How fast does your CA reactor PH go down?

K

K_Red_Raider

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I have recently lowered my CA reactor to where it goes from the top to bottom of my settings in around 2 hours. It had been taking around 3 hours to get back to the bottom. I was wondering if i need to increase my bubble count a little more or if 2 hours is the normal. I do realize that a bunch of it depends on my tanks use and if it is keeping up with the demand (which it is not), but I was just wondering how fast is too fast to lower the PH in my chamber?
 
What's you bpm (bubbles per minute) and the psi set on your regulator? What's your target ph?

If alk and ca are stable I wouldn't worry about it unless you are burning through co2 and media ...

If you mess with your bpm you will need to redial in your ca reactor.


Also what's the ml per minute of your effluent you can slow that down and that will raise ph in reactor but again you will need to redial in ca reactor


I set my effluent (i think it is 50 ml/minute) and 60 bpm of co2 and adjust the ph to dial it in to me that is the easiest way. I set my reg psi to 5


It takes about 10-15 min for ph controller to turn off my reg and I think it goes on two to three times an hour
 
Mine kicks on and off automatically, so I've never timed it. My low point is 6.5, and at that point CO2 shuts off. As new water enters the reactor from the aquarium (around 8.1), and effluent is trickling out non-stop, the pH rises gradually. When it hits 6.9, the CO2 resumes bubbling into my reactor, bringing the pH down to 6.5 again.

Media lasts about 6 months
CO2 lasts about 4 months
 
Have you tried the ca reactor calculator

http://reef.diesyst.com/reactor/reactor.html
 
Sorry I didnt clarify what i was meaning to ask. I have had my CA reactor set for a while and have been slowly lowering my PH to get it dialed in. It is set up on a pump that puts out a consistant effluent rate of around 55/min (i keep loosing count). I understand the workings of the reactor but was just wondering how fast was too fast to lower the PH in the reactor? Since I just raised my bubble rate it takes approx an hour to turn on and then off according to the Apex before this it was about two hours. I realize that I am going to have to tweak my PH levels because of this. I was just wondering if 1 hour to lower the PH is too fast?
 
How far apart are your ph set points on the apex from when it turn on and off the reg




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@K_Red_Raider wrote:
From 6.20-6.00 said:
Might take so long cause your ph is set pretty low I would think that is pretty normal for that low of ca rx ph.

I would watch your tank ph make sure it doesn't get to low




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You probably don't need it set that low, unless the media demands it. Every drop going into your tank is 6.0 which as Pampee pointed out will drive down tank pH.
 
@Marc wrote:
Every drop going into your tank is 6.0 which as Pampee pointed out will drive down tank pH. said:
I have it going thru a second chamber of media which helps to raise it a little. The media that I am using is a very course media in the main reactor which calls for the low PH and the second chamber is a small media which I believe helps raise the PH of the effluent. I also have the effluent dripping into my refugium which I believe helps out. I have had it at this level for a while and my tank has been at a constant 8.2-8.3 depending on if the lights are on or off.
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