help with ca reactor

C

casey

i have my reactor all set up. gen x media, 20lb co2 bottle, aquarium plants.com regulator, trigger systems ca reactor, i cant seem to add much alk to system i keep having to add bionic two part. my current effluent rate is 20 drips per minute controlled by needle valve on effluent hose and i have tried as high as 2 bubbles per second of co2 alk still drops. I dont want to turn up co2 as i cant count the bubbles anymore. should i reduce my eff flow rate ( i didnt want to drop too low and have it clog) I have calibrated my probe reciently and it is located inside the reactor ( do i need to go below 6.5 with gen x media ?). any imput would be appreciated Casey
 
i have an all brass check valve that causes the bubbles to come out five or so at a time, i have tried switching to another brass check valve same result. also have located the check valve inline. I am counting my bpm(bubbles per minuite on my co2 regulator bubble counter. (if this helps any) Casey
 
Hi Casey,
I use the same regulator and I also use the bubble counter thats on the regulator. I'm not having a problem but I would suggest making sure the all C02 related fittings are tight. When you brought your reactor on-line were your Ca/Alk/Mg at NSW levels already. What are you getting for these values, perhaps you started with levels not in balance. Just a guess. :wink: If your ph is correct for your media, what happens when you increase effluent only w/o changing CO2 bubble count.

Cheers,
 
check the alkalinity of your output. It should be around 30. With 6.5 you should be fine but if alk keeps dropping then you'r enot adding enough. You need to keep the effluent at 30 dkh and up both the bubble count and the drip rate to keep the output at 30 dkhn until the levels are maintained.

How big is the tank?

Unless it's huge you shouldn't need more then 2 bubbles a second for sure. I had a 135 ttoally packed with SPS that I had about 2 bubbles per second on. Now in my 450 it's higher but it's a huge tank!
 
just the info i was looking for. I will not increase bubble rate. I have a 120 gallon tank 80 sump fuge. lots of sps but not filled out yet. i will test dkh in eff. so let me get this right if i increase the eff rate i will get more alk into the tank? for some reason i was thinking if i lower the eff rate it will increase alk. I will reduce bubble per minute of c02 to 30 bpm and incrrease eff rate to 1 drop per second. does this sound like a good starting point. Casey
 
The goal is to stay balaced at 30 dkh. If it's not keeping up raise both the bubble count and the drip rate until it does. If you aren't keeping up now and just lower effluent then dkh coming out ay go up slightly but probably not enough to makeup the flow loss.

If your ph and alk of the effluent are correct you'll want to raise both. The only reasont to adjust one at a time is if the pH/alk is to high (lower bubble count) or to low (raise bubble count) otherwise raise both to keep in balance. It may take several days to get it right but it's really hassle free once you do!
 
i just read up on it again and i have to say i am embarassed for my oversite in that detail. ((If you aren't keeping up now and just lower effluent then dkh coming out ay go up slightly but probably not enough to makeup the flow loss. )) This was my problem I didnt realize there are several different levels of performance , i just need to change gears lol. Casey
 
ok readjusted and waited for reactor to stabilize. my dkh is currently 9.45 and effluent dkh is 28.2. should i try to adjust all the way to 30 dkh for eff or is this close enough. I will test alk in 24hrs to see if it is stabilized if it is stable i plan on using b ionic to bring dkh up to 10 or higher. any suggestions on a target for dkh. Casey
 
test today says .41 which is equal to about 9.45 dkh. i will test again tomorrow as well as take a stopwatch to all the drip and bubble rates to make sure they are the same as when i started. Casey
 
Sounds like your good! If you want to raise to ten then you can add some baked baking sode to get you up there.

What is your calcium?
 
ca is low just tested. i think it dropped a little as the reactor started putting out more alk. 390 is the reading tonight. i added some calcium to raise to 425-450 we will see i will test tomorrow after work. this may effect my dkh reading as well correct ? i will just keep testing to see if reactor is stable. Casey
 
What are you guys using to test alk all the way up to 30? I use the Salifert test and the highest dkH reading on that test is 16.
 
30 dkh seems high my MRC calcium reactor instructions says not to go over 14 dkh

30 dkh = 570 ppm of calcium

but i am a newbie to calcium reactors

http://www.andy-hipkiss.co.uk/index.htm?http://www.andy-hipkiss.co.uk/caalkcalc.htm
 
Your tank shouldn't be over 14.

If the output of your reactor is that low you would never keep up with demand, not only that but your pH wouldn't be low enough to melt any media!

Just because your alk is up doesn't mean your calcium automatically goes down.

If your Mg is Ok then you should have no issues adding just one and not having the other drop as long as you are in a balanced state.

The best thing is to get the alk and calc and MG of the tank where you want them and then see if the reactor is keeping those values. stable. Very rarely should you be off after that. Once every few months you may have to boost calcium slightly as over time calcium reactors tend to add slightly more alk but it's very very long term issue!

On the testing, you simply add less water. I use elos now but if I remember correctly you add 4ml in the salifert kit. If you add 1ml instead you can just multiply everything by four. So still use the 2 drops, etc but multiple the result you get by 4.
 
after adding a little calcium i waited a day and tested 9.0 dkh which was .45 less than before. could this be because of the calcium addtion. anyway i added ca and alk to raise to 9.5 tp 10 dkh and i will add another dose to raise to 10- 10.5 dkh. I will test all paranmeters and then see if the reactor keeps up. If it is dropping it is not nearly as fast as before so its going great. casey
 
@kwl1763 wrote:
check the alkalinity of your output. It should be around 30. said:
You are right i checked my output it was 30...insert foot into mouth
Click to expand...
 
@Ivan wrote:
What are you guys using to test alk all the way up to 30? I use the Salifert test and the highest dkH reading on that test is 16. said:
When the color does not change after adding the whole needle full, you add another needle full to the mix and add that number to the first 16dkh and so on.
Click to expand...
 
just tested this morning at 9.3 dkh. well its still droppping a little. i will increase bubble rate and drip rate. Casey
 
how do i add "baked" baking soda. put it in the oven or? mix with r/o and drip or what? I need to raise to 10.5 or so. does baled baking soda provide both alk and ca equally? Casey
 
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