proper pH for calcium reactor?
- Thread starter DrDNA
- Start date
distallassazn
New member
i run mines at around 6.5....i think they recommended from 6.5-6.7.
fishsoldseprtly
In Memoriam
6.6 for me also
Billybeau1
Premium Member
Jeff, take a look at this. Pretty handy for you calcium reactor folks.
Calcium Reactor Setup Calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/reactor.html
Calcium Reactor Setup Calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/reactor.html
jdieck
New member
Note that reactor PH is not all there is to it. A combination of PH and effluent rate is what define the amount of alkalinity (and calicum) added. Both adjustments have to be made to achieve stability and level maintenance.
The lower the effluent PH for a gien effluent the higher the alkalinity addition.
The higher the effluent for a given PH the higher the alkalinity addition.
If the addition exceeds your tank requirements (Your tank alkalinity increases day to day then try a higher PH for the same effluent.
The lower the effluent PH for a gien effluent the higher the alkalinity addition.
The higher the effluent for a given PH the higher the alkalinity addition.
If the addition exceeds your tank requirements (Your tank alkalinity increases day to day then try a higher PH for the same effluent.
I am still trying to hit it right between alk and Ca without depressing the tank pH too much, but I am getting closer. Having ten clams doesn't help, the really use up calcium and carbonates.
I talked to John at Yourreef and he recommended running it with a higher flow rate and a higher pH, like around 7 (I currently run it at 6.5 with a slow drip), at least he said that's what works for his SPS tanks.
Thanks again for everyone's input!
I talked to John at Yourreef and he recommended running it with a higher flow rate and a higher pH, like around 7 (I currently run it at 6.5 with a slow drip), at least he said that's what works for his SPS tanks.
Thanks again for everyone's input!
jdieck
New member
Do not try to adjust the reactor using the Calcium level. It is easy to set it up for constant alkalinity and calcium will take care of itself. There are two reasons behind this. First, Calcium changes only 20 ppm for every change in 1 meq/lt of alkalinity. As such alkalinity will apear to be more sensitive than calcium so it is easier to detect smaller changes.
Second testing for alkalinity is usually more accurate than testing for calcium.
In any case once adjusted for alkalinity calcium will be added in the same proportion as it is consummed this is why this is one of the so called balanced addition supplementation methods.
In addition, try not to increase or adjust the levels with the reactor, set it up so alkalinity remains constant in the tank, once there use manual supplementation to adjust the alkalinity and calcium levels to the targets and the calcium will keep them there.
Finally in my experimentation, oposed to what your friend from the lfs adviced, I have found that a lower effluent flow with more alkalinity even if at lower PH (say 6.5) has less PH dropping effect on the tank PH than a higher effluent flow with less alkalinity even if at higher PH (Say 6.8). The explanation is that with a higher effluent there is less retention time of the water in the reactor for the CO2 to fully dissolve in the water and for the formed carbonic acid to dissolve the media and for the Calcium and carbonate to transport into the water column inside the reactor chamber so a t higher effluent flow more "unreacted" carbonic acid and aquous dissolved CO2 is carried over to the main tank resulting in higher PH drop and higher CO2 consumption per unit of alkalinity produced in the effluent.
jdieck-
What you were saying about drip rate versus pH sounded like what I originally thought, that a lower pH and lower drip rate would be more efficient. But, this is also the first time I have run a calcium reactor, so I wanted to see what people's experiences were with them. A lot has changed since I was last in the hobby 10 years ago! I am just trying to determine what is the most efficient way to run it.
I try to keep alk around 10-11dKH and at this point I am having to add supplements to do so. Otherwise, I lose about 2dKH per week. My goal is to avoid having to do so, if possible. Calcium though seems to stay fairly constant, between 390-410ppm, with only occasionally adding calcium chloride. I do add 2-3 gals of kalkwasser a day though (evaporation make-up), so that might be taking care of some of the calcium replacements.
Billybeau1-
Great link, thanks!
What you were saying about drip rate versus pH sounded like what I originally thought, that a lower pH and lower drip rate would be more efficient. But, this is also the first time I have run a calcium reactor, so I wanted to see what people's experiences were with them. A lot has changed since I was last in the hobby 10 years ago! I am just trying to determine what is the most efficient way to run it.
I try to keep alk around 10-11dKH and at this point I am having to add supplements to do so. Otherwise, I lose about 2dKH per week. My goal is to avoid having to do so, if possible. Calcium though seems to stay fairly constant, between 390-410ppm, with only occasionally adding calcium chloride. I do add 2-3 gals of kalkwasser a day though (evaporation make-up), so that might be taking care of some of the calcium replacements.
Billybeau1-
Great link, thanks!
jdieck
New member
Actually Kalk and Calcium reactor are both balanced additions. The difference is that Calcium gives the impression of not dropping as fast as alkalinity because for each drop of 2.8 dKh in alkalinity, Calcium will only drop 20 ppm and may calcium kits have less accuracy than that.
As you are running ARM media try keeping the PH at 6.5 while you increase the effluent (as you increase the effluent you will need to increase the CO2 rate to keep it at 6.5) until the reactor either matches your alkalinity consumption or reaches it's maximum capacity. To know if the reactor reached capacity, test the effluent alkalinity and measure the effluent flow using them to calculate the amount of addition, the moment the amount of addition starts flattening out despite increases in effluent for a given PH in the reactor that is the point were the reactor reached maximum capacity at that PH level. If the PH level is the minimum recommended for the media (in this case 6.5 for ARM) than that will be the maximum capacity for that reactor with that media.
To calculate the alkalinity added by the reactor over a period of 24 hours use the following formula:
Aa = ((Alke-Alkt)xEFx0.38) / Sv
Where:
Aa is alkalinity added in dKh
Alke is alkalinity of the effluent in dKh
Alkt is alkalinity of the tank in dKh
EF is the effluent flow in ml/min
Sv is the system water volume in US gallons.
Enjoy!
As you are running ARM media try keeping the PH at 6.5 while you increase the effluent (as you increase the effluent you will need to increase the CO2 rate to keep it at 6.5) until the reactor either matches your alkalinity consumption or reaches it's maximum capacity. To know if the reactor reached capacity, test the effluent alkalinity and measure the effluent flow using them to calculate the amount of addition, the moment the amount of addition starts flattening out despite increases in effluent for a given PH in the reactor that is the point were the reactor reached maximum capacity at that PH level. If the PH level is the minimum recommended for the media (in this case 6.5 for ARM) than that will be the maximum capacity for that reactor with that media.
To calculate the alkalinity added by the reactor over a period of 24 hours use the following formula:
Aa = ((Alke-Alkt)xEFx0.38) / Sv
Where:
Aa is alkalinity added in dKh
Alke is alkalinity of the effluent in dKh
Alkt is alkalinity of the tank in dKh
EF is the effluent flow in ml/min
Sv is the system water volume in US gallons.
Enjoy!
