Calcium Reactor set-up - need assistance

[CG1]

I bought a Calcium reactor (a korallin 1502) – simple enough design and set up was a snap, now I need to dial it in. I read a great post about adjusting the CO2 flow as well as the drip rate to dial in the parameters. I tested the PH and its about 7.6 (tough to say for sure since the crappy test kit I bought at petco is well, crappy). Anywho – from what I read I should adjust the PH coming from the Reactor to be between 6.5 and 7.0. Is this right? If my tank PH is to be 8.2 why not adjust the Reactor to 8.2?

Also, I see that I should adjust it for the DKH – this should be above 25. I have a Salifert test kit and it max’s out at 16.0 ?? So this confuses me.

Anyway, I used my Salifert kit and dripped the solution in until I used it all up and the color did not change (that’s 16.0) then I added more solution and continued to drip – it required another .20 of solution. .20 is a reading of 3.2 DKH so can I assume that my DKH is 19.2? (16.0 + 3.2) ??

The Salifert kit gives me KH value in DKH.

Oh, I tested the Calcium in the Reactor water and its coming out at 420ppm.

I am going to order new test kits – can you recommend any to me? Any advice on dialing in the Reactor will be appreciated !

 

[Anonymous]

I dont worry abotu the effluent alk.

YOu need to drop the PH in the reactor to 6.5-7.0 top break down the media.

To dial it in you can try slowing your drip rate (slowly) until the PH drops. If the demand in the tank needs more CA then increase the drip and bubble rate.

 

[CG1]

Hi Rob,

Ok good – so I am close. I need to lower my PH a touch, are you sure that I should slow the drip rate? I was told that I should increase the drip rate in order to lower the PH? (ugh!)

You did say that I could also increase the bubble counter – that’s increasing the CO2 right? The documentation I have offers that as a suitable solution to lower the PH. I’ll give it a very minor adjustment and test in a couple of hours and let you know where its at. Thanks !!

 

[Anonymous]

More CO2 the lower the PH.

Increaasing the drip rate will help remove some CO2 and adds more effluent to the tank.

You have to find the balance. It took me about 2-3 weeks.

If you increase the CO2 without changing the drip rate will lower the PH as well.

The key is testing the tank as well. Get the tank paramters in line using B-Ionic or something. Set the reactor adn wait a few days. Test the tank is the paramters are still the same the the reactor is dialed in.

If the numbers are increasing then cut back the drip adn the bubble rate and repeat the tests.

If the numbers are decreasing then increase the drip adn the bubble rate and repeat the tests.

 

[CG1]

OK - will do. I have increased the flow rate to 60 drips per minute (it was about 50 ). I'll post again once I get some figures - I really appreciate your assistance, this reactor and my refugium is all new territory for this old salt-head (btw, whenever I say salt-head <I am a parrot head> my wife reitterates S!#t head in a questioning tone.....just thought I'd share the info

 

[CG1]

Rob - after increasing the drip of the tank return water (thats the effluent? - the drippng water back to the tank?) the PH is now somwhere around 7.0 (again, crappy color charted test kit) - I also tested the calcium of the effluent and my Salifert test kit stops at 500, I refilled the needle (if you are familiar with the salifert test kit) and continued - best i can estimate is that the Effluent is 550.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the Slifert test kits so I understand what you are saying,

The effluent is the output of the reactor. Of the PH is still 7.0 after a few hours then increase you bubble rate very little. Wait a day then test again.

 

[LA-Lawman]

HI,

I have the same RX. What i did was buy a ph probe and setup the effluent to drip into a specimen container with some holes in it. i then put the probe in the container and keep an eye on the ph this way. it is alot easier to do it this way rather than testing the effluent.

it takes a few days to dial in the reactor. I have mine set to drip at 60 drops per minute with 1 bubble every 5 secs. gives me a effluent ph of 6.8

 

[mgranato]

This may or maynot be too late, but try to get your system in balance first. "Chasing" an out of balance (PH, Ca, KH) system with a ca reactor is a good recipe for driving yourself nuts. However, if you have begun the chase, patience is key. Think in terms of 24 hrs rather than a couple of hours between tweaks.

If you're using a good quality media you'll be able to melt it with a PH of 7.0, that would be a good starting point and it won't take as much toll on your tank's PH. Start with a very modest set of parameters - 2 to 3 drips per second and 15-20 bubbles per minute. Let it go for a day then test your effluent's PH, effluent's KH, and tank's KH. (Don't worry about the ca now, that will be a byproduct of the other params - remember, you actually bought an alkalinity reactor.) If you need to make an adjustment, do yourself a favor and make only ONE adjustment at a time. Adjust either the drips or bubbles, wait a day, then retest and adjust again if necessary.

