Calcium reactors and controlling them....

[Pman]

I was wondering what is really needed with a calcium reactor... is it necessary to have say a controller such as a Aquacontroller to monotor and control PH as well as have it hooked up to you PC for long term graphing...just to keep track of the ph swings? Or is a controller as simple as a Miwaukee PH/ORP controller ($179) sufficient.. and is ORP really something that one needs to control and monitor.. thanks!

[kevinpo]

I just monitor how much media I dissolve with a piece of tape and a marker on the side of the reactor chamber I have my bubbles set at 60-80 bubbles per min. and the effluent set at just below a steady stream.

If you don’t need maximum output from your reactor like I do you can monitor your calcium level and cut back on the bubble rate if the calcium level gets too high. Another way is to test your PH coming out of the reactor 6.8-7.0 works pretty well. The PH will decrease if you raise the bubble count and increase if you lower the bubble count.

You can spend a lot of money on fancy equipment in this hobby and get excellent results but you don’t have to and can still get excellent results

HTH,
Kevin

[dougchambers]

We've been running our DIY reactor since last May. In our experience, there are really just three (3) variables to deal with during setup.

1) Effluent rate coming from the reactor: The effluent needs to be sufficient to support the consumption rate by the tank. For example, if you have lots of SPS, you need a healthy effluent rate. Setup has just been a matter of balancing t he effluent pH and the bubble.

2) pH of Effluent: The pH of the effluent needs to be monitored as a function of the CO2 added to the reactor. If the pH is too high, your media isn't being disolved sufficiently and you aren't getting the benefit of the reactor.

3) CO2 Bubble Rate: The CO2 bubble rate ties closely to the effluent rate. If your effluent rate is high, you typically need a farely high CO2 rate to keep the pH low enough to disolve the media.

Confused yet... It makes more sense when you play with the knobs.

As far as controllers, some people use them while others don't. Would I use a controller if I had one? Yes. Have I found a controller to be a requirement to establish a good reactor setup? No.

Reactors can be rather touchy to setup. However, once they are running, you will wonder how you lived without one...

Doug

[G]

Doug,

What pH should the effluent be reading at. I've heard people suggest that a pH of 6.7-6.9 for the effluent is appropriate. Can you cofirm this?

thanks,

Gary

[Papa Doug]

I like to keep it simple like Kevin. I also run about the same bpm & almost a steady stream. I have never measured the amout of effluent, just keeping it near a steady stream. Run the effluent around 6.8.

I like to get the effluent near 30dkh. After that, as long as the stream is constant and the bpm stays close, everything is ticky-poo. All I check is the effluent ph at times, to see if it is staying constant. If it has changed, then I check the stream or bpm.

[G]

Doug, Thanks for your input.

Gary

[dougchambers]

I've been told there can be some variations in effluent pH requirements based on the type of media used.

We run the A.R.M. media and keep the effluent at a pH of ~6.6-6.8. For my setup, that results from 160 drips/min (effluent) with 45 bubbles/min (CO2) @ 22psi. I could make the reactor a little more efficient by changing my effluent line routing and installing a CO2 recovery loop, but I'm still on my original 5lb bottle since May. I just dropped below 500lb on the tank and figure I will need to change out in March or April.

Doug

[Papa Doug]

Doug, you are correct. Some media,s dissolve much easier. Also the reactor design can influence the needed ph of the effluent.

Some reactors are not to efficient and require a lower ph to dissolve the media. I had one that had to run the bpm so high, my ph was always around 6.5. Only way it would work. Some good ones can work just below a ph of 7. Something like a co2 recirculating loop, that I have on my current model also helps.

Thats why I say a target alk. of the effluent, close to 30dkh, is needed to get a good measure. The see what ph the effluent is running at and use that as a check point after that.

[dougchambers]

Doug,

Great point. I will take a look at the Alk of my effluent.

DC

[Papa Doug]

Just for info, I consider 30dkh, the top end for my reactor, and my consumption. Some I know run around 25dkh. I think we talked before about this somewhere, and a target of 23dkh to 30 dkh, seemed to be the preference, with mine being in the higher end.

[Pman]

now not to stray from the question...so what is wrong with using caribsea aragamax select for a media? Thanks you for all your responses!

[Papa Doug]

Never used it. So far just, ARM for me also. However when its done, I am switching to Carib-Sea Geo Marine crushed coral.