running a calcium reactor "hot"

Gary Majchrzak

Gary Majchrzak

Team RC
"hot" meaning pedal to the metal.

That's what I've decided to do today becaue I can't keep up with Ca/alk demand even when using kalkwasser for makeup and bumping with calcium carbonate (soda ash). (Hard to believe how fast alkalinity gets depleted!)

I'm wondering if anyone else seeing this thread has done/is doing this.

What should I look out for?
(Low system pH would seem to be an obvious danger but I'm monitoring effluent with a pH probe.)

I probably just need a bigger media chamber / calcium reactor but for now... GAS ON.
 
Gary, is the limiting factor the rate at which you're pumping effluent? Your sweet regulator will keep the media from dissolving in a blob. Can you beef up your pump and/or tubing diameter to get more effluent moving into the system?
 
I was under the impression it was a balance of media melt down compared to flow through a reactor....still learning
 
larger calcium reactors essentially use the same tubing as my smaller reactor- it's the reaction chamber (and internal circulation pump) that are larger on the big boys.

My effluent drip rate is now maxed. It's no longer a "drip" but a "stream".

Although my Ca reactor already has a second chamber, to alleviate the danger of it lower pH in my entire system I have the effluent discharging into a 10 gallon aquarium full of aragonite which is acting as a huge 3rd stage reaction chamber.
Since melting aragonite contains PO4 and other things I also have some macroalgae growing in the 10 gallon "3rd stage".

The only thing that's new is my effluent drip rate. I maxed it today. It can't run any faster than it is.

Some of the things I'm explaining here are new- I've never seen them done before. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

I mean... why can't we just take a 30 gallon Brute and fill it with reactor media, plop in a Magdrive and dose with a peristaltic pump hooked to a pH probe? Food for thought.

The obvious solution is a much larger calcium reactor- but if I can get my contraption to "work"... I won't need a larger reactor.
 
Interesting experiment you've got going. I hope it works out.

Is it possible to increase your evaporation? That might be the easier solution. Put a turbo fan on your sump and/or a dehymidiphier next to it. You could even plumb in another tank just to put a fan on it.
 
Does increasing the size of the reactor just mean you have to fill it less frequently, or does more calcium carbonate get dissolved in the chamber, "saturating" the water that passes through. If it's the former, then even a 30 gallon reaction chamber won't keep up with your demands, and in that case, you need to get more water through the reactor more quickly.

If a larger reactor dissolves more aragonite into the water, then that looks like your only viable solution,right?
 
everything else constant (K)

everything else constant (K)

a larger media chamber exposes a larger volume of media to any given pH

so

*at any given pH and effluent flow* a larger reactor will be supplying more Ca and alkalinity than a smaller one
 
Ok, I think I get it. Let me rephrase my question to be sure:

Lets say I have two Ca reactors, one large and one small. I'm running them at the same effluent rate and pH.

If I fill two cups up with effluent, one from each reactor, will the larger reactor have a higher Ca and alk reading?

If so, I have to think that you can only get so much mileage out of a smaller reactor compared to that of a large chambered reactor.
 
you got it

you got it

larger reaction chamber = larger volume of media exposed to a larger volume of low pH water = more calcium/alk at any given (konstant) drip rate/CO2 rate.

Right now I have a steady stream of effluent and the reactor chamber is running at pH 6.5

Pedal to the medal.

The only last resort option I have is to lower pH in the reaction chamber even more.....
 
It's more accurately the surface area of the media right Gary? I would also imagine that turbulence and forced convection plays a role as well. Moving water past the surface of the media is probably important to keep the pH and dissolved ion gradients favorable. So while flowrate itself is important, one also needs to consider that the entire reactor is moving water. If there are "dead spots" you're probably not gonig to get the most efficiency out of the system. That would be my main worry with a Brute sized reactor. Also of course you'd have to keep a sealed lid on it to prevent the CO2 from evaporating too fast...
 
So; here's a thought...

Why don't you use the pressurized cylinder to drop the pH of water (The CA Rx) by embedding the C02 in the liquid, then discharge the water into a larger container filled with the aragonite...

It's similar to what Schuran did with the Jetstreams.

I'm not saying it'll work, it's just a thought if we're experimenting. I'd be curious to see if it works; I'm nowhere near the limits of my reactor, but I'd love to see how we may be able to make something work, should I need it.

-Andy
 
Gary Majchrzak said:
Since melting aragonite contains PO4 and other things I also have some macroalgae growing in the 10 gallon "3rd stage".
Click to expand...

Upping the amount of algae in the "3rd stage" will help absorb excess CO2 and stabilize pH. Heck there are some people out there with large algae export mechanisms who dose CO2 just to increase growth rates, you might as well kill two birds with one stone.
 
I would bet you will but I guess it depends on what the limiting factor is in your tank. I'd assume it's probably P in most low-nutrient systems but given you're getting some small amount of P in the effluent from the reactor maybe not in this case.
 
update

update

this solution has clearly worked.

Alkalinity this morning is 10.2 dKH

no liquid two part bumping was necessary- strictly calcium reactor and kalkwasser for topoff since last week's reading of 10.2 dKH
 
Sweet!

Sweet!

That's awesome. I was going to ask for an update on this today!

Do you have to keep an eye on Mg or does it just get replenished with water changes?
 
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