Calcium Reactor Setup

[IxLr8]

Hi Folks, i've been lurking for a while reading and understanding topics in the forums and I must say that it's been very helpfull for me. I am new to the reef side of the house and I have a question on Calcium reactors. There is nothing definitive that I have found about the setup of the Calcium Reactor that I have found and the instructions that I got for mine were sketchy at best.

I currently run a Southbay reactor with a 5 lb. CO2 tank. My reef tank currently has an Octopus controller on it where I monitor Temp, ORP and PH. I currently have the PH controller set to turn on the reactor +.5PH over 8.10. The reactor will shut itself off at about 8.1 at the very lowest. Aquadyne recommends 8.05 with the on position +.05 above this baseline. I felt it was a little far too far wide so I set the baseline to 8.1. The PH reading on the effluent is about 6.7PH and I have it drip 1 drop a second with the CO2 running at about 2 bubbles per second. At the last measurement i'm dosing at about 17ml per minute.

I'm not sure if all of this is correct. If someone could kind of guide me through the key things that I should be looking at, I would be very appreciative.

Regards,
Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Paul, and welcome to reefs.org! :wink:

I don't use a PH controller on mine, so I can really comment on that.

I measure my system PH and the effluent PH, and adjust the flow rate and the bubble count until I get the parameters I am looking for. I make small adjustments and test for CA and ALK a day later and tweak from there. Once you get it dialed in, and it may take you a month of fiddling with it until your happy, you'll leave it untouched for months at a time.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

I don't use a controller either, but I think your drip/bubble sounds roughly correct. Of course, it all depends on how large the tank is and how many corals you have taking up the calcium.

 

[IxLr8]

Thank you both for your comments. I'll make sure to look at the Alk and Ca readings frequently to ensure that i'm dosing properly. I'm glad that i'm kind of on the right track. I currently have a 100 gal tank with a light load because it's only 2 months old and I tired to be really patient in the cycling process. I'm just starting to stock it now. As far as Calcium goes, it's where I want it at 450 but that's probably because the load is really light. My alk was a bit too high I think at 15 but now it's down to 9. If i'm not mistaken, I thought 11 may have been the number i'm striving for. I'll have to continue reading

Best Regards,
Paul