Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

I think that I'm going to break down and get a peristaltic pump in the near future. I read the recommendations at the beginning of post and there is lots of great info there. Is there key to interpreting the CP model numbers to figure out what the pumps specs are? I looking through eBay and there are an overwhelming number of choices. Thanks
 
Can anybody tell me what Cole Parmer tubing has a 1/4" OD. Most of the tubing discussed here has a 1/4ID and 3/8OD.

I am considering using a Cole Parmer compact drive unit. My only concern is that when used with the LS17 equivalent tubing, the minimum flow rate is 98 mL/Min at the 35 RPM minimum which is on the high side based on my reading. I am going to use this on a Geo 818 Calcium reactor. The LS16 tubing would be more suitable with a minimum flow rate of 28 to max of 160 mL/Min. I'm just not sure if the OD of the LS16 tubing is 1/4".

Any advice on alternate tubing would be great. The head I am looking at supports L/S 13, 14, 15, 16 & L/S 17 tubing.
 
Can anybody tell me what Cole Parmer tubing has a 1/4" OD. Most of the tubing discussed here has a 1/4ID and 3/8OD.

I am considering using a Cole Parmer compact drive unit. My only concern is that when used with the LS17 equivalent tubing, the minimum flow rate is 98 mL/Min at the 35 RPM minimum which is on the high side based on my reading. I am going to use this on a Geo 818 Calcium reactor. The LS16 tubing would be more suitable with a minimum flow rate of 28 to max of 160 mL/Min. I'm just not sure if the OD of the LS16 tubing is 1/4".

Any advice on alternate tubing would be great. The head I am looking at supports L/S 13, 14, 15, 16 & L/S 17 tubing.


Is it the same drive as I have a picture of a few up from this post? If so with the tube inside it it does slow down a bit so it's not truly a 35rpm unit when a load is on it. Fwiw I am using what it says not to being it's the thicker walled Pharmed tubing so I'm sure it would be different if you use a thinner wall tubing in the l/s 17 size. At the lowest speed I was getting about 40 ml/min. Even just rough counting revolutions on a one minute interval was not 30rpm as stated it was more like 20-22 rpm. Both of my units are brand new and both exhibit the same characteristics.

Deep down I think I should probably heed the advice given from Cp about not using the Pharmed l/s 17 ( ordered before I read that part) but the motor doesn't seem to be struggling at all. Fwiw I ran it for 48hrs straight with a load on it at 60ml/min and the motor wasn't even warm to the touch. I may switch out to a smaller od tubing if I notice any noises or odd behavior but for now I'm fairly confident it will be fine. Plus I have another brand new unit on reserve.

Edit just searched Amazon for an equivalent to tkracer's post and found a decent deal I'm going to try out. It's labeled under" tygon tygoprene xl-60 pump tubing, translucent" $17 for 10'. I'm guessing I will have to change it out more often being it's a precision tubing but with the free prime shipping and @ $1.70 a foot I'll give it a try. I'm going to have my rope leak detector set up under the Cole parmer just in case it Springs a leak but I think this maybe another cheap choice for me at this time.
 
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Quick question...

ALK... I have dropped my PH in my reactor .2 every week and am now down to 6.4 (ARM Extra Coarse Media).

With extra course I have run it as low as 6.1ph without issue. If your reactor is not running off a probe then adjusting the effluent flow to 30ml/min will cause the reactor ph to rise reducing output. The effect may not be linear but I suspect you could make the change and the reactor output would remain roughly the same.

Glad your system is starting to increase its demand. A high demand tank is a growing tank :bounce3:
 
I think that I'm going to break down and get a peristaltic pump in the near future. I read the recommendations at the beginning of post and there is lots of great info there. Is there key to interpreting the CP model numbers to figure out what the pumps specs are? I looking through eBay and there are an overwhelming number of choices. Thanks

There are some common pump models that are suggested in the first couple of posts. Other than that it can really be a crap shoot. If CP has a numbering strategy I haven't figured it out yet. Part numbers can be anything. It is best to ask or call CP themselves. They are usually pretty helpful.

Once you get your setup up and running it will all be worth it.
 
Thanks for the response. I'm have some searches set up for the models mentioned earlier in this thread. I've come across a few others including 7520-40 and -50, 7554-90, and 77200-12 but need to dig up their specs. I think the 7520-50 only goes up to 100 rpm.
 
Is it the same drive as I have a picture of a few up from this post? If so with the tube inside it it does slow down a bit so it's not truly a 35rpm unit when a load is on it. Fwiw I am using what it says not to being it's the thicker walled Pharmed tubing so I'm sure it would be different if you use a thinner wall tubing in the l/s 17 size. At the lowest speed I was getting about 40 ml/min. Even just rough counting revolutions on a one minute interval was not 30rpm as stated it was more like 20-22 rpm. Both of my units are brand new and both exhibit the same characteristics.

Deep down I think I should probably heed the advice given from Cp about not using the Pharmed l/s 17 ( ordered before I read that part) but the motor doesn't seem to be struggling at all. Fwiw I ran it for 48hrs straight with a load on it at 60ml/min and the motor wasn't even warm to the touch. I may switch out to a smaller od tubing if I notice any noises or odd behavior but for now I'm fairly confident it will be fine. Plus I have another brand new unit on reserve.

