[Reefland]

Alrighty, it took me about 2 seconds to get the effluent rate dialed in after I added the new needle valve to the effluent line and opened the one on the pump output wide open. For the past 3 hours, it has been totally consistent; now I should be ready for some final tuning and be done with it. I really appreciate everyones help with this one!

[Papa Doug]

Thats good Scott. Hope the rate now stays consistant. I usually still had to bump mine now and then, but nothing like it is without enough pressure in the reactor.

[Reefland]

I would suspect to see some slight changes in the effluent rate, but it surely shouldn't be like it was. More importantly than the rate, I hope the pH is much more steady.

[zhenya]

Good going,Scott. I don't forsee any major changes in the effluent drip rate, only when your MJ1200 may slow down a bit and need some maintanance(cleaning mainly). I clean mine when I am about to swap media, otherwise I never had problems with the drip rate. And my effluent line is anly like 1/4" air hose type.

[Poseidon]

That was a good read, if I ever make the jump to a Ca Reactor. I'll know to valve the OUTPUT and not the pump!!! LOL!!

[Samper]

My MRC CR-2 reactor is up and running.
I opened up the valve to let the MJ 1200 go full force and added a ball valve to the effluent line. After the addition of the ball valve it's been much easier to get a steady drip. Now every 5 hours or so I go check things and I'm still tweaking the bubble count. I've got the Ph coming out of the effluent around 7 since it's a dual chamber this is correct right?
How often should I be checking Ca and Alk cause I don't want anything nasty happening. I'm thinking daily for about 2 weeks or is this too much?
My ph has held much more steady for the past 2 days and already the corals are looking happier as far as polyp extension goes. I swear since the addition of it and that Euro Reef 8-2 skimmer my colors have gotten more vibrant too. I hope this thing isn't too large though I'm worried that even at the lowest setting I might be overdoing things.

[Reefland]

You can't over do it, that is the beauty of it. It sounds like you've got things going good and if the effluent pH is 7, your in doing fine. What is you bubble count set at and effluent rate?

[Samper]

The effluent is dripping about once every 2-3 seconds and the bubbles are about the same. I'm expecting to have to tweak with it for a while because my Ca is rising steadily about 10ppm per day which is ok because with the IO salt I'm constantly having to fight the 350ppm it always mixes me up with.
Should the effluent and bubble count be about the same? I have quite a few sps in this small 20gallon tank and I'm counting on this reactor to grow em all out nicely. All in all I'm figuring I'm running about 37 gallons total. I know that reactor is huge for a tank that small but I got it for the 75g that I still haven't gotten to set up so I figured I might as well put it to use.

[Reefland]

You will only be able to tell what is the right drip and bubble rate for your aqaurium. Just continue to monitor both every 3-4 days and make an adjustment if needed. Keep in mind that it will take 24 hours or more for your adjustments to the reactor to show.

[BubbaWPB]

Originally Posted by Reefland

Just curious how long it took you to get your calcium reactor tuned in? ... I was just curious to see how long it takes everyone to get things dialed in.

After one week of impatient frequent fiddling and a resultant calcium storm (not pretty), I started all over, took my time, made only very small adjustments once a day followed by testing the next day. Total time: 3 weeks (including the week leading to the calcium storm). It still needs a minor tweak every week or two.

It's not the perfect "never add two part calcium and alkalinity solutions ever again" but I only have to make adjustments about every week instead of adding of two part solutions several times a day. And, although it was a pricey piece of equipment, I'm definitely saving a bundle in the long run... not to mention saving my oongoing time and effort.