Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread

[oshanickreef]

I pin pointed the leak on my reactor. it is where the air barb meets the airline right before the bubble counter. the threads on that fitting are stripped so it is constantly pulling air in the reactor. I have been talking to Geo to hopefully get replacement plumbing but i think i am going to have to rebuild it myself. I may put the effluent line on the top of the plumbing vs the side too so i can be pulling effluent from the highest point. any other recommendations?

 

[oshanickreef]

I think i am gong to just sell my geo and go with a new one that actually works. any recommendations on dual stage that is relatively similar in media size to the geo 618?

 

[slief]

I think i am gong to just sell my geo and go with a new one that actually works. any recommendations on dual stage that is relatively similar in media size to the geo 618?

You found your leak/problem source.. Fix your Geo as there is nothing wrong with that reactor. I as well as most others that use them think they are a pretty good reactors and they certainly work just fine regardless of where the air draws from. That is assuming they are setup right and aren't leaking which as you have just discovered is pretty easy to figure out and resolve.

I mentioned it before and I will mention it again. My Geo runs flawlessly and I have the effluent line in the stock location and not the lid. I don't get air/gas buildup in my reactor at all and it's very consistent as far as pH goes.

 

[oshanickreef]

You found your leak/problem source.. Fix your Geo as there is nothing wrong with that reactor. I as well as most others that use them think they are a pretty good reactors and they certainly work just fine regardless of where the air draws from. That is assuming they are setup right and aren't leaking which as you have just discovered is pretty easy to figure out and resolve.

I mentioned it before and I will mention it again. My Geo runs flawlessly and I have the effluent line in the stock location and not the lid. I don't get air/gas buildup in my reactor at all and it's very consistent as far as pH goes.

well my issue is i cannot fix this without replacing the plumbing and i cant get it from geo. I could tap a new thread but if i do all of that and it doesnt work i am probably going to explode. my frustration is starting to expose itself :deadhorse1::deadhorse1::deadhorse1:

 

[slief]

well my issue is i cannot fix this without replacing the plumbing and i cant get it from geo. I could tap a new thread but if i do all of that and it doesnt work i am probably going to explode. my frustration is starting to expose itself :deadhorse1::deadhorse1::deadhorse1:

Get your part in route from Geo. They have great support. If you still have some threads there, remove the fitting, use some teflon paste on the male threads and reinstall the fitting. That should get you by until you get the new part. The teflon paste should stop any leaks in the interim. FWIW, I removed all my fittings when I got my reactor and used teflon paste to seal them properly. The teflon paste is much more "fool proof" IMO than teflon tape when it come to insuring leak free fittings.

 

[EvMiBo]

FWIW, I removed all my fittings when I got my reactor and used teflon paste to seal them properly.

I reeaally wish I had done this before getting everything going. I have a tiny air leak somewhere. It hasn't really been a problem besides noise when I'm working in the cabinet (pH has been stable). GEO said this is normal though (to have some air build up), so I just purge out the air/gas once a weak. I had mentioned this somewhere earlier in the thread.

 

[oshanickreef]

Get your part in route from Geo. They have great support. If you still have some threads there, remove the fitting, use some teflon paste on the male threads and reinstall the fitting. That should get you by until you get the new part. The teflon paste should stop any leaks in the interim. FWIW, I removed all my fittings when I got my reactor and used teflon paste to seal them properly. The teflon paste is much more "fool proof" IMO than teflon tape when it come to insuring leak free fittings.

Okay i will do this tonight. if it doesnt work... I may hulk out and throw the reactor through the wall lol

 

[slief]

Okay i will do this tonight. if it doesnt work... I may hulk out and throw the reactor through the wall lol

I usually fill the male threads well with the teflon paste. The stuff is kind of messy so make sure you have plenty of paper towels on hand to clean the excess off when you thread the fittings back together and also clean your fingers. As much as I hate that stuff, I love it because it never leaks and it also doesn't harden to the point where you can't remove the fittings. While you are at it, remove the rubber uniseal from the bottom of the reactor where the recirculation pipe it goes into the reactor. You will obviously have to slide the pipe out of the seal first. If you tip the reactor on it's side, you can pull the seal without getting much air in the reactor. Boil the uniseal for a few minutes, cool it off and then apply a liberal amount of silicone lubricant to both surfaces of the uniseal before you put it back in. That way you have a good seal between the uniseal and the acrylic reactor body as well as where the pipe goes into the uniseal. Boiling it should return the seal to it's original form and softness and make the seal like new.

 

[oshanickreef]

I usually fill the male threads well with the teflon paste. The stuff is kind of messy so make sure you have plenty of paper towels on hand to clean the excess off when you thread the fittings back together and also clean your fingers. As much as I hate that stuff, I love it because it never leaks and it also doesn't harden to the point where you can't remove the fittings. While you are at it, remove the uniseal from the bottom of the reactor the recirculation pipe it goes into the reactor. Boil it for a few minutes, cool it off and then apply a liberal amount of silicone lubricant to both surfaces of the uniseal before you put it back in. That way you have a good seal between the uniseal and the acrylic reactor body as well as the pipe that goes into the uniseal. Boiling it should return the seal to it's original form and softness and make the seal like new.

okay i had to google what a uniseal was lol but i will do all of this tonight and pray that it works............ I just cant believe it to be a normal thing to have air in the chamber being recirculated and then backing up the recirculation pump... this is not normal because it makes the reactor annoying and inefficient.

