Trying to stabilize my Ph as much as I can. I know there is debate on chasing PH: Chris Meckley Method
Here is around where I am running:
12:00 am to 3:00 am - 8.25ish Ph
3:00 am to 3:00 pm - 8.15ish Ph
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm - 8.25ish Ph
6:00 pm to 12:00 am - 8.35ish Ph
Blue lights on at 1:00 pm
White lights on at 2:00 pm
White lights off at 10:30 pm
Blue lights off at 12:00 am
My alk is 8.1 so I am going to dose a small amount of soda ash at: 3:00 am, 7:00 am, 11:00 am to bring up the 8.15ish Ph time period and alk
I have a PH controller that cuts off the pump to my kalk and also opens a motorized ball valve to a CO2 scrubber.
There is a neck cleaner on the external skimmer, so I ran the recirculating CO2 scrubber through an air tight collection container. This has an advantage of keeping too much liquid out to the media but still keeping it moist, and collecting the excess water in the collection container. I have the scrubber mounted up high, incase the skimmer cut off float in the collection container fails. As a back up to that back up, if the media flooded and returned back to the skimmer pump, the PH controller probe is near the skimmer return, and it would open the bypass to the scrubber. I have found that when running the recirculating scrubber, the tank evaporates significantly less. This helps save RODI water but limits kalk dosing.
There is a IceCap Kalk Medium Reactor that doses if all of the following conditions are met:
1) Water level is below the Kalk float in the sump, which is set slightly higher then the fresh water ATO float.
2) PH controller is below 8.35ish (Controller only has a resolution of 1)
3) Kalk stir bar has not run in the last 45 min
4) Fresh water ATO pump is not running (to prevent overfilling of kalk if there is a larger water loss)
Behind the dosing containers, there is a about three gallon RODI container that slowly tops up on a solenoid valve with a flow restrictor and a back up mechanical float. In that container is three small DC pumps. One pump is on a relay to a float in the sump for fresh water top up. The 2nd pump is on a speed controller to the kalk stir so it only runs at a trickle. There is a third pump to top off the hydro planter float.
Here is the relay wiring to the kalk pump:
The Ph relay is set to break the kalk trigger loop when powered on from the Ph controller. There are two SmartThings smart outlet, one that kicks on the stir bar for one min every four hours. A second smart outlet is set to turn on for 45 min anytime the stir bar outlet turns on, an only powers the stir relay.
Its a bit of a rats nest, I also have some home automation such as a fresh air exchanger that is set to open when a CO2 controller is over 600.
I am still tweaking the set up but it seems to be working well so far. Any suggestions on how to improve are appreciated.
Here is around where I am running:
12:00 am to 3:00 am - 8.25ish Ph
3:00 am to 3:00 pm - 8.15ish Ph
3:00 pm to 6:00 pm - 8.25ish Ph
6:00 pm to 12:00 am - 8.35ish Ph
Blue lights on at 1:00 pm
White lights on at 2:00 pm
White lights off at 10:30 pm
Blue lights off at 12:00 am
My alk is 8.1 so I am going to dose a small amount of soda ash at: 3:00 am, 7:00 am, 11:00 am to bring up the 8.15ish Ph time period and alk
I have a PH controller that cuts off the pump to my kalk and also opens a motorized ball valve to a CO2 scrubber.
There is a neck cleaner on the external skimmer, so I ran the recirculating CO2 scrubber through an air tight collection container. This has an advantage of keeping too much liquid out to the media but still keeping it moist, and collecting the excess water in the collection container. I have the scrubber mounted up high, incase the skimmer cut off float in the collection container fails. As a back up to that back up, if the media flooded and returned back to the skimmer pump, the PH controller probe is near the skimmer return, and it would open the bypass to the scrubber. I have found that when running the recirculating scrubber, the tank evaporates significantly less. This helps save RODI water but limits kalk dosing.
There is a IceCap Kalk Medium Reactor that doses if all of the following conditions are met:
1) Water level is below the Kalk float in the sump, which is set slightly higher then the fresh water ATO float.
2) PH controller is below 8.35ish (Controller only has a resolution of 1)
3) Kalk stir bar has not run in the last 45 min
4) Fresh water ATO pump is not running (to prevent overfilling of kalk if there is a larger water loss)
Behind the dosing containers, there is a about three gallon RODI container that slowly tops up on a solenoid valve with a flow restrictor and a back up mechanical float. In that container is three small DC pumps. One pump is on a relay to a float in the sump for fresh water top up. The 2nd pump is on a speed controller to the kalk stir so it only runs at a trickle. There is a third pump to top off the hydro planter float.
Here is the relay wiring to the kalk pump:
The Ph relay is set to break the kalk trigger loop when powered on from the Ph controller. There are two SmartThings smart outlet, one that kicks on the stir bar for one min every four hours. A second smart outlet is set to turn on for 45 min anytime the stir bar outlet turns on, an only powers the stir relay.
Its a bit of a rats nest, I also have some home automation such as a fresh air exchanger that is set to open when a CO2 controller is over 600.
I am still tweaking the set up but it seems to be working well so far. Any suggestions on how to improve are appreciated.
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