Problems with regulator

[Psychedelic Mandarin]

Hello!

I purchased a new Korallin calcium reactor setup with an m3 regulator about 4 months from you guys. Ever since I got it, the regulator doesn't seems to work properly.

As the pressure of the CO2 tank increases, the bubble rate decreases.

As the pressure of the CO2 tank decreases, the bubble rate increases.

You can check out my thread in the main forum for more info:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=242774&goto=newpost

Basically I ran an experiment as follows trying to figure out what the problem and this is what I did:

At my current settings, my working pressure is ~12 psi and my tank pressure is 1100 psi. First I disconnected my CO2 tubing from the needle valve but left my needle value as it was set (~50 bubble/min). Then I turned off the CO2 canister. I watched carefully as the tank pressure gauge slowly (really slowly) dropped off. At 1000 psi tank pressure, the working pressure was up to ~15-17 psi and at 900 psi it was at 20 psi. Around 700 psi the working pressure was up to ~25 psi.

I spoke with m3 via email and they said to speak to you guys.

Thanks for you help.

 

[MarineDepot]

Hi,

This seems to be a common occurrence with many of the regulators that we've come across. I am not sure what is reason is myself. We do find that having a slightly higher working pressure (15-20 PSI) will give you a more consistent bubbling rate.

As gas volumes will change with varying temperature, it is perfectly normal to have the tank pressure change between hot and cold days. Fortunately, this usually does not cause large enough of a change in the CO2 bubble rate to be of any concern. In cases where the temperatures are more extreme, some customers will place their CO2 bottles inside the stand (where the temperature is more stable).

Fortunately, the Korallin reactor also has a shut-off feature. If there is too much CO2 released in to the reactor. So, there shouldn't be any detrimental effects when the CO2 bottle empties every 4-8 months.

If you are away on business a lot, or are not able to monitor the system regularly, it may be a good idea to use a pH controller with your CO2 system. This will ensure that the CO2 is shut off if the pH in the tank falls too low.

Just as a side note, your CO2 bubble rate seems to be quite high for a Korallin reactor. Most customers with the C-1502 reactors will use between 15-30 bubbles per minute. However, if you have a lot of SPS corals, that may be the reason.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,
Joseph
Marine Depot Customer Service
www.marinedepot.com

 

[Psychedelic Mandarin]

Thanks for the quick reply. I have bought a ton of stuff from you guys and you have always been really helpful.

I tried raising the working pressure and things seem a little more stable. Not a ton, but a little. In terms of my high bpm, I have really high calcium/alk demands so that is pretty normal for my setup.

Just to confirm:

It is normal for working pressure to increase as tank pressure decreases?

I just wanted to make sure you read it properly since it goes against what one would expect.

Thanks again

 

[MarineDepot]

Hi P. Mandarin,

Glad that we are able to help.

It does indeed go against normal intuition. However, that seems to be the case with a few different regulators that we have come across. Unfortunately, I do not have enough understanding with the inner workings of a regulator to explain it, or know if that is indeed the way it is suppose to work. Fortunately, it is usually not a problem as these regulator do give you a fairly stable bubble rate so that your calcium reactor can function properly with minimal adjustments

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,
Joseph
Marine Depot Customer Service
www.marinedepot.com

 

[Psychedelic Mandarin]

Thanks for the update. Looks like I might add a controller to the system for some extra safety in the future.