If you increase the CO2 without changing the effluent drip rate or drecrease the drip rate without changing the CO2, you'll be melting media faster by decreasing the effluent's PH which will raise the KH. If you increase the drip rate without changing the CO2 or decrease the CO2 without changing the drip rate, you'll be melting media slower by increasing the effluent's PH which will lower the KH.

I use the same test kits for KH and ca, but use the "1/2 reagent" method to get readings that off the charts with full strength reagents.

 

[pwj1286]

I have a Korallin 1502 also.

I have mine setup to run about 1 bubble ever 5-6 seconds and the effluent drips a little faster than 60 drips per min.

I drip mine into my refugium. The reactor requires little adjustments here and there, just watch it when you tweak it that you dont put too much CO2 into the bubble rate. That could make the pump draw CO2 and burn it up.

Just make sure you pay attention to it everyday as you do with all filtration.
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[trido]

I am also dialing in my DIY reactor today. Thanks to everyone for the quick tips.

 

[CG1]

Rob – I will test it again tonight and also my tank.

Ben – I like the idea of a PH probe in a drip cup, I don’t own a probe – might consider one. Right now I am at about 60 drops per minutes and my bubble counter is 1 per 5 sec, that’s just about the same as you and also as pwi1286 who is using the same reactor as me, so I think I am getting close to where I want to be. My PH tested 7.0 after a couple of hours, I will test it again tonight. I am using ARM for my media.

Mg – my tank was in balance when I started, I’ll test it all tonight when I get home – might not be any longer ! How drastically can the tanks perameters change in 24 hours? I mean, its dripping 1 drip per second into 250 gallons of water. Can it be dramatic or is it all very small incremental changes?

 

[Anonymous]

I actually have a Probe in my CA reactor. So I can measure the PH in the reactor.

 

[mgranato]

Thats the idea, to make adjustments in small increments before they become drastic changes.

 

[CG1]

ok - an Update.

Tank PH is 8.2, CA is 400

the Effluent tested as PH 6.8 and CA 600 (or so, I use the salifert kit that stops at 400 and I added more solution and did the math). I ordered a new Hagan master test kit that should arrive tomorrow. Then I can test the DKH for those that suggested it.

I didn't make any adjustments, is it right to let it continue as is ?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes. SHould be fine.

 

[DaveMorris1]

To go back to what you guys were saying about "getting your tank in balance to start", what should those numbers be? What is a good starting point for a balance between PH, Alk, and CA? My tank right now has a CA of 380ppm, Alk of 9.1, and a PH of 8.1. I want to get the CA up to 420 or so, but I don't know the best way to do it without throwing off other things. My brain hurts just thinking about this stuff!

Thanks for the help.

 

[CG1]

To go back to what you guys were saying about "getting your tank in balance to start", what should those numbers be? What is a good starting point for a balance between PH, Alk, and CA? My tank right now has a CA of 380ppm, Alk of 9.1, and a PH of 8.1. I want to get the CA up to 420 or so, but I don't know the best way to do it without throwing off other things. My brain hurts just thinking about this stuff!

Thanks for the help.

Ideally:

PH 8.2
ALK 3.0
CA 450

Of course there are ranges. Your PH is 8.1, you didn't say your ALK - but if your PH is stable and not dropping your ALK is fine. Keep an eye on your Magnesium - the more you pump up the CA the more the mag is going to drop. most importantly - go slow !

I use to use turbo calcium and I really liked using B-ionic (2 stage daily doses) -- pain in the ass, but a great product.

 

[mgranato]

DaveMorris, you numbers are fine, you are in balance. Ditto on the PH comment, as long as its stable you'll be fine. You can certainly try to raise you ca level to over 400, but it isn't necessary. The main goal is consistency. A constant ca of 380 is better than peaks in the 400s. My tank is SPS and clam only, and my ca is steady at 340 with KH of 10.6. If it were me, I would simply try to maintain your great set of numbers - no need to make it difficult.

 

[Anonymous]

Actually I think a better "balance" is to have the proper ratio of calcium to alkalinity in the tank, if they are in balance and too low no problem that's what the calcium reactor will fix, if one is too low, I'd do a water change, check those numbers again then use an additive to bring either calcium or alkalinity back up.