Calcium Reactor Setup - Help Needed

B

blide

Well I think I have just about everything I need to get my poor deprived tank some calcium, and I have no idea where to start.... :sad:

Here is a pic of the full setup...
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The MJ900 feed pump with adapters...
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Output Nozzle...
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Bubble Counter on the Reactor I think...
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My first problem is the CO2 bottle has a carrier and the Milwuakee meter won't screw on because there isn't enough room. Is there a way to take off the carrier? Or do I need some kind of a fitting?

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Bill, can you rotate the carrier around? Mine has one and I was able to fit it onto the co2 bottle with the carrier in place.

Chris
 
I am not sure how to set it up...But I would leave the carier on and find a fitting. It's not only a carier but protection for the stem....Would not want that thing taking off like a missle. :!: JMO
 
OK, Thanks guys I got the regualtor on now and filled the bubble counter. :)
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Plus, I filled the reactor with 8lbs of media (I'm glad I only bought 1 unit because it's almost full)
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Ok, now for the second set of questions...

My PH meter won't be here until Monday or Tuesday, but I do have a PH test kit. So do I need to wait on hooking up the reactor? Or can I hook it up and just not turn on the CO2?

Will have 2 bubble counters mess things up? There is one on the regulator and one on the reactor. :?
 
Does the drip output of the reactor go straight into the sump? I see lots of people with a cup that has a PH monitor, but I don't know how that works... :?

Thanks Jason, It's all part of taking the "Training wheels off" :D
 
I do not have one but i think you want a cup or something for the drip line to go into. This is where you put your PH monitor/contorel to see what PH of the effluent is. So you can adjust if needed.

That a pretty nice CA reactor where did you get it?
 
you can measure effluent 2 ways. In a cup or directly in the reactor. You would have to modify the reactor if you choose to do that. Marc built me a cup in my sump that I run the effluent into and have my ph meter in with it.

Bill, I hope you washed the media. I am regretting not soaking my coralsand in ro water for a day or two before using it, I do believe my hair algea came from it.

You do not have to wait for your controller, but it sure is easier with it.
You want to start slow on the reactor maybe see what happens with an effluent reading of 6.8, and an efluent drip every 2-3 seconds. You can speed it up after a day or two, and lower the effluent ph until you dial it in.
You dont want to have your ph setting under 6.4 using arm media.
 
No real reason for a controller. I ran one for 3 years without one. Drip the effuent into a cup and then let it overflow into the sump. That way you can test the effluent pH by measuring the liquid in the cup.

Also I'm going to suggest you change the valve to control the drip rate to the input side of the reactor. In other words right after the maxijet. If you dont the output risks becoming clogged very fast and either slowing or causing an erratic drip rate or worse totally clogging and you'll put way to much CO2 in before you discover it. Believe me been there. Done that. Had mushy media!
 
I can't put the valve on the intake that's no problem. It didn't say soak the media, but I can if I need to just let me know.

So from what you guys are saying I can run the reactor and not turn on the CO2 until I'm ready to evaporate the media?

How does the drip get into the tank if it goes into a cup? (Does it just overflow the cup?)

I'm not getting a controller it's a PH meter... Sorry if I said that earlier :D From what I read I can't measure it with my test kit.
 
Bill, I just shot a video of how mine works. It's brief, and may create more questions than answers, but here it is, none-the-less:

http://www.melevsreef.com/video/ca_reactor.wmv

I have the bubble rate at 3 bubbles per second in the bubble counter on the regulator. The water in the bubble counter should be RO water, not tank water btw.

The effluent is running at a steady rate into my effluent holder, and pours out the front into the sump. It's running a tad faster at the moment, but twisting the white knob on the tubing (going into the effluent holder) can slow that down easily. The pH probe turns the CO2 on and off. At the point I shot this video (20 minutes ago), the pH in the reactor was 6.8 I have the controller drop it to 6.5.

You can run your reactor now, without CO2. That won't do any harm.

Some people have soaked the media in a vat of RO water for a week before using it to release any trapped phosphate. ARM advertises right on the jug that it contains no phosphate. I didn't soak mine.

Since you aren't using a pH controller, you're going to have a little more work dialing it in to what you need. Just remember that whatever adjustments you make, you need to wait 24 hours then test the water to see what the results are. And adjust again to make corrections. 24 hours later, test the water again. And so on. This can take 14 days to get set up perfectly for some people.

Using a pH controller, it was truly plug and play, and I never think about it.
 
6.5?? I thought PH was suppost to stay up around 8?

I think I need to do some water change before hooking this thing up because my parameters are out of whack. I checked my calcium earlier and it was 280! Man this is so frustrating sometimes... :sad:
 
you want to keep the PH of the main display tank at 8. The pH in the calc reactor should be around 6.8 - 6.5. Any lower and it will turn the calicum into mush.
 
@disbjohn wrote:
you want to keep the PH of the main display tank at 8. The pH in the calc reactor should be around 6.8 - 6.5. Any lower and it will turn the calicum into mush. said:
Correct.
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Yeah, thats better, thats the way I have mine. 2 Controller would be even better, makes things safer. I run my reactor on a milwaukee controller and my tank on an AC Jr
 
The AC Jr controls the main tank. If the pH gets to low in the tank, it shuts the CO2 off to the reactor to raise the effluent pH. The controller on the reactor ensures that the pH of the reactor does not drop below a set point.

It is really overkill, but I believe in having double protection for everything. I have way too much money invested in live stock to lose it all on something stupid... you know they dont pay us college students very well.

I am setting up a kalk reactor now also. So between the Kalks high pH and the Ca reactors low pH, I should be able to maintain and control a balanced pH in the tank
 
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