 

[tkeracer619]

It's a feature. It's also a fluid power problem as well as a design flaw. Many things run fine with flaws, the ones that don't expose said flaw.

The lid is where you should be pulling effluent from not the plumbing. Not sure why so many folks insist on fighting it. It takes literally 10 minutes at a sign shop to get a hole drilled and tapped in the lid :lol:.

Do you think this is anything to worry about guys?

Yes, it is likely the dust shield on the bearing from either the pump head or the gearbox. Find and replace the bearing that is damaged before it comes apart and does damage to surrounding components.

I usually fill the male threads well with the teflon paste.

You can also use silicone when the threads are damaged, don't over tighten and often you end up with a leak free fitting. Threaded acrylic is very sharp and tends to cut teflon tape to shreds. Paste and silicone work best for tapped acrylic.

 

[darthvader]

Will this work to continuously feed my calcium reactor? I understand there are various models that will work but with my luck I'll get the one that I've should have never gotten.
I currently need to feed 120 ml and would need room to dose a higher amount as things grow. I can't keep the effluent amount on my calcium reactor stable for more than 24hrs so I thought this would help. I'm currently feeding the reactor from my main return line to a hayward needle valve. I've tried a small individual pump solely to feed the reactor but that didn't help either. Any help is welcome. Thank you.

 

[slief]

Will this work to continuously feed my calcium reactor? I understand there are various models that will work but with my luck I'll get the one that I've should have never gotten.
I currently need to feed 120 ml and would need room to dose a higher amount as things grow. I can't keep the effluent amount on my calcium reactor stable for more than 24hrs so I thought this would help. I'm currently feeding the reactor from my main return line to a hayward needle valve. I've tried a small individual pump solely to feed the reactor but that didn't help either. Any help is welcome. Thank you.

120ml/min? Are you sure about that? Unless you have a huge tank or unless you are keeping your reactor pH really high, that seems like an awful lot of flow.

Regarding the pump, I don't see nor can I find any info on it's RPM. I did find something that indicated up to 380ml/min depending on tubing. That leads me to believe that it's a 100RPM pump and requires LS18 tubing to achieve those numbers.That head only supports LS16 tubing which in this case, isn't going to work as it will max out at 80ml/min with that head/tubing combo. Even with a head that supports LS17 tubing, you would have to run it at 70-80% full power to get your target ml and that would beat the crap out of the pump. A head that support LS18 tubing would be still running that pump hard for 24/7 use.

Bottom line. That pump will be not be ideal for your needs. If you truly need that high a flow rate, then you really want a 600 rpm pump along with a good pump head that supports the high end LS17 tubing. Something like a 7518-10 head.

 

[darthvader]

My diplay is 300 with a 60g frag tank, and 80g sump. After rock displacement I'm thinking I'm roughly at about 340 actual water volume. My target ph is 6.6 in the reactor. I guess I could bump the effluent rate down 90ml/min with a ph of 6.5 in the reactor. How can I tell which head is going to support the ls17 tubing?

 

[slief]

My diplay is 300 with a 60g frag tank, and 80g sump. After rock displacement I'm thinking I'm roughly at about 340 actual water volume. My target ph is 6.6 in the reactor. I guess I could bump the effluent rate down 90ml/min with a ph of 6.5 in the reactor. How can I tell which head is going to support the ls17 tubing?

Still seems like really high flow unless you have a lot of SPS. I assume you already have a Ca reactor running on the system for a while and you have measured your effluent rate? That said, you search the head model numbers on the Cole Parmer website and look at the specs. Like I said, the 7518-10 would be at the top of the list as far as good choices as it supports the Pharmed LS17 tubing which is the best stuff to use as it will last the longest.

 

[darthvader]

Sounds good. I'll start looking for the 7518-10 head. Yes I've measured the effluent rate and it keeps me at 8.6 for alk and 440 for ca. I just hate having to adjust the rate manually everyday.

 

[hkgar]

One problem be having with the high flow rate would becoming by using the flow rate to maintain the desired ALK. When you increase the flow rate your ALK will drip as the ALK of the effluent will drop as will the ph of effluent. Just the reverse when you decrease flow. The best method is to adjust bubble count or bubble size or some of both. Only change flow if the bubble count and bubble size are too high.

 

[hkgar]

Harris 920NC on Aquarium plants reg.

Harris 920NC on Aquarium plants reg.

I have been using the Aquariumplants regulator but now have a Harris regulator. I would like to use the electronic controller from Aquarium Plants with the Harris, but cannot get the gauges off from the control box.

Anyone done this? Any advice?

 

[slief]

Sounds good. I'll start looking for the 7518-10 head. Yes I've measured the effluent rate and it keeps me at 8.6 for alk and 440 for ca. I just hate having to adjust the rate manually everyday.

Look for a different pump too while you are at it. Regardless of what head/tubing you use, you will be running that pump into the ground with it's low RPM and your target flow rates.

 

[darthvader]

From the information I've collected looks like I might have a winner. What you think slief? I also plan on reducing flow rate to not work the pump as hard. The description says it accepts ls17 tubing and is in perfect working condition. The rpms are 10-600 as well.

 

[slief]

From the information I've collected looks like I might have a winner. What you think slief? I also plan on reducing flow rate to not work the pump as hard. The description says it accepts ls17 tubing and is in perfect working condition. The rpms are 10-600 as well.

That is a much better choice and has the 7518-10 head which is a great head. :thumbsup: