there is the silicone tubing and not the Pharmed stuff. The Pharmed tubing is MUCH more durable and lasts MUCH longer where as the clear silicone stuff like he's using doesn't last long and tends to rupture easily. That head he's using isn't really designed for Pharmed tubing though I think some here use it in those heads. The Easy Load heads are better suited for the Pharmed stuff.
[MENTION=50523]Mache62[/MENTION] You might pickup a few feet of this stuff and see how it does in that head. It's LS17 sized Pharmed tubing.
https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=25534
 
Ok well that's good info because this tubing is splitting very easily and I was careful when I loaded it.
Is there a better pump head you could suggest for my pump? It's a 7521-40 Master Flex.

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Mache62 said:
Ok well that's good info because this tubing is splitting very easily and I was careful when I loaded it.
Is there a better pump head you could suggest for my pump? It's a 7521-40 Master Flex.

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Click to expand...

7518-00 or 7518-10 are my preferred heads. Both are Easy Load Heads and support LS17 in addition to other sizes. The 7518-10 has stainless steel rollers.
 
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