Edit just searched Amazon for an equivalent to tkracer's post and found a decent deal I'm going to try out. It's labeled under" tygon tygoprene xl-60 pump tubing, translucent" $17 for 10'. I'm guessing I will have to change it out more often being it's a precision tubing but with the free prime shipping and @ $1.70 a foot I'll give it a try. I'm going to have my rope leak detector set up under the Cole parmer just in case it Springs a leak but I think this maybe another cheap choice for me at this time.

That's the same pump I was looking at but with a different pump. I ended up buying a better Cole Palmer pump that has the digital controls and 3.5 -200 RPM. It will be better suited for this application. Now all I need is the easy load head and the LS17 tubing. As it turns out US Plastics is out of the tubing. I will probably have to buy a roll of it it instead but I can get that cheap enough.
I still may pick up one of the compact pumps for an alternative to my current ATO dosing pump.


The wall thickness on the precision tubing is 1/16" so any tubing with that thickness should work well.

This is a compatible 1/4" OD tube. LS16 is 1/4" OD
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=25399&catid=864

Thank you very much! That may come in handy!
 
I just picked up a roll of the 3/8 OD, 1/4" ID Cole Palmer LS 17 tubing. This is the original Cole Palmer brand tubing made that is similar to the Tygon PharMed stuff. If anybody needs some, let me know. I will sell it for $2.50 a foot which is much cheaper than the US Plastics cost.

I have about 40' that I will be selling. If you are interested, send me a PM.
 
I just got my 7553-50 pump with 7518-00 head running tonight. It is not digital and has a dial from 0-10. Running at 2 on the dial it puts out 80 ml/min. At 1 on the dial the unit stops and it is stop and go at 1.75 or so which puts out 20 ml/min. This is with LS 17 tubing. Does anyone know, or tried, to fit LS 16 or LS 25 onto those 1/4 inch barbs listed on the first page of this post?
 
I just got my 7553-50 pump with 7518-00 head running tonight. It is not digital and has a dial from 0-10. Running at 2 on the dial it puts out 80 ml/min. At 1 on the dial the unit stops and it is stop and go at 1.75 or so which puts out 20 ml/min. This is with LS 17 tubing. Does anyone know, or tried, to fit LS 16 or LS 25 onto those 1/4 inch barbs listed on the first page of this post?

LS16 needs 1/8" barbs also available from US Plastics.
 

If you know the motor RPM you can figure the flow rate ranges you'll get with the different tubing. Seeing your results with LS17 I think the LS 16 will get you with in the range you need but it never hurts to double check, tubing and fittings start to add up after a while.......
 
Taken from this link

These numbers are for triple roller heads.

How do you use this to tell your flow range?

Take the number stated in the row for "Flow range with 6 to 600rpm drive" and divide that by 6. That is how many ml/min you will get per rpm. Take that number and multiply it by the lowest speed your drive goes and the highest. That is your setups flow range per given tube.

16007993314_f2aebe0dbf_o.jpg
 
Thanks guys. I downloaded those charts. I jumped in buying 2 pump set-ups that are 50-600 rpm without checking the heads on the CP site. Below about 1 3/4 on the dial I find the pump running for awhile then stopping. I have been able to play around with somewhere between 1 3/4 and 2 on the dial and I think it is going to work. The pH of the reactor has been rock steady. We shall see over the next week. If it doesn't work out then I'll pick up some LS 16 and the two barb fittings.
 
there is a table either on the tubing spec sheets or on the pump head (I think the latter) that gives ml per revolution of the pump head for each size tubing.

Or you can just divide it out from that table above.

For what I found on Tcook's drive unit it is 50-600 rpm so he should be able to get 40-480 ml/min from LS 16. Though that might still be too fast and he may need to go with one of the smaller bore tubes........

.....but seeing as he was getting 80ml/min and below with LS 17 then it seems the drive can run slower than spec and I think he should be set using LS 16.
 
Thanks guys. I downloaded those charts. I jumped in buying 2 pump set-ups that are 50-600 rpm without checking the heads on the CP site. Below about 1 3/4 on the dial I find the pump running for awhile then stopping. I have been able to play around with somewhere between 1 3/4 and 2 on the dial and I think it is going to work. The pH of the reactor has been rock steady. We shall see over the next week. If it doesn't work out then I'll pick up some LS 16 and the two barb fittings.

I'd give CP a quick call to verify the pump is working right, many of the older ones can't run continuously at low rpm and thus they stop and start at a higher speed to give the lower flow rates. If that's what it is doing then it is probably fine but if it stops and won't start up again then there might be another issue that should be looked into.
 
I'm very excited. I just got two off of eBay for under 400 shipped. Pictures when I get home!
 
I'm very excited. I just got two off of eBay for under 400 shipped. Pictures when I get home!

Was that you bidding on those two filthy looking ones? If so, I was bidding on them too but wasn't about to go that high. Also, you will probably want to get a different head for those as the 77200-62 uses odd sized tubing. Ideally you will want LS16 (1/4") or LS17 (3/8") tubing which that head does not support.
 
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